Royal Ascot / Andrew Hughes / 19 June 2009 / Leave a comment Free £25 Bet

Andrew Hughes rounds up Royal Ascot with a look at Saturday's card from the opening race, the Chesham Stakes, to the Queen Alexandra Stakes closer.

2:30 Chesham Stakes
The final day of Royal Ascot begins with this intriguing event. It's a Listed race confined to two-year-olds run over a straight seven furlongs. This distance is quite a stamina test for young horses at this time of the year so this race is restricted to those animals whose sires won at the distance of ten furlongs or further. It's a tricky one to unravel, with so many lightly raced horses involved and any number likely to improve for the step up in trip. It is also worth noting that fillies do reasonably well in this event, so should not be discounted.

3:05 Hardwicke Stakes
A Group Two race run over a mile-and-a-half, this contest is another chance for the older staying horses to show what they can do. Most of the entrants will be well established at Group level and there should be plenty of top class form for punters to get stuck into. Winners of this race have invariably already proven themselves thoroughly at this sort of distance and it is likely that former Derby horses will dominate the market with Sir Michael Stoute's Huxley Stakes winner and last year's Derby fourth, Doctor Fremantle ([2.7]) heading the betting at the moment.

3:45 Golden Jubilee Stakes
This grand old race was formerly known as the Cork and Orrery and has long been one of the highlights of the Royal Meeting. A Group One event, it is the second of the two big sprint races of the week, but the most valuable of the two and an extraordinarily competitive affair. With the Kings Stand Stakes now run on the first day, it has become possible for some of the more robust sprinters to take in both races, although any horse that is a pure five furlong type may struggle to last the six furlongs here. There have been some big-priced winners of this event over the years but in a race that usually has an international flavour, Mike de Kock's South African star JJ The Jet Plane is the current [4.0] favourite

4:25 Wokingham Stakes
This is the oldest handicap of the week and an enduring attraction for punters. It is run over the same six furlongs as the Golden Jubilee and is the last of the big cavalry charges of the meeting. Handicap lovers will be in their element and with so many of these sprinters taking it in turns to beat one another, the market is likely to be pretty open. If you are looking for clues, May's Victoria Cup can often be informative and it usually pays to concentrate on horses in form. There are any number with a chance in this but William Haggas's admirably consistent High Standing is likely to attract plenty of support and may go off favourite.

5:00 Duke of Edinburgh Stakes
The last handicap of the Royal meeting and a suitably competitive event. It is a Heritage Handicap run over a mile-and-a-half and open to all ages. There is likely to be a mix of hardened stayers and younger, more progressive types, although older horses tend not to have a great record here. Form tends to work out well and there have not been too many high priced winners of this contest.

5:35 Queen Alexandra Stakes
The final contest of the meeting is this suitably unique Conditions race that is the longest British flat race of the season. At just short of two-and-three-quarter miles, it is a formidable test and it is no surprise to see the occasional entry for a chaser or hurdler when stamina is such a key factor. Although it is only officially a Class Two event, any race at Royal Ascot is keenly fought and this usually goes to a horse that has demonstrated their ability at Listed or Group level. Horses that have competed and run well in the other staying contests at this meeting, the Gold Cup or the Ascot Stakes are worth studying more closely.