Day Four was an up and down day at Royal Ascot. Tahiyra, tipped up by me three times, won in a messy race. And King of Steel proved his run in the Derby wasn’t a fluke. Today is the final day of what has been an incredible meeting, let’s finish on a high. Here are my Day Five picks.
Scroll down for Selections on all seven races, live on ITV Racing and Sky Sports Racing.
ROYAL REPEAT
NAP: Queen Elizabeth Jubilee Stakes (GROUP ONE) – ROHAAN @ 10/1 (10Bet, William Hill, Boylesports, BetUK)
Rohaan always seems to come alive at the Royal meeting. Two Wokingham’s, two wins. But now he’s too high for the handicap, but those two were just as good as Group One performances, and shouldn’t’ have trouble here. People may say that he is punching above his weight with the likes of the Aussie Artorius, and the Hong Kong raider Wellington, but I think he holds his own, especially when he’s at Ascot. His record is 4 wins out of six at the Berkshire track, and he finished fourth in a Group One last year. And, dare I say, the draw might suit him.
Watch out for Kinross, who had a stellar season last year with many trips over the seven furlongs. He dropped back to six in the Champions Sprint Stakes here and wowed with an eye-catching performance. He’s been overtaken in the market by the two international raiders, and Highfield Princess, but he shouldn’t be discounted, particularly now with Frankie on form. Fourth-best in the market at 7/1 (Unibet, 10Bet, Betfred, William Hill).
PYLE IN TOP GEAR
E/W BET: Hardwicke Stakes (Group Two) – Pyledriver @ 13/2 (Unibet, BetVictor)
I can’t accept that Pyledriver is at that price, at course he loves, on ground he loves. He hasn’t been seen since winning the King George last year due to injuries and various setbacks, but William Muir and Chris Grassick love this horse, and won’t have run him unless he was 100% fit. He’s has lost to Hukum before, but he bounced back in the King George last year. He has some sketchy form when coming back of a break, but recently he’s been winning, and there’s no reason to say he can’t here.
HAGGAS IN THE HANDICAP
Handicap Best: Wokingham Stakes (Heritage H’cap) – Khanjar @ 11/1 (BetVictor, William Hill)
Looking at the pace map, it’s all over the shop, so draw may not matter. There is some pace coming out of stalls 25-28, and Khanjar can lock on to it from 24. Haggas has only sent out three runners, and ended up with a winner in Desert Hero. And the combination of Haggas, Crowley and Shadwell in a handicap should strike fear into their rivals. Plus his form makes for good reading; ran a good race at Hamilton (stiff track) and finished a length behind the winner. The cheek-pieces are on to sharpen him up, which is always a good sign. Plus a bit of C&D can’t go amiss.
Looking further down the market First Folio for James Ferguson makes appeal at 25/1 (General). He has won a heritage handicap, the Macmillan Sprint at York in 2021 and finished sixth in last year’s Wokingham. He’s been given the same handicap rating as he did, but Taylor Fisher takes 5lbs off him and might give him a chance to finish a bit closer than he did last time.
Another big price fancy is Kape Moss, who could provide a first Royal winner for Billy Loughnane. He rides for his father David, and claims a crucial 3lbs. Kape Moss may not have top class handicap form, but her last two races have been in listed company, and couldn’t just get to the winner at Haydock last time out. She’s well handicapped, and with a talented rider on board, she could spring a surprise at 28/1 (General).
