Archive for the ‘Royal Ascot News’ Category

The St James’s Palace Stakes is the biggest race of day one on the Royal Ascot card. It’s a Group 1 event run over a trip of a mile and is open to 3 year olds. The race has been dominated by Aidan O’Brien in recent years – he has trained the winner of 5 of the last 9 renewals.

O’Brien has a strong contender once again with the odds on favourite Mastercraftsman. The trends below should help us decide if he’s backable price at around the 4/5 mark.

St James’s Palace Stakes Trends
6 of the last 10 favourites have won.

7 of the last 10 winners had won a Group 1 or Group 2 as a juvenile.

9 of the last 15 winners had previously won a Group 1.

Aidan O’Brien has won 5 of the last 9 renewals.

6 of the last 10 winners had won a European 2000 Guineas.

12 of the last 13 British and Irish trained winners had run in a 2000 Guineas.

St James’s Palace Stakes Conclusion
The trends certainly support Mastercraftsman’s case. He finished a very respectable 6th behind Sea The Stars in the English 2000 Guineas and then went on to destroy the field in the Irish equivalent. The only minor negative I can see is the fact he seems to thrive on heavy ground but then he has also won in decent fashion on good to firm as a 2yo.

The one I think is the value bet in the race is Sir Michael Stoute’s Evasive. There was very little between him and Mastercraftsman in the 2000 Guineas and at a best priced 6/1, makes more appeal to me than the 5/4 about the O’Brien runner. That was his first attempt at a mile, he’s fresher than most of these and there is very likely improvement to come.

Delegator could be the fly in the ointment. On his 1 and a half length 2nd to See The Stars at Newmarket, he’d be the one to beat. The problem is you need to forgive his run in the Irish 2000 Guineas. It was on heavy ground which probably wasn’t to his liking but it really was a shocking effort. I’d probably want a bit bigger than 4/1 about the chance he’ll come back to form in a race of this standard.

Suggested Bet
1pt win Evasive @ 6/1 with BlueSq

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The 2009 Royal Ascot meeting is almost upon us and we thought it was a good idea to share our top five Royal Ascot tips. The Royal Ascot meeting is one of the most popular in the British horse racing calendar and is just as well known for it’s high fashion and famous attendees as it is for the actual horse racing. Here are our five tips to make Ascot as enjoyable and profitable as it can be!

Ignore Aidan O’Brien at your peril
The O’Brien stable cleaned up at last year’s Royal Ascot meeting. The stable have been in fine form so far this season and I’d expect more of the same this time around even though stable jockey Johnny Murtagh is suspended for 2 days. Aidan O’Brien has a particularly good record in the Coventry Stakes having won with Henrythenavigator, Statute Of Liberty, Landseer, Fasliyev, and Harbour Master in recent years. He is represented by Steinbeck in the 2009 Coventry Stakes renewal and the horse warrants respect.

Prince of Wales Stakes a race for punters
A Group 1 race contested over 1m2f, the Prince of Wales stakes is a punter’s paradise with the last 8 winners all having been single figure odds. All winners had also won a Group 1 contest previously in that period. Look for horses that are proven at this trip.

Don’t be afraid of an outsider on Saturday
The Golden Jubilee Stakes, which takes place on the Saturday of the 2009 Royal Ascot meeting, is a race where you can look for a big priced runner to back with only one winning favourite since 1997 and many at very big prices in that period including last years winner Kingsgate Native at 33/1.

Watch your weight
Wednesday’s Royal Hunt Cup has seen only 2 winners carry more than 9st 5lbs to victory in the last decade. Similarly, Saturday’s Wokingham Stakes has produced just one winner carrying over 9st 6lbs in the last decade. Look for runners in both of these events that are carrying less than the weights stated and you’ll make your chances of winner finding a lot more likely.

Keep John Best on your side
Last year’s Royal Ascot was very special for trainer John Best with Flashman Papers winning the Windsor Castle Stakes at 100/1 as well as Kingsgate Native’s victory in the Golden Jubilee Stakes at 33/1. Although the Kent based trainer is sure to be on the radar of my punters this time around, his runners will likely still be available at decent prices when up against some of the bigger yards.

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Royal Ascot gets prize money increase
Prize money for the 2009 Royal meeting at Ascot has been increased by £450,000 to £4,450,000. The Golden Jubilee Stakes and Prince of Wales Stakes are increased by £75,000, while The St James’s Palace Stakes, Queen Anne Stakes, Kings Stand Stakes, Coronation Stakes and the Gold Cup all go up by £50,000.

 

Weather plays havoc with racing fixtures
The awful weather conditions this week have meant a number of meetings have been abandoned. Following Monday’s meetings at Taunton, Ludlow and even Wolverhampton’s all weather card succumbing to conditions, further fixtures throughout the week have been called off. Tuesday’s meetings at Leicester and Sedgefield are gone, Musselburgh and Fontwell are off on Wednesday and Thursday’s fixture at Hereford is doubtful.

 

Tolworth still undecided
The BHA are yet to make a decision on whether last weekend’s abandoned Tolworth Hurdle will be rescheduled for this weekend due to the current weather conditions. “With the forecast still being as it is, we are trying to leave a decision as late as possible to give it every chance of happening,” said British Horseracing Authority PR manager Paul Struthers.