Royal Ascot Day Five – Saturday 18th June

It has been a great week of action at Royal Ascot, and the racing itself has had it all, from some fantastic winners, to some close finishes. We got the better of one of those close finishes yesterday, which allowed us to have a second winning day on the bounce. We move onto the last leg of the action for the week, and fingers crossed we can finish it on a good note. 

Unlike some of the previous cards, I don’t find anything massively inspiring early on in the card, with the two 7 furlong races proving to be a puzzle and the Hardwicke likely to go to my favorite, Hurricane Lane, who is priced accordingly. Therefore, it is the 4.20 race where I’ll first be dipping my toe into the betting waters, and the Platinum Jubilee Race is an almighty 27 runner Group 1 race with challengers from all around the world. I could have opted for horses from Australia, France, America or Britain for this race, but instead I am most excited by a horse trained around 25 miles down the road. A Case of You will be looking to add a third Group 1 win to his name in his career and these conditions are bound to suit this progressive sprinter. He was a shade disappointing last time out, but the race was not run to suit and this big field should play into his strengths. The firm ground is imperative for him and with that in mind, he should have a big each way chance. At 22/1 with Paddy Power, he should be backed each way with 6 places available. 

The 5.00 race is over the same course and distance of the straight 6 furlong track and the Wokingham doesn’t get any easier to solve every year that it goes by. By hook or by crook, I managed to find the winner of the race last year in Rohaan, and just like David Evans is trying to do this time around, I am looking to repeat the dose on this horse. I have a feeling that things haven’t been taken to the limit on his last few runs, and as a result he has slipped back down to a mark 3 pounds below what he won this race from last year. He did enter the race last year in rich form in comparison, but Ryan Moore has been enlisted for this repeat the trick this year and I would be very interesting to see how he can manage to go over a course and distance we know he loves. There are 7 places available each way with Paddy Power, where he should be backed at 14/1. 

And finally, the 5.35 is the Golden Gates Stakes and this handicap over 1m2f will hold my final selection for the week at Royal Ascot. I am not going to attempt to over complicate things either on this final foray into these markets, as I am a big fan of Missed The Cut, who looks to be improving at a terrific rate and could make light work of this handicap bow. He has won twice this year in impressive manner, firstly at Pontefract and then at Salisbury, when seeing this 1m2f trip out in fine style. This is the sort of race that we won’t have seen him come up against before, and that does leave a small worry in the mind – but he should be more than up to handling himself, and should go very close. I think he should be backed at 11/4 with Paddy Power.