Today we have a detailed analysis and selections for today's Victoria Cup from Nick Hardman who is a contributor at the Betting Insiders Club…

This Saturday sees a cracking renewal of the Victoria Cup run over a straight 7 furlongs at Ascot.

As you would expect from a big field handicap, this race has thrown up some decent priced winners including Excellent Guest @25/1 last year, Dandy Boy @16/1 in 2010 and Swift Gift @25/1 in 2009.

This is the type of race where there is no harm in taking a few against the field with several bookmakers paying 5 places.

It is also the kind of race that can take a great deal of deciphering so let’s take a look at the profiles of the typical winners from the last 15 renewals:

– Only 3 of the last 15 favourites have won (3 from 17 if you include joint favourites)
– 11 of the last 15 winners were aged 4 or 5 years old
– Only 1 of the last 15 winners had an official rating in the 100’s
– 8 of the last 15 winners had an official rating of 92 – 96 (6 winners were rated <90) - 11 of the last 15 winners had previously won at the distance - 10 of the last 15 winners came from the top 6 in the betting - 9 of the last 15 winners had last raced 8 – 30 days previously - Only 3 of the last 15 winners won after a break of 120 days or more If we are looking for a horse that ticks plenty of the boxes above then Luca Cumani’s 4 year old colt Ayaar @16/1 fits the bill quite nicely. Formerly trained by Mick Channon, Ayaar is a four time winner at 7f and was once rated 102. Now in the hands of Cumani he ran a decent race on his stable debut finishing 3rd behind re-opposing Georgian Bay and Glen Moss. I’m expecting him to come on for that run and racing here off 97 he may be well treated off his current mark. Others who have a similar profile include Brownsea Brink, Flyman and Purcell. Brownsea Brink may fare best of the three with Flyman yet to win beyond 6f and Purcell needing to show he is as good on turf as he is on the AW. One who could be very well handicapped at a big price is Don’t Call Me @33/1 for Dandy Nicholls. This horse has lots of good form over 7f to 1m. He also has course figures of 1433126469. Those last 4 runs at Ascot are hardly inspiring but we should take a closer look. In July 2010, Don’t Call Me won the Dubai Duty Free Handicap off a mark of 84. The following year he was 3rd of 30 in a Class 3 handicap off a mark of 88, a race won by Captain Ramius. In 2012 he was an excellent 3rd of 30 in the Royal Hunt Cup. He finished that year by winning a decent class 2 handicap at the course @25/1 off an official rating of 96. That was the last time he won a race. A month later he ran 2nd of 14 @16/1 in a heritage handicap off a mark of 102. A winter campaign in Meydan saw his rating rise to 107 and the best of his recent runs was when 4th of 28 in the Royal Hunt Cup (again at an unfancied 25/1) this time last year off a mark of 102. Since then his official rating has dropped to 95 and if recapturing some of his previous spark he could well outrun his massive odds. A slight negative is his age (7 years old). However, Excellent Guest won this race as a 6yo last year and Global Village won at the age of 7 in 2012. His best runs at the course have been in the Royal Hunt Cup over 1 mile. It may be he is better at that distance but he does have form at 7f including a win, a second and a third place finish at Ascot. He is also top of the Racing Post Ratings and also has the highest speed rating (although I am not sure when this was achieved). This could be a horse past his prime and his turf reappearance run at Haydock was well below par. However, he may also be a horse who has a decent run left in him back down to his last winning mark. I have had a couple of quid each-way @40/1 last night (clipped into 33’s following final declarations). Another couple from the older brigade who could run well at a price are last year’s winner Excellent Guest @20/1 and Belgian Bill @25/1. However they have to overcome absences of 203 and 224 days respectively and that is slightly off-putting. Excellent Guest won this race off 2lb higher on his seasonal reappearance and despite his woeful form figures since, it would be folly to dismiss him out of hand. Belgian Bill goes well here with a 4th in the Britannia in 2011, a creditable 7th in the Buckingham Palace Stakes in 2012 (having run 2 days earlier in the Royal Hunt Cup) and a win in the Royal Hunt Cup last year. It’s a tough ask on his seasonal debut but don’t be surprised to see him put in a bold bid. Selection: Ayaar @16/1 e/w (5places) Bet Victor Lively outsider: Don’t Call Me @33/1 e/w (5 places) Now 20/1 Bet 365
(Since we wrote this Pricewise have selected Don't Call Me and the price has crashed !)

Not to be underestimated: Belgian Bill @33/1 Bet Victor and Excellent Guest @25/1 Bet Victor