I’m pleased to say that after a challenging spring - a wet March exacerbated by a cold April - our horses are in much better form as we head into Royal Ascot. There’s still no getting away from the weather though as the change in forecast means those needing juice in the ground will be staying at home.
As a result we’re light on runners over the first two days of the meeting, though numbers should increase later in the week.
MR CHAPLIN, our only Tuesday runner, bids to get us off to a flying start in the Coventry. He was in need of his debut at Newmarket, shaping encouragingly to finish fourth, and appreciated the step up to six furlongs when winning decisively at Newbury a month ago.He travelled smoothly in a prominent position and pulled readily clear, looking very professional in the process to register a first success for his sire Without Parole, winner of the St James’s Palace six years ago.
He’s done well since and hopefully can outrun his big odds - at the time of writing he’s available at 33-1, around three times the price of the horse who won the HQ race over five furlongs on the back of a previous run. Indeed our colt fared best of the newcomers that day.
We are set to be double-handed on Wednesday, starting with old favourite SONNY LISTON in the Royal Hunt Cup, in which he finished second last year, with Jimi Hendrix winning for a memorable stable one-two.
He’s got an 11lb higher mark to defy this time, yet put up a career-best performance to win on seasonal debut at Newbury last month for which he’s gone up 6lb so deserves his position at the head of the weights.
A year ago we put first-time blinkers on him to sharpen him up, but he did it so well without headgear on his reappearance that we’re happy to let him run ‘unaided’ again.
It’s a tough ask giving all that weight away, but these big-field handicaps are his raison d’être as a strong gallop and getting cover are important to him.
I’m very hopeful about the chance of DOHA in the Kensington Palace, a mile handicap for fillies and mares. She has a pedigree to die for, by Guineas-Derby-Arc winner Sea The Stars out of dual Arc heroine Treve.
She won her maiden over a mile last backend and a fast-run race back down to this trip looks the right move after she was too keen for her own good on reappearance in a five-runner handicap at Haydock last month.
That run should have taken the freshness out of her and although this will be only her fifth start, she remains potentially well handicapped given her illustrious breeding.