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Timeform Daily View | Saturday preview and tips
Timeform provide an overview of the key things to note ahead of Saturday's action while the tip of the day runs at Ascot.
Three points of interest
O’Brien looking for a change of luck in King George
The King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes in one of the feature Group 1s of the season, and is worth over £700,000 to the winner, so it is rather surprising that Aidan O’Brien has only won the race four times in his career, the latest of those being Highland Reel in 2016.
However, he has excellent claims of making it five wins this weekend with three runners, notably recent Prince of Wales’s Stakes winner Auguste Rodin, and Coronation Cup victor Luxembourg.
Both ran in the race 12 months ago, the former starting favourite but finishing stone last, while Luxembourg ran creditably to finish fourth on ground which placed too much emphasis on stamina for him.
Conditions are set to be much quicker on Saturday, which will suit both of O’Brien’s ‘big two’, and on the back of his very encouraging win at Royal Ascot, it is no surprise to see Auguste Rodin installed a short-priced favourite.
Admittedly, he does have it in his locker to throw in a stinker, but he seemed liberated by more positive riding tactics last time, and was always holding off his rivals once hitting the front. Auguste Rodin doesn’t do much once out on his own, but he is clearly a horse that possesses an abundance of ability and, if turning up at his best, a seventh top-level success surely beckons.
Is there another Rosallion lurking in Pat Eddery Stakes?
The Pat Eddery Stakes has a good roll of honour in recent years, and last season’s renewal was an absolute cracker, with Irish 2000 Guineas and St James’s Palace winner Rosallion leading home subsequent Group 1 winners Ancient Wisdom and Sunway amongst other smart types.
This year’s edition has a much smaller field, with just five runners set to go to post, but there is plenty of potential in amongst them, notably the John & Thady Gosden-trained Chancellor.
He has an excellent pedigree, being by Kingman and out of Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf winner Queen’s Trust, and he looked well above average when making a winning debut at Doncaster earlier this month.
Chancellor attracted support in the betting and overcame inexperience to make a winning start, impressing with how quickly he cut through the pack having still had plenty of work to do from three furlongs out.
He had hit the front on entering the final furlong and readily moved clear, showing signs of greenness once in front on his own but just kept up to his work. Chancellor will have no problem staying seven furlongs and looks a really bright prospect – he has the Timeform Large ‘P’ attached to his rating, denoting he’s open to significant improvement.
Midgely looking for yet another winner in “Jump Jockeys’ Nunthorpe”
Paul Midgely has won the Sky Bet “Jump Jockeys’ Nunthorpe” Handicap three times in the last six years and he is once again well represented in this years renewal with three runners.
Bikenhead and Jonathan England took the spoils in 2022, so they have to be respected in the hunt to regain the crown from the same mark, especially arriving in top form, but Strong Johnson is starting to look too well treated to ignore now, and he caught the eye on his latest run at Thirsk.
That was a useful affair that included a few veterans and was won by an improving, well-bred three-year-old, but Strong Johnson shaped well back in fifth. He hasn’t won since November 2023, but he was well supported, and he ran a cracker with a view of dropping back down to five furlongs given he only gave way late on.
This is also an easier grade of handicap, so with this sharp five furlongs expected to suit well, and now 8lb below his last winning mark, he should give Sam Twiston-Davies an excellent spin.
Tip of the Day
Friendly Soul – 14:25 Ascot
Flags: Horse In Focus, Top Rated
Friendly Soul is bred in the purple and she made the perfect start to her career when making a winning debut over a mile at Kempton in December, displaying a nice change of gear to quicken into the lead under two furlongs out and just kept up to her work under a hands-and-heels ride in the closing stages.
She looked a bright prospect when following up in the Pretty Polly Stakes at Newmarket in May, finding a jolt of improvement to keep the odds-on favourite at bay. Friendly Soul again travelled and quickened well that day, so it was bitterly disappointing when she failed to beat a rival home in the Musidora Stakes at York last time.
However, she was ridden much more patiently there, while she may have also found the race coming too soon just 10 days after her Newmarket success. She wasn’t persevered with once held and, given how impressive she had looked previously, it would be unfair to judge her on that effort alone. Friendly Soul represents top connections and will likely prove hard to beat if bouncing back to her best.
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