We’re on a Group One roll at the moment, with the Irish Derby and Royal Ascot behind us. We now focus on Sandown and the Eclipse, won by greats like Sea The Stars and Golden Horn. Can a certain City Of Troy add his name to the roster, or is there a surprise in store? Find out in this week’s four to follow.
Sandown
Dreaming Of Winners
1:50 – Charge Sprint Stakes (Group Three) – Live In The Dream @ 3/1 (William Hill, BetVictor, Boylesports)
When you’re rated six pounds better than the rest, you’re expected to perform. And Live In The Dream is bound to do that today. He had an excuse at Haydock last time out after stumbling out of the stalls and was closing in on Kerdos in the Temple Stakes. Eyes may be on a retaining the Nunthorpe and this is a decent warm-up, particularly with a good outside draw.
To finish in behind, Purosangue is back to a level he can perform at. He’s coming back from a poor showing, but out of his depth, in the Group One King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot and to a level he can perform at. Good to Firm ground won’t suit him, so the added moisture in the ground is a plus with an outside draw too. 12/1 (General).
No Wooden Surprise
3:35 – Eclipse Stakes (GROUP ONE) – City Of Troy @ 4/11 (William Hill)
If you think that either Dancing Gemini or Ghostwriter can surprise the Derby winner, you’re wrong. This has to be one of the weakest renewals of a prestigious Group One, you’d expect City Of Troy to win on the bridle. With the International Stakes and a possible Breeders’ Cup challenge in sight, there’s more challenging races to come.
Haydock
Sir Mark’s Superstar
2:40 – Lancashire Oaks (Group Two) – Tiffany @ 9/4 (William Hill, Boylesports)
Tiffany is rightly favourite for this race, after her dominant win in last week’s Hopping’s Fillies Stakes. Going down the classic Sir Mark Prescott route, she was a handicapper last year before dominantly winning two Listed contests, then last week at Newcastle. Only three years ago Prescott won this race with Alpinista, and Tiffany aims to sparkle in her footsteps.
Forest Fairy also deserves a shout in her first race back after the Oaks. She never ran a bad race at Lingfield, but just didn’t suit Epsom. On a flatter track, with plenty of allowances on her back, Forest Fairy may be able to conjure something up at 17/2 (William Hill, BetVictor).
Chilly In July?
3:15 – Old Newton Cup Handicap – Chillingham @ 7/1 (William Hill)
This is always a very competitive handicap at this time of year. Chillingham is the pick for me in this year’s contest. He ran well last time out at York, despite the big margin between him and the top two. However, he’s still on a respectable mark, ground conditions will no doubt favour him and he can make haste from a wide draw over a mile-and-a-half.
Maghlaak is an incredibly well-bred horse and shouldn’t have been the plan to go handicapping at first. However, this half brother to Mutanasseq has been well-raced and won earlier on this season before a poor showing at Redcar. But he now has first time blinkers on and hopefully Saffie Osborne can be quick out of the gates to get some cover. Low in the handicap and a little overlooked at 12/1 (General).
Flash Bardot also won earlier on this season, and is back down to a respectable weight, two pounds above his last winning mark with a claimer on board. He’s been denied some clear runs in his next couple of starts and maybe a low weight in a big field handicap, plus a wide draw will help his chances. Long shot surprise at 25/1 (BetVictor).
The very best of luck!
