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Angus McNae - Wednesday 19th June 2013
Camelot can be crowned king of Ascot
He has received little recognition for what he has achieved. He won two legs of the Triple Crown last year and was narrowly denied a Triple Crown outright.
He proved he could run faster than his own generation over a mile and twelve furlongs, yet why do people want to knock him, why are people not shouting his name from the rooftops, why are people not going to Ascot just to see him. I have no idea, but I do know that I am a big fan of Camelot and believe he is the one to be with in the Prince of Wales's Stakes on Wednesday.
If he wins, there will no doubt be those who want to rubbish the race because they simply do not like him, but I will be celebrating if he gets the job done. I think he is better than people believe and now is the time for him to prove his doubters wrong.
Let me just leave you in no doubt as to what is horse has achieved in his career to date. He has won :-
A fair role of honour, I am sure you will agree. Some will point to his defeat by Al Kazeem last time out as a guide to his true worth. Surely he was not at his best on that occasion. Yes Al Kazeem is a good horse, but I am not sure he would beat an on song Camelot again.
Unfortunately he is not being completely underestimated by bookmakers as he is going to go off at around about the 5/2 mark, but that will do for me.
Aside from Camelot today I will also be backing Excellent Guest in the Royal Hunt Cup.
The straight course at Ascot is very much a track that suits Polytrack performers, and thus course form is vital. Excellent Guest has a very good record here and a recent win here over seven furlongs tells us that he is in tip top shape.
Clearly the Hunt Cup is a very difficult race to call, but I think he is a solid option at around 16/1. He finished second in this race last year and even though he runs off a higher mark he has to be worth each-way support at a track where he is becoming something of a specialist.
I will not be at Ascot today, but I am in the studio for Hamilton in the afternoon and then Kempton in the evening. If you have any thoughts on the first two days of Royal Ascot do get in touch at the usual address, studio@racinguk.com. Eddie Freemantle will be my guest and we look forward to your missives.
Enjoy your day.
Wednesday's tips:
3.45 Royal Ascot: Camelot at 11-4 with Paddy Power
4.25 Royal Ascot: Excellent Guest at 16-1 with Paddy Power
