Stradivarius deserves plenty of respect as he seeks his Gold Cup hat-trick at Royal Ascot on Thursday but the bookmakers have him very short indeed at 4-7 after a couple of defeats. After all, it is just 13 days since he chased Ghaiyyath’s tail in the Coronation Cup, which is hardly a conventional Gold Cup preparation.
At 10-1, Moonlight Spirit (3.35) is an interesting alternative, since the Godolphin horse seems on his way to becoming a decent stayer. He was run down late by Technician in France last autumn but has been gelded since and could prove a different proposition this year. Nayef Road has to be taken seriously after his Sagaro success on his first attempt at two miles. Rain would be a problem for Mark Johnston’s chestnut, but if the storms miss Ascot he should get into the argument.
1.15 Acquitted put up a big effort at Newcastle but his wide draw makes things difficult, with the first bend coming up so quickly, and Grand Rock faces the same problem. Tritonic did well as a two-year-old while promising to be better again this year; both his trainer and jockey have been among the winners already this week.
1.50 The quality is absurdly high for a Listed race and the eye goes straight to Fox Tal, fourth in the Champion Stakes. But his odds are short enough, especially compared to the 33-1 about Walkinthesand, who got within three lengths of Fox Tal when last seen and has a 4lb pull. That race came just four days after Walkinthesand had taken part in a Group contest and there is every chance that he underperformed. He ought to make a better four-year-old and has a handy inside draw.
2.25 It is six days since the Irish 2,000 Guineas but Monarch Of Egypt should be ready to go again as he got no run at all there. A regular in the highest class, he was beaten less than a length by Siskin in the Phoenix last summer and is fairly priced, in view of the class he has shown.
Ascot 1.15 Tritonic 1.50 Walkinthesand (nb) 2.25 Monarch Of Egypt 3.00 Battleground 3.35 Moonlight Spirit 4.10 Great Ambassador (nap) 4.40 African Dream
Newmarket 1.00 Sunset Breeze 1.30 Legion Of Honour 2.05 Arigato 2.40 Kanmoor 3.15 Twpsyn 3.50 Al Aasy 4.25 Lyrical 5.00 Purdey’s Gift
Redcar 4.20 Locket 4.50 Nortonthorpe Boy 5.25 Yorkshire Pirlo 6.00 Upstaging 6.30 Ginger Max 7.00 Dream Location 7.30 Merryweather 8.00 Make It Rain 8.30 Chinese Alphabet 9.00 Gold Arch
3.00 The first foal out of the Arc winner Found, Battleground stayed on nicely into fifth on his debut 10 days ago. From a yard that has won two of the last four Cheshams, he should relish the extra furlong.
4.10 His final outing as a juvenile suggested Great Ambassador was in line for a big three-year-old season. From a hot yard and drawn on the favoured side, he is on a handy rating in view of some of his form, which includes a close second in Pyledriver’s maiden.
4.40 It is hard to resist the claims of African Dream, who ran way above her rating when second at Newbury last week. Whether she can reproduce that effort in these very different circumstances is a fair question but her connections give her every chance.