Ascot Placepot: Saturday October 15

Daily Placepots / Mark Powell-Bevan / 15 October 2011 / Leave a Comment

Surprisingly, a big-field apprentice handicap closes things on British Champions Day

"There’s more than enough been said already about Frankel and it’s hard to see him getting beat in the QEII, let alone finishing out of the three, so that makes things easy. Banker."

Wales vs France in the Rugby World Cup. Liverpool vs Man Utd. British Champions Day. The X Factor. It doesn't get much better than that on a Saturday, but it will if we can land the placepot at Ascot...

13:50 - Fame And Glory has the class, Opinion Poll is solid, while Times Up is the up-and-comer. The temptation is to bank on Opinion Poll, who's won two of his last three and looked the likely winner for a long way when beaten in the Doncaster Cup last time, too, but Fame And Glory is undoubtedly a better horse and O'Brien is more than capable of reviving him after that lacklustre showing in the Irish St Leger so it's worth taking both and hoping for a 1-2.

14:25 - Deacon Blues has taken all before him in lower-end pattern races since winning the Wokingham Handicap over today's C&D, posting ratings that suggest a Group 1 win is a formality, so it's hard to oppose him in the Group 2 Sprint Stakes. The French pair of Moonlight Cloud and Wizz Kid are the most likely to cause an upset and it is Freddie Head's Maurice de Gheest winner, Moonlight Cloud, who gets the nod as the second selection, still completely unexposed as a sprinter.

15:00 - Ferdoos has looked impressive in winning three of her four starts, including a defeat of Vita Nova when last seen, but therein lies the problem. Ferdoos hasn't been since that Haydock victory back in May, making her a risky placepot proposition, whereas Vita Nova has gone on to run well in finishing second twice more (should have won Lancashire Oaks), most recently behind Blue Bunting in the Yorkshire Oaks. There are plenty of others to consider for back-up, but Dancing Rain is the one to go with, as while there's truth in the argument she's had the run of the race when winning the Epsom Oaks and the German version, she probably hasn't got the credit she deserves and there's every chance she'll be able to dictate today, too.

15:35 - There's more than enough been said already about Frankel and it's hard to see him getting beat in the QEII, let alone finishing out of the three, so that makes things easy. Banker.

16:10 - The Champion Stakes is a strong race judged on ratings, with just 5 lb separating So You Think, Snow Fairy, Twice Over, Midday, Cirrus des Aigles and Nathaniel. However, the feeling is that So You Think should have done much better than fourth in the Arc under an overly-patient ride last time and, back in trip with Moore likely to make more use of him, he should be able to show what he's really all about.

16:45 - Quite what this apprentice handicap is doing on the British Champions Day card I don't know, but one thing's for sure, it looks extremely difficult to find the winner of. Luckily, all we need is a top-four finish, so the ones chosen are Noble Citizen (always goes well at Ascot), Primaeval (potentially well handicapped on turf) and Pearl Ice (who's been off a year since winning at Kempton but has presumably been targeted at the race by the excellent Sir Mark Prescott).

Selections
13:50 - 3, 5
14:25 - 2, 13
15:00 - 8, 11
15:35 - 7
16:10 - 4
16:45 - 7, 20, 26
=24 lines

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