When Wesley Ward sends horses to Royal Ascot, he always keeps a close eye on the weather. His speedy invaders go to England looking for dry conditions, firm ground. This Royal Ascot meeting started off fairly dry, but midweek rained turned the course soft on Thursday, good-to-soft Friday, and the somewhat testing conditions might have been the undoing of two live Ward runners on Friday’s card.
Jungle Book and apprentice jockey Georgina McDonnell are a good partnership at this stage of the 4-year-old Australian-bred gelding’s career.
Jungle Book has won his last two starts, including a handicap at 1 1/4 miles at Wagga Wagga Racecourse on June 5. With the wins, Jungle Book has a higher official handicap rating, which equates to higher weight assignments.
McDonnell’s apprentice claim will give Jungle Book a much-appreciated break in the weights in a handicap at 1 1/4 miles at Wagga Wagga on Sunday.
The fifth and final day of Royal Ascot on Saturday sees Hugh Taylor with two advised bets.
Most of the conditions races at Royal Ascot on Saturday are priced up very much in line with my own tissue in each instance, but I did find a couple I wanted to back in the two sprint handicaps.
ARECIBO has his name written all over a big Ascot handicap at some stage, and whilst there have to be obvious concerns about his draw, he still looks primed for a big run in the Wokingham (4.10).
Simon Rowlands has three selections for Saturday at Royal Ascot.
The journey from hero to zero can be a short one, and if you believe some people PINATUBO is on his way along it. “Pinaturbo” has become “Pinatuboat” to the wags on social media.
Steady on, fellas! Last year’s unbeaten two-year-old champ does not suddenly become a three-year-old chump just because he finished third in what the clock says (but the Form Book has yet to confirm) was a good 2000 Guineas at Newmarket.
It’s hard to imagine what Stradivarius can do for an encore after winning his third straight Gold Cup at Royal Ascot in dazzling fashion.
The 2 1/2-mile Gold Cup prizes the stamina of a Thoroughbred, and Stradivarius has stamina for any flat-racing distance, but he won Wednesday showing a turn of foot a top middle-distance runner would appreciate.
Southern Legend is heading into the Hong Kong offseason with another hefty parcel of weight on his back.
In the Lion Rock Trophy Handicap on May 31, Southern Legend carried top weight of 133 pounds and was beaten a nose. Sunday, in the Group 3 Premier Plate Handicap at Sha Tin, Southern Legend again must lug 133 pounds and do so while racing 1,800 meters, perhaps a touch farther than his ideal trip.
The process behind finding the winner of a race can be as long or as short as one wishes to make it. It can be as simple as eeny, meeny, miny, moe or as complicated as an hours-long dive into every conceivable variable in search of relevant information.
The fourth day of Royal Ascot on Friday sees Hugh Taylor with four advised bets.
DURSTON is the interesting one on the prevailing ground in the Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes (Royal Ascot 4.40) on Friday.
He progressed well as a 3yo, doing very well to win a competitive 3yo handicap at Chester, clearly travelling best 2f out but shuffled back and forced to wait for a run.
Simon Rowlands tipped up 14-1 winner Hukum on Wednesday and has two selections plus analysis for Friday at Royal Ascot.
In a recent series of Timeform Q&As with former employees of the long-established horseracing-analytics company, intended to alleviate some of the boredom of lockdown and possibly to massage the egos of those involved, ex-staffer after ex-staffer queued up to tell the reader(s?) that the effect of the going was over-rated by professionals and public alike.
King of Hastings blitzed 12 rivals with a two-length win in the Gold Topaz Handicap at tiny Swan Hill Racecourse in Australia on June 6. King of Hastings is capable of big performances at more prominent venues.
The victory at Swan Hill for King of Hastings, the fourth in 10 starts, has led to an appearance in Saturday’s Creswick Stakes at six furlongs at Flemington Racecourse, the track famously known as the host of the Melbourne Cup each November.
