World Pool Tips: Royal Ascot preview and selections
Graham Cunningham puts forward his suggested World Pool plays for Royal Ascot.
Things we learned on day four:
You can set your watch by Porta Fortuna; Ryan didn’t need much whip but Fairy Godmother must own a magic wand to overcome all that Albany trouble; Vandeek, Bucanero Fuerte and Elite Status would have had to have been right on their game to beat Inisherin; Pasquier came out with the quote of the day when bemoaning the fact that Calandagan has “lost his balls; and a musty medley including ‘Speed Bonnie Boat’ and ‘Pack Up Your Troubles In An Old Kitbag’ remain ripe for binning from the post-racing bandstand singalong.
Now to a day five featuring two fiery sprints and culminating with a suitably glorious grind…
Chesham Stakes (2.30)
Fairy Godmother restored some order to the royal meeting juvenile chaos in the Albany and maybe Bedtime Story is cut from similar cloth. But this Listed contest has a hazy shape from where I’m standing and I suspect I’ll be treading quietly in the day five opener.
Hardwicke Stakes (3.05)
What price CONTINOUS ends the season being talked of every bit as highly as Aidan’s other older middle distance stars Gus and Luxembourg? This lad bolted up in the Voltigeur and St Leger before running a blinder for fifth in the Arc after a choppy run in the straight. He’s a G1 colt in a G2 race with no penalty and he looks bound to be hard to beat here, with Middle Earth and possibly Candleford making more appeal than most as the prime Q contenders.
QEII Jubilee Stakes (3.45)
No Aussies to spoil the sprint party but the old British faces – including Kinross, Art Power and last year’s 80-1 winner Khaadem – take turns beating each other. It’s a 5-1 the field dash whichever way you slice it but siding with the new wave could pay dividends. SHARTASH looks a different horse since being gelded with Arch Watson, BELIEVING is bang in form after a fine Tuesday G1 fourth, WASHINGTON HEIGHTS is fast and aggressive enough to take them all deep into the race and Spencer will be aiming to repeat his late Curragh swoop on MITBAAHY if the leaders start to flag.
Jersey Stakes (4.25)
Round three between Haatem and RIVER TIBER and I’m with last year’s Coventry winner as he ran a belter after a long break when the pair filled the placings in Rosallion’s Irish Guineas and now has a 3lb pull . Haatem has been as rugged as they come – and maybe I’m being too cautious in wondering if he can keep going to the well – but I’m tempted to look elsewhere on the saver and Quinella hunt with NEVER SO BRAVE high on the short list. True, this lightly-raced No Nay Never colt has it to do rated 101 but he looked a smart horse in making short work of a Chester handicap and Sir Stoute (Expert Eye, Jeremy and the mighty Zilzal) knows exactly what’s needed to win this.
Wokingham Stakes (5.05)
Let’s not beat about the bush. This is a brain-burner with a capital B as usual but, as the great Harry Hill once said: “You’ve gotta have a system. And mine involves perming a few high drawn horses who appeal for varying reasons. ALBASHEER looked a right monkey on several occasions last year but Arch Watson has found the key to him and he’s very nicely treated on his smart AW form. DARK TROOPER’s turn of foot and strong Ascot form make him a very interesting raider for the Wathnan boys, while RUMSTAR is bang in form and STRIKE RED is the sort of quirky but highly capable sprinter who could take kindly to a cavalry charge like this.
The last laps…..
No strong views in the Golden Gates but a possible live ‘second string’ in the Queen Alex. Hand Of God has looked useful at a mile and promises to progress very well indeed on his debut over this longer trip in the GG, while Portsmouth has run very well despite being a bit too keen on his last two starts and can progress again if a stronger pace helps him settle here. Galileo’s fingerprints are all over the Queen Alex, including with last year’s winner Dawn Rising, but don’t be surprised if unexposed stablemate UXMAL (another son of Big G) has something to say about the nightcap, especially if the market starts to speak well for him.
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