Aidan O’Brien has now saddled three winners (all in the last nine years) following Fairy Godmother’s escape act to win last year, but a setback means she has yet to be seen since. Godolphin, on the other hand, are still awaiting their first Albany victory, despite sending out some leading hopes.
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Meisho Tabura, dismissed at 13-1 in American pools, led throughout Sunday’s Grade 1 Takarazuka Kinen at Hanshin Racecourse in Japan to win for the first time in his career at the highest level in his fourth attempt. With the win, Meisho Tabura earned berths to world-class stakes in Australia and California later this year.
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Royal Ascot is all setup to be a great spectacle this year. The weather forecast is good, the fields look high-quality and competitive, and there are challengers from across the world. It’s a truly global racing event and it will no doubt be a very busy betting week with the World Pool.
Okay, the Buckingham Palace Stakes’ services were not required between 2015-2019 until it was brought back for the Covid year, but that was still a streak of 13 runnings where the winner was sent off at double-figure odds up until 12 months ago. So, this is a race where you might want to open up your mind.
Previously run over 1m4f, and also known as the Tercentenary Stakes for a few years, the Hampton Court was upgraded from Listed to Group 3 status 13 years ago, having been a 1m2f handicap since 2000, so only patterns from the turn of the century are of interest, from which point all nine fillies to run in the race have failed to make a meaningful impression.
For the last few seasons, off-course bookmakers have given their profits on the Britannia to charities. Featuring approximately 30 three-year-olds, the majority of which are unexposed and from top yards, for my money the Britannia Stakes is the most competitive (though not impossible) three-year-old handicap of the season.
As many as 18 of the last 19 winners have been very findable with just one winner (Trip To Paris at 12/1) sent off at bigger than 15/2.
The Ribblesdale isn't a massively strong trends race but it can still pay to look to a later-developing improver, as just seven winners in the last 30 years had been contesting Group races as a juvenile, so it boasts a very similar pattern in this respect to the colts' equivalent of this race at the Royal meeting in the King Edward VII Stakes.
A competitive handicap for three-year-olds over 1m4f. Regarding the draw, high numbers fared best last year, with Going The Distance in stall 18 beating Neski Sherelski in stall 19 (out of 20), meaning 11 of the last 14 winners have emerged from a double-digit stall since the revised numbering took place in 2011.
For whatever reason, the Norfolk Stakes has been a graveyard for favourite backers in more recent times as we have to go back to South Central in 2008 to locate the last successful market leader.
