Royal Ascot Betting / Carl Harris / 20 June 2009 / Leave a comment

Carl Harris looks to finish Royal Ascot on a high and tells us why today's racing includes his strongest bet of the week.

I see Sacred Kingdom as the clear pick for the Golden Jubilee Stakes (3.45) as he ticks all the right boxes, his form is rock solid, he is superbly bred with a sprinting pedigree and he carries the hottest turf sprinting form in the world at the moment. He was considered a brilliant Australian juvenile with a current rating which puts him alongside the likes of Choisir. Trained in Hong Kong, connections paid a £45,000 late-entry fee for Sacred Kingdom and must be reasonably confident following his last run which saw him readily win the Krisflyer sprint in Singapore.

The only worry is the draw. Five of the last seven Golden Jubilee Stakes winners have come from the top or the bottom four in the draw, so being drawn eight is not ideal . However, it has been reported that in his work at Manton, where he is stabled in the UK, he is going very well and his trainer Mr Yiu has been making very positive noises in the Australian media.

JJ the Jet Plane is going to be popular but I think that the odds are a reaction to the run at Windsor, where Sacred Kingdom won a huge race with he and Rocket Man drawing clear of a world class field. Sacred Kingdom came back to form in Hong Kong and a repeat of the Singapore run will destroy this field. This is my best bet of the week and I think the odds could be genuine value.

The Wokingham looks as competitive as ever (4.25) but High Standing excels over six furlongs with figures of four wins from four starts over the trip. An eye-catching jockey booking is Ryan Moore who has had winners at Royal Ascot and looks in top gear now. William Haggas has done really well with the four year-old but there are two concerns. Firstly the draw again, secondly the fact that he likes to come from off the pace which with a field of 28 is always fraught with problems, though there are not many better than the Champion jockey to get them home! I am sure that with a better draw he would be favourite and is probably an each-way price.

I think Ryan Moore could have a winner earlier on the card with Doctor Fremantle (3.05) who can follow up his Chester win by taking the group two Hardwicke Stakes.

Today's Bets

3.05 Doctor Fremantle win
3.45 Sacred Kingdom win
4.25 High Standing win and place