Day five preview and horses to follow on Saturday

Arguably no standout performer in the day-five feature – where do you stand on the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes?

John Ingles: These older sprinters do look much of a muchness and it’s a shame there’s nothing from overseas to take advantage. I see Kinross is vying for favouritism but his Royal Ascot record doesn’t match what he’s achieved here on Champions Day in the past. Several of these finished on top of each other in the Duke of York, so maybe Greenlands Stakes winner Mitbaahy could come out on top for last year’s winning connections – that Curragh form could get a timely boost from Regional on Tuesday.

Andrew Asquith: Exactly right, it looks a very open renewal, and though you have to respect Kinross and Mill Stream, the former will be making his seasonal reappearance on ground likely faster than ideal, while I’m not sure about the form of the latter’s win at York last time. One who I think has got an each-way chance is The Wizard of Eye, who landed somewhat of a gamble in the Victoria Cup at Ascot on his first start for Charlie Fellowes, and it is interesting that they are opting for this rather than the Wokingham. He is a horse who has always had ability, highly tried for Stan Moore last season, and a big field on a straight course suits him well. The return to six furlongs is a slight question mark, but with no standout performer, he makes some appeal to me at a double-figure price.

Matt Brocklebank: True, no standout star, but it’s a really competitive betting heat as a result and I couldn’t be sure this far out what will go off favourite. I suppose we may be looking at some fresh evidence by Tuesday evening as Believing is reportedly on track to compete in both races so if she’s won the King Charles III then we’ll probably have a new market leader. I wasn’t blown away by Mill Stream in the Duke of York and couldn’t rule out some of the beaten horses that day reversing the form, but Mitbaahy looks a likely type on the back of his come-from-behind victory in Ireland. Regional and Shartash are other obvious ones in with a big shout and the upshot is I’d be looking to bet against the seven-year-old Kinross.

Should the returning Continuous be such a short price for the Hardwicke?

John Ingles: It all depends if he’s ready to produce his high-class best first time up. He’s got the beating of his three main rivals who all finished behind him in the St Leger, though Middle Earth and Tower of London have clearly improved since then. Desert Hero also finished in front of those two at Doncaster, and while you’d have to forgive his last run, he could be worth risking with the William Haggas stable in better form now.

Andrew Asquith: Continuous progressed well last season, notably winning the Great Voltiguer at York and a good renewal of the St Leger, and it was arguably his speed which proved the difference at Doncaster, so the return to a mile and a half shouldn’t be a problem. I want to be against him, however, and it was hard not to be impressed by Middle Earth on his return in the Aston Park Stakes at Newbury. He did really well to run down King of Conquest from a less-than-ideal position and that rival gave the form a boost when winning a Listed event at Goodwood next time. Middle Earth looks to have done well physically and looks a four-year-old to follow this season. At a massive price, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Elegant Man run a big race, either. He wasn’t disgraced in the Tattersalls Gold Cup last time behind the likes of White Birch and Auguste Rodin and he’s well worth another crack at a mile and a half, while all-weather form often translates well to Ascot.

Matt Brocklebank: I really fell for Continuous in the Voltigeur and St Leger last season and do think he ran perfectly well given that busy back-end campaign when fifth in the Arc. He’s not going to be short of a gallop rocking up at Royal Ascot first time back and is open to any amount of improvement as a four-year-old. Middle Earth might be his main danger as he clearly wasn’t his best when well beaten by the jolly in the Leger last September. Things may change after final decs but it looks a race in which I’ll be struggling to find anything of note at bigger prices.

It looks a strong Jersey Stakes this year – can Haatem stamp his class on the race back over seven furlongs?

John Ingles: A reproduction of either of his Guineas efforts would surely be good enough, and if Richard Hannon didn’t have Rosallion for the St James’s Palace, Haatem would surely have gone there instead. The way he travels suggests the drop back in trip won’t be a problem at all. Of his rivals, it will be interesting to see what Task Force can do with the Guineas run behind him as we almost certainly haven’t seen the best of him yet.

Andrew Asquith: Haatem is sure to be popular, after all, he has finished placed in both the British and Irish 2000 Guineas, but I’ll be more than happy to pass him over at the likely odds. For me, the Ralph Beckett-trained Task Force is a horse who I think still has the potential to develop into a Group 1 horse this season. He showed smart form as a juvenile last season, winning his first two starts and finishing runner-up to Vandeek in the Middle Park. He may not have threatened in the 2000 Guineas on his return, but he got warm beforehand and still managed to run close to his Middle Park form. A strong, good-bodied colt who is bred in the purple, he is well worth another chance to leave the bare form of that effort well behind.

Matt Brocklebank: I hope Romantic Style runs here and I don’t see why not given its her only entry. The decision to miss the Coronation and drop back to seven furlongs could be an inspired move as I think she was the best horse in the French Guineas, just doing too much too soon from a wide draw at Longchamp. Her earlier defeat of Ramatuelle (and Tamfana) at Deauville reads like strong form and she’s got to be a massive threat to the likes of Haatem and River Tiber in a race like the Jersey.

Give us one other name to consider from the Saturday entries…

John Ingles: Godolphin’s Age of Gold looked one of the most exciting two-year-olds seen out so far when winning impressively on his debut at Yarmouth and looks sure to appreciate the extra furlong of the Chesham Stakes.

Andrew Asquith: Richard Fahey heads into Royal Ascot in fine form, and Strike Red looks an interesting contender in the Wokingham. He has plenty of solid handicap form to his name, producing a career-best effort when winning a big-field, valuable event at the Curragh last season. He was given a great waiting ride on that occasion, picking his way through rivals and staying on well in the closing stages. That sort of running style will see him to great effect in a race of this nature, and he signalled that he’s working his way back into form when finishing fifth at Epsom earlier this month. Strike Red was beaten only a neck on his sole visit to Ascot over this course and distance and he looks an interesting contender at around 25/1.

Matt Brocklebank: Ferrous showed much-improved form with back-to-back wins on the all-weather earlier in the year and it was good to see him back them up with a creditable third returned to turf at Newbury last month. The front two basically had the run of the race that day and Jack Channon’s grey was the only one to emerge out of the pack and make a race of it so I think it’s an effort that should be marked up. I suspect he can still win races from his revised rating (98) and the way the Wokingham might pan out should play to his strengths as he’s almost guaranteed to get a strong pace to chase down late. He’s never run at Ascot but that quality form on synthetic tracks bodes well and his yard is still flying along at an impressive strike-rate.

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