Wednesday 25 May 2016 21:38, UK
Alex Hammond supplied us with the big-race winner Profitable last week. Can the Sky Sports News HQ racing expert do it again?
Awtaad lowered the colours of Galileo Gold on Saturday but do you think he would come out on top if the pair met again?
Awtaad was impressive wasn't he? He seems the complete racehorse as he has a great attitude, loads of speed and tons of ability. I'd like to be on him when the pair next face off that's for sure. It's fair to say Frankie Dettori had to sit and suffer on Galileo Gold whereas Chris Hayes was able to ride the race he wanted to on the winner, but regardless of that I think the Irish Guineas winner has the edge. Awtaad has now won his last four starts and is improving at a rate of knots and if the pair meet in the St James's Palace Stakes I'd rather be on the Kevin Prendergast-trained colt; he looks by far the most straightforward of the two. He is currently 3/1 with Sky Bet for the one-mile Group One at the Royal meeting whereas Galileo Gold is 9/2. They may both have to play second fiddle to The Gurkha regardless - his performance in France looked very impressive.
Skiffle won the Height Of Fashion Stakes at Goodwood and now looks like being supplemented for the Investec Oaks but do you think that is the right move and is Minding vulnerable after her defeat on Sunday?
We thought the three-year-old fillies looked much superior to the colts, but the Oaks door has been left ajar after the defeat of Minding behind Jet Setting in the Irish 1000 Guineas. Minding is still favourite for the Epsom Classic, but has now been pushed out to 6/5 with Sky Bet. It's probable that the incident as the gates opened that saw her bang her head had a bearing on the outcome of the race and it's also true that the ground was testing enough for her at the Curragh, but with the doubt over her stamina for the mile and a half at Epsom I can see why other trainers are happy to try to take her on. The Height Of Fashion (formerly the Lupe) is a race that has had an influence on the Oaks in the past and Skiffle has been introduced at 10/1 with Sky Bet for Epsom. Charlie Appleby's filly is improving fast and as this was only her second outing you'd have to expect further improvement. She completely cocked up the start on debut, rearing and missing the break, but she was much more savvy at Goodwood and I can see the attraction of adding her to the Oaks field. She is guaranteed to stay, being a daughter of Dubawi out of a mare that was useful up to 1m4f and is a half sister to a horse that was also effective over middle distances. So a lots of ticks there and let's be honest, the £30,000 it'll cost to add her to the field isn't going to make a dent in the Sheikh Mohammed coffers!
Has anything else caught your eye for Epsom following Breakfast With The Stars on Tuesday and if you had to have one ante-post bet at this stage, what would it be?
Well, much of the talk after Breakfast With The Stars was of the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Ulysses. Sir Michael isn't usually one to give much away, but he has spoken well of this beautifully bred colt who has now shortened into 8/1 with Sky Bet for the Derby. He had one run at two, going into winter quarters with an encouraging sixth in a mile maiden at Newbury behind Algometer. That horse has gone on at three and has some decent form so far, including a second place to Midterm in Sandown's Classic Trial and winning a Listed race at Goodwood. Ulysses reappeared this term in a hot Leicester maiden finishing second and then got off the mark in a 10-furlong Newbury maiden earlier this month. So, back to that pedigree; he's by Galileo who won the English and Irish Derbies in 2001 and is out of a mare called Light Shift, who won the Oaks at Epsom for Sir Henry Cecil in 2007. Derby pedigrees surely don't get much better than that and Andrea Atzeni will ride him in the big race. I also have plenty of respect for Cloth Of Stars who motored round the course on Tuesday morning and is trained by Andre Fabre. He is 7/1 third favourite and needs to be supplemented at a cost of £75,000.
Clive Cox has another smart sprinter on his hands in Profitable, is the Temple Stakes winner on your radar for Royal Ascot?
