TOMORROW’S racing features the last day of the prestigious Royal Ascot meeting. We have already seen some cracking action this week and I’m sure tomorrow will see a fitting end to the event.
The feature race is the Group 1 Golden Jubilee at 3.45pm. Throw in the Chesham, the Hardwicke and one of the punters’ favourites, the Wokingham and you know it’s a great day’s racing.
Starting with the Golden Jubilee (the British leg of the Global Sprint Challenge), 24 runners have been declared and the way the ground has been so far this week we could well see a course record in what should be a right old tear- up over six furlongs.
As I write the current favourite is Showcasing from the Gosden yard who is a lightly raced but improving three-year old. His last race saw him spectacularly pick up from off the pace to finish second in the Duke of York. William Buick takes the ride and they are deserving favourites.
Now I love finding a bit of value so, looking through the card, the French horse Marchand D’Or catches my eye and while some people will say his best form is on ground with a touch more give, he is a real speed demon who is attractively priced at 16/1.
Further down I note Henry Cecil is dropping Lord Shanakill in trip which is very interesting considering he was thought well enough to be sent to the Breeders Cup for the sprint.
After running over a mile and finishing third in the Lockinge behind Paco Boy, 50/1 could be a huge each way price.
It’s a tricky race and as always I wish everyone the best of luck in finding the winner.
The next race at Ascot is another 6f cavalry charge in the Wokingham, one of the most popular handicap races with my punters. Thirty-one runners have been declared so it’s a chance to get a nice priced winner. The current favourite is the Roger Charlton trained Genki at 8/1, one of seven of the runners with course and distance form. There has been steady support from 14/1 into 8s.
One of my favourite horses Jimmy Styles is in the field. I correctly predicted him to win the Ayr Gold Cup last year and it’s notable that Frankie Dettori who rode him to win is back on board – could 16/1 be a bit of value? The only thing that puts me off is he was favourite for this race last year and just didn’t appear to perform.
My offices have seen support for the Hills horse Damien who I personally think has a bit to find. However, sometimes money talks and right now that’s who is being supported (20s from 33s.) With BBC2’s cameras at Ascot and Channel 4 at Newmarket and Ayr there are 11 races on terrestrial TV so it’s a great day of sport and that’s before thinking about the World Cup and the US Open.
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