And that means Platinum Jubilee Stakes!
They have watered Ascot again overnight and the weather is not expected to be as hot so the dress code will be back.
It's an interesting card. The first group race is the G3 Jersey Stakes which is quite open. Noble Truth Appleby-Buick is by Kingman and after a break during which he was gelded he won on resuming. He's 7/2 but all things will have to fall into place for him. 15 go to post.
Monaadah comes from the bin Suroor side and Jim Crowley will ride the son of Giant's Causeway. However his 3 wins to date have been on All Weather tracks and there is not a great history of runners moving to the turf in this race. Samburu is also by Kingman and runs for the Gosdens with Dettori keeping the ride and is fancied at 15/2 as if the filly Star Girls Almaal. We think the German raider Rocchigianni could be worth a bit of e/w for Schiergen-Murzarabayev on 11/1 – came second in the German Guineas recently.
The Hardwicke G2 is over 2400m with a field of 8. Hurricane Lane is a good horse but should he be odds-on? He's heading for a return to Longchamp for the Arc in October and this is a step on the path. Watch the price as it may improve. Our old friend Broome is in good form and aiming to do better than his second in this last year – Ryan Moore rides for O'Brien and they are on 5/1.
Solid Stone is from Sir Michael Stoute's yard with Richard Kingscote riding and they won at Chester. The only query is the trip as this is longer than his usual distance. 15/2 is a good e/w price. Our roughie here is Lafayette which is on 18/1 and that seems very generous for a horse who has won all three outings this year. Colin Keane rides for Martin Meade.
And the big one – very big one as far as Australia is concerned with the first two in the market being Aussies. Home Affairs is a very good horse indeed and has actually beaten Nature Strip in Australia. All reports from the Waller yard are enthusiastic and J Mac will ride so the only real problem will be traffic as there are 27 in the field. That may come down before the start but nevertheless it will be a big lot of horses and J Mac will need to find a good position in the run. 15/8 the current price.
Artorius comes from the Freedmans and will be ridden by Jamie Spencer who hopefully won't be stuck in the gates this time. The connections are positive and the quote is 8/1 so what would it be for an Aussie quinella? There could be some value around for e/ws with Sacred on 17/2 Haggas-Marquand, Dubai winner A Case of You on 16/1 and not the roughest Glen Shiel for Archie Watson and Hollie Doyle.
We love the Wokingham – full field of 28 for the 1200m Heritage Handicap so a sharp pin is useful. The market has Fresh on 5/1, Blackrod 15/2, Silver Samurai 8/1 and the pin has landed on Popmaster 14/1 and French raider Prince Lancelot 20/1.
