Re: The Horse Racing Thread

[WideWally]

The Queen Anne Stakes over a mile on Tuesday looks fascinating. Two of my favourite horses are running - The Hong Kong superstar Able Friend & the outstanding grey from France, Solow. And they will be opposed by the Richard Hannon pair, Night Of Thunder & Toormore who recently quinelled the Group One Lockinge Stakes. It should be a great race.

Royal Ascot kicks off in about an hour when the Queen Anne Stakes is held. I haven't changed my opinion on the race. Able Friend has been amazing in Hong Kong recently. He usually wins untouched. And this year Solow has won Group Ones in Meydan & France very easily. But I also expect Night Of Thunder & Toormore to race very well. And some of the others are quite talented but probably outclassed today.

The St James's Palace Stakes for 3yos over a mile has an odds on favourite in Gleneagles who has already won the English & Irish Two Thousand Guineas. Main danger might be Make Believe who won Poule d'Essai des Poulains by three lengths from New Bay who then came out & scored a decisive win in Prix du Jockey Club. However, many feel that Make Believe was handed the race because he was allowed to coast along in front. Still, he is top class although he is yet to run on a "good" track as there has been a bit of give in the tracks in his races in France. Apparently, Consort impressed a lot of people when winning the Listed Heron Stakes recently but will find his opposition today are far superior to those he defeated at Sandown. Belardo (a Group One winner as a 2yo) was only 1.7 lengths behind Gleneagles in the Irish 2000 Guineas but that was run on a track with some cut in it & will find it more difficult to get close to Gleneagles on today's Good track.

[WideWally]

The King's Stand Stakes over five furlongs will see Sole Power attempt to win the race for the third time. He is so good over this trip that he must be a good chance to pull it off.

However, I will stay loyal to the Australian mare Shamal Wind who has scored outstanding wins in her two starts in 2015 including the Group One Oakleigh Plate. If she has travelled okay she is definitely up to the class. I will put in Sole Power, Rangali & Mecca's Angel for the placings but usually there are a million chances in Group sprints in England.

[WideWally]

Solow too good in the Queen Anne Stakes


Esoterique 2nd & Cougar Mountain 3rd

Toormore, Night of Thunder & Able Friend all raced well below their best.

[WideWally]

Goldream wins the Kings Stand Stakes from Medicean Man & Muthmir

[WideWally]

Gleneagles outclasses his opposition in the St James's Palace Stakes.

Latharnach 2nd, Consort 3rd.

Belardo was scratched because of the going.

[WideWally]

Just one Group One tonight - the Prince of Wales's Stakes

I think it could a tricky race.
My top three are -
Free Eagle who created a big impression last year when winning the Gp3 KPMG Enterprise Stakes at Leopardstown. He then took on Group 1 company in the Champion Stakes at Ascot & ran a creditable 3rd despite striking a heavy track. He is first-up this preparation but big things are expected of him as he is very lightly raced & should continue to improve. Trained by Dermot
The Grey Gatsby has the highest official rating in the race & scored some outstanding wins in Group One company last year (Prix du Jockey Club, Irish Champion Stakes). He has had two runs in 2015 & been a bit below his best. However, I thought he looked as he just ran out of condition last start & should be ready to find his old form today.
Spielberg won the Group One Tenno Sho over ten furlongs in Japan last year defeating Gentildonna. He also ran 3rd in the Japan Cup. I have a huge opinion of Japanese horses & he is one of their best.

Plenty of other chances though.
Australia has Criterion who is very talented. However, he has twice travelled to Hong Kong in the past six months & disappointed me. I'm not convinced that he travels well.

Ectot is a very good French horse who impressed many people last year in winning Prix Niel, one of the main prep races for the Arc. Personally, I thought Adelaide was a tragedy beaten in that race due to a disgraceful ride by Ryan Moore.

Western Hymn has won two Gp3 races this season & I believe he is a better horse than many give him credit for.

Gailo Chop was a top class 3yo in France last year & at his only start in 2015 finished 1.5 lengths behind Solow in Prix d'Ispahan & we all know how good Solow is.

Cannock Chase has also been racing well and won at this meeting last year.

