Is Marmalade a fruity Ascot bet? Can Coastal oust Yeats? Early thoughts on Royal Ascot from Wayne Bailey

Royal Ascot / Wayne Bailey / 12 June 2008 / Leave a Comment

Our man from across the Irish Sea on the ante-post betting in the St James' Palace Stakes, Ascot Gold Cup and Prince of Wales Stakes

Jim Bolger's recent in-out, out-in antics with New Approach have left some ante-post backers reeling since the Derby, and a few professionals I've spoken to are wary of getting involved in Royal Ascot early on as a consequence. Indeed, Aidan O' Brien has announced that he won't finalise his own plans until the weekend, so proceed with caution if placing an early bet. However, for every unhappy backer, there's a happy layer - and the markets are finally starting to heat up as punters start to weigh-up their options...

St James's Palace Stakes, Tuesday 17th June

We may have to wait some time to see Henrythenavigator and New Approach lock horns again (perhaps it will be the Irish Champion Stakes in September), but the former has been pencilled in to the St James's Palace stakes ever since he gave the Derby a miss. I'm a huge fan of the dual Guineas winner, and believe he's plenty more in store for 2008. It's early days yet, but if the Peter Chapple-Hyam trained Winker Watson makes the final line-up, he may prove the best of the rest. Saeed Bin Suroor also has a number of entries, and as usual they must be respected, despite some recent disappointments.

Prince Of Wales Stakes, Wednesday 18th June

He had a patchy career as a three-year-old, but Duke Of Marmalade is finally starting to pay the bills with two wins from two races so far this year. O'Brien always expected him to improve and it will be interesting to see how he handles the big races this year. A very interesting entry is Phoenix Tower, who was beaten for the first time in his career in the Juddmonte at Newbury. He looked like he needed a longer distance, and the step up here may be just the trick.

Ascot Gold Cup, Thursday 19th June

I wasn't even born in the mid-70s but the other night in the local pub, the drunk in the corner informed me that Sagaro - trained by François Boutin, won the Ascot Gold Cup on three consecutive occasions in that decade - the only horse to do so.

A quick check on the web later confirmed that he was right as usual. His pronunciation of the name François may have been slightly off, but how these men - who always look like they're about to fall on top of my pint, can retain such information always amazes me.

Three decades on, we may be about to witness such heroic feats all over again, and Yeats will become a true superstar should he raid the prize here for the third time. With more than half a dozen Group wins under his belt, there's no real need to state the case for him here. He's aged well, and really came into his own as a six-year-old last year.

That said, his 2008 debut was slightly disappointing, and he struggled in a race that he took with ease last year. He finally got the better of Red Moloney, but was driven hard by Seamie Heffernan and it does raise some niggling doubts. Coastal Path may not be a household name in these Islands, but Andre Fabre's four-year-old looks an out and out stayer, and could well spoil the party for the O'Brien team. He's unbeaten in all six starts, and is open to yet more improvement. He's [4.8] on Betfair, but some bookies are taking a cautious approach and have him as short as 3-1.

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