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Betting Update; Queen Mary Stakes – Royal Ascot, Agnus Loughran makes Don’t Tell Mary his favourite
Added: (Wed Jun 17 2009)
2.30 - Jersey Stakes
Jeremy Noseda likes the Jersey, having won the Group 3 twice in the last 7 years, and the booking of Johnny Murtagh should do wonders for the prospects of his Awinnersgame here. He finished 6th in the Coventry last year when shaping as if he would get further and that has proven the case, having never finished out of the top 3 on his four UK starts over 7 furlongs to date. I think a return to that trip here should do the world of good and with the stable finding some form at just the right time, I expect a solid run for your money.
3.05 - Windsor Forest Stakes
Sir Michael Stoute has an awesome record in the Windsor Forest and I think that Heaven Sent can go one better than last year’s second and capture the Group 2 this time around. Stoute has trained the winner or runner-up of this race on 4 of its 5 runnings and one of these was with Heaven Sent in 2008, who only found one too good for her then. She has never finished out of the top 3 in her 4 runnings at Ascot and preparation has gone well, having landed the Group 3 Dahlia Stakes at Newmarket on her only appearance this season. She should have every chance for an in-form team of Stoute and Ryan Moore.
3.45 - Prince of Wales's Stakes
The Prince of Wales’s has an absolutely stellar winners list and the French raider Never On Sunday looks capable of putting himself in esteemed company by landing the stand-out race on day 2. The 4 year old has won 4 of his last 5 starts, culminating in landing the Group 1 Prix d’Ispahan by a length at Longchamp last month, and hasn’t stopped progressing throughout his career. There are doubts over what he has actually beaten so far but the 1m 2f trip should not be a problem and Mr. Rouget would not send him over if he did not think he was capable of holding his own against this calibre of opposition – and I think he can too.
His biggest danger could be another French visitor, Vision D’Etat, who has only been beaten twice in 9 career starts and the ’08 French Derby winner looked like getting back to his best when landing the Group 1 Prix Ganay in April. He is another who will not shy away from this trip and is not opposed lightly.
4.20 - Royal Hunt Cup
The traditional manic mile dash of the Royal Hunt Cup is quite a spectacle and as you would expect the huge field throws up some big price winners, with 5 of the last 7 returning at double figure odds. However, this year I am going with one of the more fancied runners in the shape of John Gosden’s Cadre, who has flattered to deceive on occasion but is undoubtedly talented. He was an impressive winner of a Yarmouth handicap on his seasonal reappearance and is nicely weighted, while the going should play into his hands too. The 4 year old is just the sort I want to be siding with in these big sprint handicaps.
4.55 - Queen Mary Stakes
A competitive looking 2yo renewal, with 8 of the 13 runners having won last time out, but I have been particularly impressed with the unbeaten Don't Tell Mary from the Tom Dascombe yard. She did everything asked of her when winning at Bath and Beverley last month and the trainer is a long time admirer who has been priming her specifically for the Queen Mary since her last appearance on May 27th. She should be prominent in the market and rightly so.
5.30 - Sandringham Handicap
Another big handicap to end day 2 and as usual the draw could provide the biggest clues as to the likely winner. Therefore, I am going to cover two bases and pick a couple of horses drawn high and low in the shape of Damaniyat Girl (drawn 18) and Girl Again (2). The former, for the in form William Haggas stable, has master steerer Johnny Murtagh on board and ran a very impressive second behind Fantasia in the Nell Gwyn – she should be open to further improvement with this step up to a mile. The latter clearly loves Ascot, having recorded 2 wins from 3 in Berkshire and was a very handy winner of a Fillies’ handicap here just last month. This track experience should stand her in very good stead.
• All prices correct at time of writing.
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