Royal Ascot: Day Five – 24/06/2023
We have reached the final day of Royal Ascot and we have just 7 of the 35 races left to go. There have been some Royal Ascot meetings in recent years where the Saturday card has been underwhelming, but not this year. Don’t forget to check out our teams’ thoughts on the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes and the Hardwicke Stakes. Alongside those, our team of Racing experts have also found 3 more selections to round the week off in style.
2:30 – Chesham Stakes (Listed Race)
Like many of the 2-year-old contests this week, Aiden O’Brien looks to hold the key to this race. Buttons, Pearls and Rubies and Content all made pleasing debuts in Ireland and are obviously open to natural improvement on their second starts, but none of them set an insurmountable target and so we will stick with one of the home team instead. La Guarida built on a promising debut at Newmarket by winning with any amount in hand at Goodwood4-weeks ago. Travelling widest of all, she was the last horse to come off the bridle and powered away to win by over 2-lengths, recording a time figure of 100 in the process. The form of that race has worked out well with both Hellfire Bay (3rd) and Neverstopdreaming (4th) winning on their next starts. The yard hasn’t won this race since 2009 but she comes into it with a live chance on the basis of her Goodwood run and the step up to 7-furlongs shouldn’t be any cause for concern based on her breeding.
3:05 – Jersey Stakes (Group 3)
Although it is a Group 3 contest, this is one of the rare opportunities for genuine 7-furlong horses to run at the highest level and this years’ race looks to be a very strong renewal on paper. The best placed to start is with the unexposed pair of Covey and Enfjaar. The former has won his last 3 starts for the Gosdens and he made a a striking impression when making all to win the Silver Bowl Handicap at Haydock last month. He had previously raced in a hood, but that was left off for the Haydock run and it seemed to have no effect, as he settled nicely and powered clear of a good field when asked for his effort. The time was superb and although he is unlikely to get such an easy lead here, he should still run his race and there is always a chance that he is simply a class above most of his more exposed rivals.
Similar comments could be applied to Enfjaar, who has won both starts in his short career for Roger Varian. He beat the likes of Arabian Storm and Military Order when he made his debut at Newmarket in October and although the form of his comeback win at Chelmsford is nothing out of the ordinary, he readily put 6-lengths between himself and the rest of the field despite the 7lb winners’ penalty on his back. This is a marked step up in class, but at this stage of his career he could be anything and the time figures that he has produced would suggest that he is more than capable of winning a race like this.
Both Covey and Enfjaar have the potential to be superstars, but with their unexposed profiles and a string of 1s in their form, the market has found them and so we will take an each-way bet against them with Holloway Boy. The only win of his 6-race career came when he caused a shock to win the Chesham on his debut on this card 12-months ago, but he has run plenty of good races since, including when 3rd in the Vertem Futurity Stakes last October. Like many horses, he struggled to run his race in the 2,000 Guineas, but that run can easily be excused by the soft ground and back on a sound surface he makes a lot of appeal. His 9th placed run at Newmarket was the only time that he has failed to finish in the frame and with Karl Burkes yard in such good form, he makes a lot of each-way appeal.
6:10 – Queen Alexandra Stakes
The final race of the meeting and it’s the longest on the racing calendar. An extended 2-miles and 5-furlongs is a unique test and as you might expect, the jumps trainers have a superb record in this. In fact, they have won 8 of the last 12 running’s of the race with Willie Mullins landing the last 2 with Stratum. He is back in search of the hat-trick, but he ran a very flat race on his latest outing at Leopardstown and so he is probably worth opposing this time around. Instead, we will take a chance with Run for Oscar. Trained by Charles Byrnes, he is already a Cesarewitch winner and generally held his form well over hurdles during the winter. His 5th placed finish at the Curragh is easily excused as the 12-furlong trip was far too short for him and this marathon distance will be much more likely to suit. He is running here because his official rating of 101 put him out of the Ascot stakes, but on these terms, he looks a solid option to end the week in style.