How pleased was I to see Profitable earn followers of the blog a few quid on Saturday?! Delighted! Mecca's Angel was being supported as if defeat was out of the question after the rain had turned the ground in her favour; but I was screaming home Clive Cox's four-year-old and my prayers were answered. As predicted, he has improved for another winter on his back and looks a force to be reckoned with this season. Granted he carried Mecca's Angel across the track in the final furlong, but no momentum was lost and the stewards decided it hadn't made a difference. I was sure Profitable needed a bit of ease in the ground, but his trainer said afterwards he thinks he will be even better on a quicker surface. This is great news for his likely Royal Ascot aspirations and going forward for the rest of the season as he is clearly versatile on that front. He's now 8/1 co second favourite for the King's Stand next month and as a sprinter on the upgrade, I wouldn't be disappointed if I had an ante-post voucher in my clutches.
There's another big card at Haydock this weekend, what should we be backing?
Well, after last weekend Haydock is my new favourite track, so let's try and find another winner or two! There are three Group races that should be pretty competitive. The Group Two Sandy Lane Stakes is the feature with a strong entry for the six-furlong contest. Classic winning trainer Hugo Palmer could have a good day at the Lancashire track and his Gifted Master is clear favourite on the ante-post book. At 2/1 with Sky Bet though I think we can find a bit more value elsewhere. Having said that, he hasn't seen the back of another horse since last June and despite being a bit quirky is clearly very talented. He is already 6/1 second favourite for the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot. A few of his rivals on Saturday could also have the Royal Ascot race on their radar, including Buratino, who is dropping back in trip having failed to stay a mile in the 2000 Guineas. He also has the beating of Air Force Blue as a juvenile when winning the Coventry. Remarkable went into a few notebooks when runner up to Log Out Island in a Listed race at Newbury this month and John Gosden's son of Pivotal looks a horse on the up. At 9/1 for Saturday's race, he could run a good race if the forecast rain arrives. La Rioja is another unexposed likely improver at three. Henry Candy's filly hasn't run yet this season, but was a Group Three winner at Salisbury on her last start. She is another horse that will need the rain to fall. Jim Bolger's Smash Williams is potentially a very nice horse too. He is one of a strong entry for Irish-trained horses and looked exciting as a juvenile. It's a very good renewal of the race and I don't have a really strong view at the moment, but if the rain comes then I'll be backing Remarkable to cause an upset.
Then we have two Group Three races to look forward to, the Pinnacle Stakes for fillies and mares over an extended 1m3f, and the Timeform Jury Stakes over seven furlongs. Last year's winner Miss Marjurie is among the entries for the Pinnacle Stakes and trainer Denis Coakley has snapped up the services of Oisin Murphy. However, last year she won a Listed race at Goodwood en-route to this, but was disappointing in the same race this time round. The powerful combination of John Gosden and Frankie Dettori look like they will be hard to beat here with Journey. She wasn't disgraced in finishing third to Beautiful Romance and Koora in the Middleton Stakes at York's Dante meeting and a reproduction of that will be good enough here. She just ran a bit free at York and that may have cost her but the fillies that finished in front of her that day are top class and it doesn't look like there's anything of that quality entered at Haydock.
The Timeform Jury Stakes looks more open and has attracted a strong entry. Home Of The Brave represents trainer Hugo Palmer and is Sky Bet's ante-post favourite at 9/2. He was snapped up by Godolphin after his reappearance win at Leicester last month, but was unable to represent his new owners in the Lockinge Stakes after the ground turned too soft. There is plenty to recommend him providing Haydock don't get too much rain before Saturday. William Haggas' horses are running well and his Adaay is another for the shortlist. He was a bit disappointing over a mile on his return to action at Sandown last time out, but I think a drop back to seven will be just the job and on the best of his form he is right up there with a big shout. He won the Sandy Lane Stakes on this card last year beating Limato, which is very good form. Unlike Home Of The Brave he won't mind a drop of moisture in the ground and at this stage he'll do for me.
