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Joni, I know you rate Arod and he has his mile with a bend but maybe not his ground. Will you be taking the 5/2 for Friday? Seems generous to me
I love Arod Wasps and would happily take those odds IF the ground was better. He has been really unlucky as it keeps raining just before he is due to run. He is a top of the ground horse and I am guessing he won’t even run. I quite fancy him for the Queen Anne but not for this race at those odds on this ground.
"this perfect mix of poetry and destruction, this glory of rhythm, power and majesty: the undisputed champion of the world!!!"
Whilst I am unable to have a bet myself, I wouldn’t put anyone off having a couple of quid on Imperial Aviator tomorrow in the French Derby. I don’t think the French colts are up to much this year and Foundation doesn’t like this ground. IA is untested on soft but didn’t mind ease at Newbury and I think he will cope.
£25ew Imperial Aviator – 8-1 – Prix De Jockey Club loser
"this perfect mix of poetry and destruction, this glory of rhythm, power and majesty: the undisputed champion of the world!!!"
Just home and straight back into it. Frankuus has drifted to a very bankable price…..
£50ew Frankuus – 3-1 – Haydock 7.45 winner 4-1
"this perfect mix of poetry and destruction, this glory of rhythm, power and majesty: the undisputed champion of the world!!!"
+£1,871.65
Back in the land of the living now and obviously delighted to see yet another win for the sire that is changing racing as we know it. 2016 will be remembered as the year the rules changed. I have a few monster bets coming up for next week but am just waiting for ground conditions to be clearer and NRNB.
"this perfect mix of poetry and destruction, this glory of rhythm, power and majesty: the undisputed champion of the world!!!"
So after a quiet time being away it’s time to come out with all guns blazing!!! I was going to wait until tomorrow to start posting Ascot bets but, with the deluge they had last night, there were some prices to be snapped up. There will be lots more to come but here are my 3 early meeting bankers.
In the Queen Anne I have taken the 6’s about Belardo. There are so many doubts about the favourite and many of the rest are ground dependent. Poor Peter Chapel Hyam must be wondering who he has upset up there as he can’t get the ground for Arod. But my selection has done very little wrong this year and won well last time. He won’t mind the conditions and the straight mile seems to suit.
In the St James Palace I am having the biggest bet of my life on The Gurkha. Such is the confidence I have in this horse I really think he should be odds-on. I have said it before but I really think he could end up being the second best Galileo ever. He oozes class andean go on any ground. I love Galileo Gold but he would surely want quicker ground so Awtad is the danger. I was impressed by him in Ireland but I think he is up against something special here.
Finally for now when Andre Fabre waxes lyrical about a horse everyone should take note. Usherette is the apple of his eye and she looks to have a straight forward task in the Duke of Cambridge.
£100ew Belardo – 6-1 – Queen Anne – Royal Ascot placed
£800 win The Gurkha – 13-8 – St James Palace Stakes – Royal Ascot lost
£300 win Usherette – 2-1 – Duke Of Cambridge – Royal Ascot winner
£10 win patent
£15ew treble"this perfect mix of poetry and destruction, this glory of rhythm, power and majesty: the undisputed champion of the world!!!"
Bloody weather, I’m on Waady at 20’s Kings Stand and Time Test 12’s Prince of Wales
So hoping the rain clears and the going isn’t too bad otherwise I’m thinking of lumping on The Gurkha in poor conditions the tricast looks a steal in that one to.Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
I toyed with backing Usherette at 5/1 but every time I went to pull the trigger she was in to shorter odds. I’ve missed the boat and will just watch this race but good luck with her.
It’s good to soft at the moment and more showers are forecast for the week. I think Galileo Gold has to be a lay if it gets soft.
I feel it might be tight between The Gurkha and Awtaad, I suspect they are the two best by a fair way and I opted for Awtaad at 4/1 as it seemed a value price. We’ll find out on Tuesday and I hope it’s a cracker.
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
I like Strath Burn in the big one at Salisbury today.
£50 win Strath Burn – 3-1 – 3.45 Salisbury loser
"this perfect mix of poetry and destruction, this glory of rhythm, power and majesty: the undisputed champion of the world!!!"
+£1,821.65
So it all kicks off today – my favourite meeting of the year and I’ll be there to watch The Gurkha show the world how good he is. I have said before that I think he is special and I think we will see him prove it today.