I wouldn't be surprised if any of those won but have a slight preference for Free Eagle, The Grey Gatsby & Spielberg. Should be a fascinating race.

[WideWally]

Free Eagle scores a narrow win in the Prince of Wales's Stakes from The Grey Gatsby who was a certainty beaten. Western Hymn third.

[Merlin]

Lovely day at Ascot yesterday ... beautiful (though slightly muggy) weather, and the racing lived up to its quality.

Three long odds winners (14's, 25's and 8's) though the race of the day had to be the Prince of Wales Stakes.

I reckon that if Frankie (Western Hymn) had not closed the gate for as long as he did, The Grey Gatsby
(Jamie Spencer) would have (and should have) shot through and won.

Spencer is the master of riding a finish after coming from behind, but a furlong out, Frankie had him blocked in
with nowhere to go ... however when the gap opened up, it was just a fraction too late ... The Grey Gatsby
(losing by the shortest of short heads)  having passed Free Eagle a stride after the post!

A good (though not a great) day's racing ... but today is Ladies Day and, more importantly, Gold Cup Day ...
where my fancy is Forgotten Rules (another Dermot Weld/Pat Smullen combo), with a place for the old boy Simenon.

The Britannia Stakes will be a pin job ... but it might be a toss up between Sahaafy and Capel Path.

With a cloudless sky and 22C predicted, it might be a tad uncomfortable in tails ... meh ..., small price to pay!

[WideWally]

Ascot Gold Cup - Forgotten Rules has a big wrap on him. I remember an interview I heard sometime in 2014 where Dermot Weld was asked if he had something he was keen on for the 2014 Melbourne Cup. He said "not really but there is one who might be worth bringing in 2015". The horse was Forgotten Rules & at the time he had only had two starts. Since then he has won the 2014 Long Distance Cup at Ascot & the 2015 Vintage Crop Stakes. The only slight question marks are whether he will run two and a half miles & whether the track is not too firm.

I think the danger could be Bathyrhon who has already shown he can run the distance with a good second in the 2014 Prix du Cadran & won his only start this year in the Gp2 Prix Vicomtesse Vigier over fifteen and a half furlongs.

Tac de Boistron has the highest official rating in the race but his best form is on rain-affected going & I wouldn't be surprised if he is scratched.

[WideWally]

They have just run the Gp3 Tercentenary Stakes for 3yos over ten furlongs & it has been won in ultra-impressive style by the favourite, Time Test. There were huge wraps on him after a win in a handicap at his 3yo reappearance & he has lived right up to it. He is also beautifully bred being by Dubawi out of Passage Of Time who won the Gp1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud as a 2yo in 2006.

Certainly one to follow.

[WideWally]

Trip to Paris wins the Ascot Gold Cup from Kingfisher & Forgotten Rules.

[Merlin]

What a day for the fashionistas yesterday at Ascot!
Hats and parasols as wide as Cherrie Blairs mouth ... but unlike the mouth, very tasteful -
and some cracking fillies parading around too!

Had a treat of a day with a couple of long odds successes, nevertheless.
Did Ryan Moore in both the Norfolk (Waterloo Bridgeat 12's) and the Britannia (War Envoy at 10's) -
both O'Brien trained and both at handsome odds!
My only wish as that I'd backed Moore for the whole meeting ...
he's now got 8 winners for the week with a day to go!

The Gold Cup was a classic and Trip to Paris a worthy winner, holding off Kingfisher and the one I backed, Forgotten Rules.

Jockey Graham Lee (Trip to Paris) is an ex. jumps jockey who packed in the winter game 2 seasons
ago because he was fed up spending half his life in hosital A and E's, getting bones mended and teeth fixed!  
He is now thriving on the Flat and several trainers use him on their good horses ... Trip to Paris being an example!

That's it for this year!
Suit's been put away and the bank balance is still in tact!

Today I like the look of Hootananny in the Commonwealth Cup;
Ashadihan catches the eye in the Albany  and my roughie for the day - Dashing Star in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes (a rare flat runner for David Elsworth) with Ryan Moore taking the ride.

Tally Ho!

