Events / Andrew Hughes / 19 July 2008 /

Andrew Hughes on the highlights of the week to come including top races at Ascot and York

The news this week that Turftrax's Racing Data Unit has been placed into administration may not have hit the radars of many punters but it is indicative of the malaise afflicting the sport in this country.

Turftrax, in addition to providing very useful going maps, produced the first publicly available sectional timings. Their arrival a few years ago seemed to have signalled that at last British racing was heading for the 20th if not yet the 21st century. Unfortunately, no one in positions of authority thought this information was of interest to punters and so, forced to rely on internet subscriptions, the venture proved unsustainable.

It seems the HRA is more interested in pursuing ludicrous schemes such as the Sovereign Series, than making such information available to the very people who fund the sport.

Thursday 24th July

A slow start to the week but Thursday's soiree at Leopardstown gets the top class racing underway. The Meld Stakes is a Group Three over ten furlongs that is likely to attract a number of contenders from the various Derbies and the Tyros Stakes, upgraded to Group Three status last year, is a seven furlong contest for two-year-olds with a fine recent record, being won by Teofilio and New Approach in the last couple of years. Jim Bolger has saddled the winner of this eight times, including the last three, so any runner out of Glebe House has to be treated with respect.

Friday 25th July

The first day of the King George and Queen Elizabeth meeting at Ascot features a decent card. The Valiant Stakes is a Listed contest for fillies and mares run around the old mile. Expect a decent sized field of mixed ability in which it can be profitable to identify three-year-olds with untapped potential. There are also a couple of quality handicaps to get your teeth into, including the John Guest Brown Jack Stakes, over a stamina-draining two miles in which some with Ebor hopes will try their luck.

Saturday 26th July

One of the highlights of the summer, the King George and Queen Elizabeth Stakes has a claim to be the highest-class race of the entire season. Over a demanding mile and a half, the very best of the classic generation meet their elders in what is sure to be a frenetic betting event and a great spectacle. Aidan O'Brien's Duke of Marmalade is clear favourite in the ante-post market and is likely to be a touch shorter than [2.0] but you can back Mick Channon's Grand Prix de St Cloud winner Youmzain at around the [4.6] mark.

As ever, there are a host of quality races to support the main event, headed by the Princess Margaret, a Group race for two-year-old fillies that has a strong tradition of producing subsequent Pattern winners. The Listed Winkfield Stakes over seven furlongs is another two-year-old race worth watching as a potential source of future stars.

Meanwhile, handicap lovers can get their brains around the International Stakes, another of the huge field seven-furlong charges that always generate plenty of betting action. With fields in the high twenties, luck in-running will play a part and punters should study carefully the form of races such as the Buckingham Palace Stakes and the Victoria and Bunbury Cups. Finally, the Emirates NBD Cup is a fiercely competitive handicap for three-year-olds over a mile, in which ability to stay the hard-run distance is an essential quality.

Not to be outdone, York holds a good quality card on Saturday, headed by the York Stakes, a high class Group Two introduced a couple of years ago to replace the Scottish Derby. You can expect some really top class middle distance types to take on the ten furlongs here for a decent prize. And there is a quality sprint, the Sky Bet Dash, over six furlongs for punters to unravel.

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