Tweet

racing news / tanya's blog /

Tanya's Blog - 15th June 2011

Frankel, did your heart flutter and miss a beat? He may not have been as visually impressive, or was he? What is sticking in most minds and causing much debate is the way the deficit between him, Zoffany and Excelebration reduced at a rapid rate in the last couple of furlongs. However what caught my eye and was the decisive move for victory, was the electric burst of acceleration as he turned for home, but was it necessary?

Like a standing start on the traffic lights, the temptation to beat the person alongside you as soon as the lights go green is too great, most of us can’t help ourselves. Particularly if it is a car of a slim but greater engine capacity. Then there is the scenario of the sportscar, coupe or big executive car alongside, they just want to showboat and crush any aspirations, flooring it when only a gentle brush on the pedal on the right would suffice. Tom Queally had the dream horsepower, and took it upon himself to floor it, visually spectacular for a couple of furlongs, but long-term at what cost. The like of Canford Cliffs or a wily older horse would cover any manoeuvre such as this and conserve their energy until the last minute.

For the moment and to much relief of expectant crowds, and connections, he won, but the element of doubt has now been instilled in us all and let’s hope the match between him and Canford Cliffs is firmly on, roll on Glorious Goodwood.

Although Power won the Coventry, the two to take out of the race were maiden Lethal Force in fourth and Gatepost in fifth who seem to circumnavigate the Ascot straight, had a decisive straight line been kept, perhaps we would have been cheering another horse into the winners! I must admit my pocket is writing on both counts!

On to today’s Royal Ascot offering, a very small, select field of ten in the Jersey Stakes, I’m going to take a gamble on STRONG SUIT, brilliant winner of the Coventry last year, he didn’t run to his form in the Greenham behind Frankel, there was a problem, it’s been sorted so he could be good enough to rout these. The Windsor Forest is in the too hard category but I have tipped up I’m A Dreamer.

So You Think is meant to be the ultimate machine, we’ll see at 3.45, it hasn’t rained enough for Planteur, but I believe TWICE OVER is too big at his current price on Betfair of around 20-1.

Royal Hunt Cup and I’m backing two BRICK RED as he finally showed his true ability last time out at Sandown and there is a smattering of money for him on the exchanges and INVINCIBLE SOUL who ran extremely well at Goodwood last time, at this rate I should be backing Richard Hughes to be top jockey.

After his debut at Haydock, SHUMOOS is meant to be one of the bankers of the meeting in the Queen Mary, finally one of my big fancies of the meeting WINTER’S NIGHT in the Sandringham, anyone at Thursday Royal Ascot preview in Lambourn will already be on.

POINTERS

The last 9 favourites have been beaten in the Jersey Stakes, Royal Ascot’s 2.30

Jeremy Noseda has won the Jersey Stakes twice from his last eight runners

Saeed Bin Suroor’s last seven runners in the Windsor Forest Stakes have all been beaten

Three of the last four winners of the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes have been trained in France

Four of the last six favourites have won the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes

Nine of the last ten winners of the Royal Hunt Cup have been aged four or five

Nine of the last ten Royal Hunt Cup favourites have been beaten

All of the last ten Royal Hunt Cup winners have carried 8-8 or more to victory

Luca Cumani’s last ten runners in the Royal Hunt Cup have all been beaten

Sir Michael Stoute’s last ten runners have been beaten in the Sandringham Handicap, but annoyingly six of them have been placed.