[WideWally]

Two Group Ones today - the Coronation Stakes & the Commonwealth Cup.

The Coronation Stakes has attracted some top quality fillies with outstanding recent form such as Ervedya (won Poule d'Essai des Pouliches), Irish Rookie (2nd Poule d'Essai des Pouliches), Found (2nd Irish One Thousand Guineas), Lucida (2nd English Two Thousand Guineas) & Arabian Queen (4 length winner of Gp3 Princess Elizabeth Stakes). I have a slight preference for Lucida but any of those five could win.

The Commonwealth Cup is being held for the first time. It is for three year olds over 6 furlongs. Hootenanny deserves to be favourite as the winner of the Gr1 Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf in USA last year. He also won the Windsor Castle Stakes at this meeting in 2014. However, there are a number of other chances including Adaay, Home of the Brave, Kool Kompany, Limato, Muhaarar, Anthem Alexander & Tiggy Wiggy. Some of these were tried over a mile recently & are dropping back in distance. I won't be betting on this race but if I were I may be tempted to have small each way wagers at huge odds on the French colts, El Valle & Goken.

[WideWally]

Muhaarar wins the Commonwealth Cup very easily from Limato & Anthem Alexander.

[WideWally]

Ervedya wins the Coronation Stakes from Found & Lucida in an exciting finish.

[WideWally]

Final day of the Royal Ascot meeting later today.

There is just the one Group One, the six furlong Diamond Jubilee Stakes. In my opinion, Brazen Beau is better than these. However, some horses don't find their best form when they travel halfway around the world but if Brazen Beau is 100%, he will win.

[WideWally]

Before today, we all knew that Craig Williams is the World's Stupidest Jockey. He has just proved it once again. What an idiot!

[WideWally]

Jack Hobbs scores an easy win in the Irish Derby.

[beamer]

RIP Kauto Star - one of the few horses that transcended the sport. He and Denman were the Messi and Ronaldo, Federer and Nadal, or Lara and Tendulkar of jump racing...

[Merlin]

Being a jumps racing fanatic, I am absolutely gutted at the news about Kauto Star.

I saw Kauto win the Ascot Chase (08) two King Georges (08 and 09) and the most prestigious of all,
the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2009.
He jumped like a stag and never ever gave up the fight all the way to the winning post.
It was a thrill just standing there watching the majesty of his jumping and his amazing acceleration
(especially up the Hill at Cheltenham) where others toiled in his wake.

Four KG VI's; two Gold Cups; two Tingle Creeks and an Ascot Chase - just 9 of his 16 Grade One victories.

Where Denman was the Panzer tank who just jumped his rivals into the ground,
Kauto was the sublime Rolls whose taking of his fences was inch perfect and the timing of
his acceleration most sublime.

We will not see another of his sort ... just as we we'll never see another Frankel on the Flat ....
..... not for a long long time.

[WideWally]

Outstanding field in the Irish Champion Stakes later today. All 8 runners have won at Group/Grade One level. Golden Horn is the favourite & will be opposed by Cirrus Des Aigles, Free Eagle, The Grey Gatsby, Gleneagles, Highland Reel, Found & Pleascach.

[WideWally]

Zabeel has died in New Zealand aged 29. He was a top class racehorse & an outstanding stallion.

On the track he won 7 races including the Australian Guineas, Craiglee Stakes, Moonee Valley Stakes & Alister Clark Stakes.

At stud, he sired more than 150 stakeswinners including Octagonal, Might And Power, Efficient, Maldivian, Savabeel, Railings, Jezabeel, Sky Heights & Vengeance Of Rain.

[horace]

aye vale Zabeel...

but meanwhile welcome to the world a foal from Black Caviar

[WideWally]

In a couple of hours time we will see the running of 2015 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. The champion mare Treve will be attempting to win it for the third successive year & is the even money favourite. Others in the market include New Bay, Golden Horn, Free Eagle, Flintshire, Found & Erupt.

Should be a terrific race.

[WideWally]

The Epsom Derby winner, Golden Horn, has won the Arc.
Flintshire was second - the same as last year.
New Bay finished third & Treve was fourth.

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