Hi all,
Inside today’s main piece, you’ll find the second part of my review of Royal Ascot 2024. Today, I’m looking at Saturday’s action. Plus, there are a handful of future Royal Ascot winners and my verdict on this year’s event.
Royal Ascot 2024 Review – Part 2
Saturday: Day 5
Bedtime Story looked like an excellent prospect when winning the Listed Chesham Stakes by an impressive 9 ½ lengths. A daughter of Frankel out of Group 1-winning sprinter Mecca’s Angel, she’s bred to be top-class. Jockey Ryan Moore had difficulty pulling her up after the race, showcasing her stamina. While visually impressive, the time wasn’t great, and her closing sectional of 104.10 suggests she didn’t face much competition. Nonetheless, she’s capable of much better.
I mentioned in Monday’s column that 5/1 for next year’s 1,000 Guineas for her stablemate Fairy Godmother was ridiculous. Well, the 11/4 about Bedtime Story is pure madness. One takeaway from the race—and indeed the week—is that the Aidan O’Brien fillies look well ahead of the colts at this very early stage of the season.
Isle Of Jura produced a career-best to win the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes. Trainer George Scott hoped the 4-year-old would prove up to this level, and he was spot on. In a race where it paid to be ridden prominently, Isle Of Jura’s mile-and-a-quarter speed was beneficial. He’s a very likeable and genuine racehorse and deserves a chance in next month’s King George. You could see what the win meant to jockey Callum Shepherd. I wonder if the Gredleys were watching?
Khaadem Lands Back-to-Back Jubilee Stakes
The Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes was run at a fast pace, suiting the winner, who also got the fast ground he needs over 6f for the first time since winning here 12 months ago. While Khaadem was the best horse on the day, it shows how weak the older sprinters are. The division is ripe for one of the 3-year-olds, most likely Inisherin, to dominate. And oh boy, does the division need it.
Royal Ascot Eyecatchers
Here are my three Royal Ascot future winners:
Alsakib – Andrew Balding
Back in handicap company for the first time since winning the Old Rowley Cup at Newmarket last October, the 4-year-old did best of the hold-up horses when finishing a good 2 ½ length 4th of 16 to Belloccio in the Copper Horse Handicap. He proved his stamina for 1m 6f and might well be worth a try at two miles. It was a good effort under a big weight, and he should be up to winning a handicap off his present mark.
Holloway Boy – Karl Burke
Holloway Boy will have caught many eyes after his 2-length 5th of 29 to Wild Tiger in the Royal Hunt Cup on Wednesday. He got no run between the final two furlongs but finished strongly once in the clear. He hasn’t won since landing the Chesham Stakes on his racecourse debut here, and his best 3-year-old performance also came here when a close-up fourth in last year’s Jersey Stakes. Making his handicap debut here, quick ground clearly suits the 4-year-old. If they can keep him sound, he can land a nice handicap pot.
Indelible – Ralph Beckett
Indelible won a Lingfield maiden on her second juvenile start and improved again when defying a penalty to win a Doncaster novice on her return to action three weeks ago. A daughter of Shamardal out of Group 1-winning mare Midday, she’s bred to be top-class. She had a good chance off 91 on handicap debut and ran well when 3 ¼ length 4th of 30 to Soprano in the Sandringham Handicap on Friday. She won the race on the far side and can win off her present mark over a mile or even 1m 2f.
Before my Royal Ascot future winners here's my verdict of the five days.
Royal Ascot 2024 Verdict
Royal Ascot 2024 produced some great racing and was far more competitive than this year’s Cheltenham Festival. Take Saturday’s Jersey Stakes—the equivalent race at Cheltenham would have seen five or six runners, half of them trained by Willie Mullins. Instead, we had Haatem and River Tiber facing 18 rivals.
Looking at the Group 1s, the St James’ Palace and Coronation Stakes aside, the others were below standard. The three Group 1 sprints were poor. We had a good winner (Inisherin) of the Commonwealth Cup, but aside from the first two home, it was a weak race.
The least said about the other two sprints, the better. The Australian mare who won the King Charles III Stakes isn’t the best Australia has, but she was too good. Khaadem landing back-to-back Jubilee Stakes underscores the poor state of British sprinters.
Another downside is the meeting has too many races each day. We should return to a five-day meeting with six races per day. I love the Royal Ascot big field handicaps, but there are now just too many of them. I would also consider cutting down the field sizes for the handicaps. Do we really need 30-runner fields, or would a maximum field of twenty suffice?
From a punting perspective, I did something I have never done before: make a profit and a good return on investment on all five days. I worked hard over the five days and unusually, I got rewarded for my efforts. Settled weather over the five days helped me no end. That hard work was shared with ttose who joined Victor Value for Royal Ascot which makes it even sweeter.
Finally, credit to the Ascot Clerk of the Course for producing genuinely fast summer ground over the five days.
Like yesterday, I’m happy to sit out today’s action.
Good luck with your Tuesday bets,
John