Such a shame about the weather though isn’t it? It has stopped me having some of the bets I was looking forward to like Arod in Queen Anne. But I have had a couple of small ew’s at big prices on horses that I hope will appreciate the soft ground.
Toormore handles it and he has drifted to a big price. I think he was ridden too handily in the Lockinge and a better ride might see him involved today. I hear good things about Psychedelic Funk and they say he will love the ground. I am also a big fan of Jungle Cat and think he will win a big one soon. He handles good to soft well and even ran well on soft for a long time at Newbury before fading in the final furlong over 6f. I am hopeful he will go well. Finally I think First Selection has an action that will help him on the ground and he could run into a place at a big price.
£25ew Toormore – 16-1 – Queen Anne lost
£35ew Psychedelic Funk – 11-2 – Coventry placed
£35ew Jungle Cat – 16-1 – Kings Stand placed
£25ew First Selection – 33-1 – St James lost
£2ew Lucky 15"this perfect mix of poetry and destruction, this glory of rhythm, power and majesty: the undisputed champion of the world!!!"
So sometimes this game can hit you right in the ball bag and that’s how I felt yesterday. The day started badly and got progressively worse! I arrived at the course during the most alrighty downpour and, despite my umbrella, was soaked by the time I reached the entrance. At the entrance my ticket kept saying invalid so I was passed from one ticket office to the next trudging through puddles and mud until I finally discovered that I had brought last years ticket with me!!! Thankfully my name was on the system so they let me in but the whole process took an hour and I barely had time to see the runners before the first race.
Then it was just a case of hitting the post repeatedly. Belardo and Toormore ran absolute crackers but you have to take your hat off to that American horse who must be some beast to win despite all the obstacles she had to overcome. Then I had a 3rd with Psychedelic Funk which was OK considering the winner is clearly an exceptional horse and I got a good run for my money from Jungle Cat who will win one of these sooner or later. Then it was the big one. The race of the week for me. I have been bold and brash about The Gurkha so getting beat was a real choker. I have written about it on the Royal Ascot page and I really don’t want to moan anymore. This game is called Horse Racing. There are horses involved but there are also jockeys who have to race them. Someone the other day said on the Hayley Turner thread that jockeys count for only 10% but how important that 10% can sometimes be. No complaints about the winner. Yes Frankie gave it a good ride and was in position A throughout but the horse gave him everything and you can’t take anything away from him. It is ironic that my biggest bet was foiled by my favourite trainer!! As I was driving to course I was visualising how I thought the race might go (I’m sad like that) and in none of those scenarios did I ever see Ryan sitting out the back on TG. It seems to be his preferred tactics in the big races now and perhaps he has to ask himself if it is always the best tactic. All the journo’s in the RP this morning have said the same thing but it is not easy making up lots of ground in a short straight on that sort of ground. Ok he got checked but even so, in a small field, he should surely have kept it simple. Now he still might not have won, but my frustration lies in the fact that we have to talk about jockey tactics rather than just celebrating the winner and I honestly don’t feel like I got a proper run for my money.
Of course I was so bullish about the horse before that anyone who reads this thread would be forgiven for thinking “well if he was as good as you were making out he should have won anyway” and I wouldn’t blame you. I was disappointed that he didn’t make up the ground quicker, but again i can’t help feeling that whilst he went ok on the ground it blunted his speed and that turn of foot that we saw in France. I honestly still think we are looking at a 130+ horse and I am certain connections think that as well. There were some very glum faces in the runners-up spot not least Ryan himself. But seriously well done to GG and Frankie and Hugo P. A great combination and they must feel so happy especially after what happened in Ireland. The rematch in the Sussex will be fascinating but I also hope they think about The Eclipse for The Gurkha.
Anyway today is another day and I am always one for trying to bounce back. Usherette can get me out of trouble if she wins the Duke Of Cambridge and elsewhere on a card made very tricky with the ground I have mostly gone for 2 horses per race.
