The were plenty of relieved bookies after racing on Wednesday and fans of the sport will be looking to regain the initiative on Ascot Gold Cup on Thursday. We have all the best tips for the meeting to make sure you finish the day in profit.
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After the likes of So You Think and Shumoos were turned over at skinny odds, racing fans will be looking to bounce back to form and give the layers a Royal hammering on Thursday. After two days of sensational racing and breathtaking finishes, we now move onto Ascot Gold Cup day and racing fanatics are faced with another fiercely competitive card.
The Ribblesdale Stakes (3.05) looks a fascinating contest and although it doesn’t appear to be the best field that has ever been assembled, it remains an intriguing race.
Jim Bolger’s
BANIMPIRE (3/1,
Ladbrokes) will be a warm order in the Group Two contest and her quick reappearance after another victory at Cork on Sunday shouldn’t put punters off getting stuck in ahead of the race.
The selection has been in sensational form this season and it is unbelievable to think that she has already raced five and won four times in 2011. Her only defeat came when she finished a close up fifth in the Irish 1000 Guineas and she proved that was no fluke when she cruised home in the Group Three Noblesse Stakes at Cork just four days ago.
That was a seriously taking performance from the Irish raider and the way she travelled, quickened and then galloped to the line was impressive and she appeared to relish the step up to 1m4f. Jockey Kevin Manning said after the race that he never had to get serious on Banimpire and that she won easily so there shouldn’t be too much made of her busy schedule.
The daughter of Holy Roman Emperor could well be on her way to battling it out in the best Group Ones around this season so it would be no surprise to see her bolt up on Thursday.
Perhaps we have been spoiled in recent years, but the Ascot Gold Cup (3.45) doesn’t look quite the race it has been and the absence of last year’s winner Rite Of Passage means that there is an opportunity for a new staying champion to emerge from the pack.
Aidan O’Brien’s Fame And Glory tackles 2m4f for the first time and connections of the horse will be hoping that they have the new ‘Yeats’ on their hands in the shape of the multiple Group One-winning colt. The superstar certainly has the form over shorter distances in the book and he looks a class apart, but the Irish Derby and Champion Stakes winner hasn’t looked at his best in two Listed victories this season and there are huge doubts about him staying under the hands of Jamie Spencer.
The same can be said for
DUNCAN (6/1,
Coral) but the hugely talented and equally frustrating John Gosden inmate gave great encouragement to his followers with his recent Yorkshire Cup success. That was the first time the six-year-old has tackled a mile and three-quarters and he seemed to take it in his stride, despite racing keenly early on. He eventually won the race by half a length but jockey William Buick couldn’t pull the horse up after the line and there appeared to be plenty left in the tank as the horse made his way to the winner’s enclosure.
His pedigree suggests he could stay and he certainly has the ability to make an impact with an Arc trial success and a second to the mighty Harbinger in last year’s Hardwicke on his CV. He has plenty of pace and should run well if he handles the step up in trip.
The
Group Three Tercentenary Stakes (5.00) can go the way of Aidan O’Brien’s
MARKSMANSHIP (5/1,
Ladbrokes) who arrives at Ascot after a particularly taking display on his debut last month. Unraced as a juvenile, the son of Galileo was heavily backed before he won his Curragh maiden and the way he settled and led over a furlong from home was particularly taking. He clearly knew how to go about his business and he has plenty of scope for improvement.
After his debut victory, O’Brien was talking about the selection running in one of the Derby Trials so it is interesting that he has held onto him and waited for Royal Ascot and he has a number of Group One entries to his name. He is sure to go well for his master trainer and leading jockey Ryan Moore.
Nick Wilby’s selections:
3.45 –
Duncan (6/1,
Coral)
