
We head into the final day of Royal Ascot having witnessed some Group racing of the highest order this week and there’s still more to come. For Day 5 of the Royal meeting I’ve got three selections for you that I feel quite strongly about, and I’m hoping we can finish the week in style.
My best bet of the day comes in the Hardwicke Stakes, but I also have two selections coming from the Jubilee Stakes and the Jersey Stakes. I’ll be playing these as singles, doubles and a treble in search of some extra value for Saturday.
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My NAP selection for Saturday comes in the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes and I am really looking forward to this race. Middle Earth was firmly put in his place by current market leader Continuous when they met at Doncaster last year, but he did bounce back to win on his final start of the season. He progressed further on his four-year-old debut when just holding on to win the Ascot Park Stakes. He has been given a mark of 115 for that effort and he is open to plenty more improvement on his second start of the season, but I feel he still has a fair bit to find with Continuous here.
As you might have guessed by now, the only winner I see here is Continuous. He rates 5lb higher than Middle Earth and could be an even better prospect as a four-year-old. This race will be his seasonal debut, which comes after a break of 265 days, but there’s no doubt in my mind that Aiden O’Brien will have him ready to go. Continuous stays well, he has plenty of finishing speed and his form behind Arc winner Ace Impact is the best on offer here. I think he will be tough to beat in the Hardwicke.
Next up we have the Jubilee Stakes and this is a cracker. Shartash is two for two this season for Archie Watson and Wathnan Racing. This will be a step up in class for him, but it’s highly unlikely that he has reached the ceiling of his ability just yet. He looks well worth a crack in Group 1 company and could be a solid each way bet here. Believing lines up for the second time this week, having finished fourth in the King Charles Stakes on Tuesday, and I wouldn’t put it past him to improve on that run, despite the rapid turnaround.
That said, I’m siding with the proven class act that is
Kinross
who is all set to run a huge race on his seasonal debut. He finished a close second in this race last year, and he will prefer the faster conditions he faces in this year’s renewal.
He is a proven Group 1 performer, who looked good last year and runs off a mark of 116 this time around. Kinross is a smart horse, who sets a very high standard at peak form. Assuming he turns up ready to go first time out, he will be a tough nut to crack.
My final selection of the day comes in the Group 3 Jersey Stakes. Ballydoyle’s River Tiber is the current favourite, following on from his third place behind Rosallion and Haatem in the Irish 2000 Guineas. That definitely gives him something to build on, and he does get a 3lb swing in the weights here. However, I’m not convinced by the decision to run him in a 7f race, I can see him being slightly vulnerable, and would have rated his chances much higher over the mile.
On the flip side, I feel Haatem is being underestimated. He managed to place in both the English Guineas and the Irish Guineas, but back over 7 furlongs I think we’ll see a better version of him and I believe he is going to be seriously hard to beat. He has more pace than River Tiber and despite the slight weight disadvantage, I see Haatem with his nose in front at the finishing line.
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