I was planning on backing Castle Harbour all month but I am not so sure he will handle these conditions as well as some of the others. So I am on Ribchester, who has top class form, goes on the ground and carries a lot of confidence, and Gifted Master, who I think is better suited by 7f and also handles conditions. I’ll leave Queen Mary alone, then it is Usherette, then I have had a small ew on Western Hymn who will handle the ground and might beat Found for second behind the Japanese beast. In the Royal Hunt I have always planned on backing Convey and he has now drifted to a bankable price as no-one is sure if he will go on the soft. I think it is worth taking the chance. I have backed Mitchum Swagger as well as I know they think a lot of him and he like soft. My worry is that he ran a stinker last time when the stable was out of form. In the last I am on the Queen’s filly Diploma and a horse that would have been one of my bets of the week if the ground had been better, Mix and Mingle. She was unlucky not to finish closer in the Guineas and has the class to take this. The unknown is the ground and she might not run but if the sun stays out it might just have dried enough by 5.30 to help her run well.
£25ew Ribchester – 8-1 – Jersey winner
£25ew Gifted Master – 8-1 – Jersey lost
£25ew Western Hymn – 14-1 – POW lost
£25ew Convey – 10-1 – Royal Hunt lost
£25ew Mitchum Swagger – 16-1 – Royal Hunt placed
£25ew Diploma – 9-1 – Sandringham placed
£35ew Mix and Mingle – Sandringham non runner
30p ew lucky 31 all the above plus Usherette"this perfect mix of poetry and destruction, this glory of rhythm, power and majesty: the undisputed champion of the world!!!"
With Mix and Mingle a non-runner I have gone for Dolce Strega.
£25ew Dolce Strega – 14-1 – Sandringham lost
"this perfect mix of poetry and destruction, this glory of rhythm, power and majesty: the undisputed champion of the world!!!"
+£1,937.08
A very nice day with a decent profit to cancel out yesterday. Usherette was awesome – if only I’d had £800 on her instead of The Gurkha hey?! She is a Group 1 filly in waiting. I thought I was slightly unlucky with Mitchum Swagger who finished like a train after weaving through the entire field! Ribchester franked the Guineas form in no uncertain terms and wasn’t that American filly amazing!!! Be back later with tomorrow’s bets. Time to kick on again now!!!
"this perfect mix of poetry and destruction, this glory of rhythm, power and majesty: the undisputed champion of the world!!!"
Good pick with Mitchum Swagger mate, was one I picked too, certainly could have won but that’s big field handicaps for you and why we always play e/w in them!
I think you were unlucky with The Ghurka too, though I don’t blame the jockey. I think it was just a set of circumstances which led to it not winning. First it fell out which doesn’t help when you lose 5 lengths to the eventual winner, then not only it fell out but it was stall 1 so got stuck inside. Ryan could have tried to barge his way through the field but I think Aiden and Ryan know they’ve got a good’n on their hands and didn’t want to ruin the horses season in the St James Palace on soft ground. I mean yeah it’s Royal Ascot but hardly the biggest 1m Group 1 of the season. Just make sure you win the money back next time he runs!
Good pick with Usherette too, thought she may have been flattered last time with her other rivals not being 100% fit but she duly proved me wrong, top filly that.
Good luck tomorrow mate.
Thanks Ben – spot on comments with The Gurkha. Stall 1 was always a potential problem and yes he wasn’t given the hardest ride in the end as he was mostly hands and heels til the last half furlong. Don’t worry – I am keeping the faith! Really good to hear from you – thanks for contributing.
"this perfect mix of poetry and destruction, this glory of rhythm, power and majesty: the undisputed champion of the world!!!"
How do you rate the chances of ‘We Are Ninety’ Joni…?
Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
Don’t worry Joni Frankel’s babes are out soon Queen Kindly in the Albany on Friday (currently around 7/1) and Cunco and Frankuus in the Chesham, that’s going to be great seeing them race against each other, I think Cunco will come out on top.
Architecture must be on your top list for tomorrow Joni in the Ribblesdale, only danger Even Song but if Ryan Moore holds her up in rear again she could find Hugo’s girl has flown.
Royal Ascot is the most miserable place when it rains, the only time I went we were soaked through by the time we had walked through the tunnel to the Grandstand and didn’t see a thing in the first race because we got stuck behind someone putting all their bets for the day on at the Tote. It was Gold Cup Day and we had to watch Yeats winning on the TV in Ladbrokes. I vowed to only return if I could be in the Royal Enclosure so guess that’s me scuppered..LOL.
I love the first day at Royal Ascot and lucky you seeing Tepin I thought she looked wonderful, bad luck with your bet on The Gurkha, you had a lot of faith in him but we’ve all been there, he ran a good race.
Good luck Thursday..Jac
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