17:00 Ascot
Good To FirmAscot Stakes (Heritage Handicap) (GBBPlus Race)
- First Prize: £61848
- 2m 3f 210y
- Class 2
- 20 runners
ITV
Runners: 20 runners
Type: Flat Turf
Surface: Turf
Weather: Cloudy
Form: 322360
OR: 100
W: 9st 12lb
Age: 6 yo Gelding
Won the Cesarewitch at Newmarket (2m2f, good to firm; 9lb higher today) last October and had some very solid AW form over 1m2f-2m this year; not nearly so good in his two races back on turf but his recent run at Epsom (1m2f) should have teed him up nicely for this; current mark and tactical issues coming from the rear are the chief worries.
Form: 3/453-
OR: 98
W: 9st 10lb
Age: 6 yo Gelding
Poor strike-rate (two maiden wins) in Flat and hurdling spheres and he went the wrong way in his latest hurdles campaign; however, he ran well in two major Flat handicaps last season, including when third to Beylerbeyi in the Cesarewitch at Newmarket (2m2f, good to firm); 3lb higher today but 7lb claimer Harry Vigors is booked; like so many, he has each-way hopes.
Form: 44460-
OR: 96
W: 9st 8lb
Age: 5 yo Gelding
Markedly progressive overall when trained by Natalia Lupini in Northern Ireland, rounding it off with an always-prominent fourth of 16 at Royal Ascot 2025 (1m6f, good to firm; 2lb lower today); respectable show at Goodwood last summer, ten weeks before running poorly in the Cesarewitch when going beyond 1m6f for first time was not to blame; bit to prove on first run since.
OUR TIP
Form: 10/29- BF
OR: 94
W: 9st 6lb
Age: 5 yo Colt
Dam is Ascot Gold Cup winner Estimate; inconsistent for Sir Michael Stoute in 2024; beaten on the nod at Leopardstown (1m4f) last May on debut for new yard, after which he was all the rage for this race but it was a nightmare for favourite backers, as he was shuffled back (from stall 1) and towards the rear entering straight before running on nicely until denied any room again in the last half furlong; absent since but same mark today and he is surely capable of significantly better; granted better luck, he should have a big shout.
Form: 003-86
OR: 94
W: 9st 6lb
Age: 5 yo Gelding
1m4f winner from the front off this mark at Newmarket last May who also scored with a prominent ride over hurdles at Cheltenham (2m5f) in November; has a bit to prove over 2m on Flat, including having been always behind on both starts this year; now tries a visor (often wears cheekpieces) and maybe there will be a change of tactics.
Form: 1020-1
OR: 94
W: 9st 6lb
Age: 6 yo Gelding
Brought from Ireland last year for Glorious Goodwood (2m4f, soft; second off 6lb lower than today) and the Cesarewitch (2m2f, good to firm; 14th); reappeared this spring with a career best on Flat to win at Navan (1m6f, heavy) and a creditable third in 3m hurdle race, but another career high is needed.
Form: 000-24
OR: 94
W: 9st 6lb
Age: 5 yo Filly
Unraced on firmer than good; second at Navan (1m6f, heavy) in March on Flat handicap debut; backed that up with her excellent, close fourth of 15 when third favourite for the Chester Cup (2m2f, good; 1lb higher today) in May, coming from towards rear after a slow start; has to be considered but such a wide draw may mean she again has to come from well back.
Form: 003-0P
OR: 94
W: 9st 6lb
Age: 7 yo Gelding
Always behind in his two races this spring (1m2f/1m4f; ended pulled up last time) and last season was a mixed bag; however, his strong-finishing thirds last year in this race (off 1lb lower than today) and another big-field contest at Naas (2m) show that he needs a close look, particularly as some headgear (absent this season) is reinstated.
Form: 1637-5
OR: 94
W: 9st 6lb
Age: 6 yo Gelding
Wore cheekpieces last six starts, winning in late summer last year on first two occasions; a late effort took him from last to fifth of 14 when he made a good reappearance here (1m4f, good to firm) last month but venturing beyond an extended 1m4f for first time provides a huge question mark.
Form: 147-04
OR: 94
W: 9st 5lb
Age: 4 yo Gelding
Unraced on firmer than good and his form claims are pretty flimsy; however, he's one of the dark horses of the race after just six starts and he's shaped at 1m6f as if he may well be an out-and-out stayer; has tried cheekpieces and a visor once each, and now blinkers are given a go; close relation Middle Earth was third over 2m in last year's Melbourne Cup.
Form: 11-651
OR: 94
W: 9st 5lb
Age: 4 yo Colt
Progressive on AW last autumn and another improved effort when he went on over 3f out to win a five-runner race at Goodwood (upped to 2m, good) on latest outing; up 4lb but could have more to give as a stayer.
Form: 31199- BF
OR: 92
W: 9st 4lb
Age: 5 yo Gelding
1m4f festival wins off much lower marks at Chester and Epsom preceded his 100,000gns purchase last July; two Flat runs (including 2m Irish Cesarewitch) last autumn didn't work out but there was encouragement to be drawn from his two hurdle races last month (second on latest) and he scored over an extended 1m6f in 2024; not entirely dismissed, from stable which runs seven.
Form: 00-071
OR: 92
W: 9st 4lb
Age: 6 yo Gelding
Officially unraced on firmer than good; ex-Polish and German, placed in 1m2f Group races in 2024 before a 260,000euros sale; failed to fire last year (including one 2m1f race) but shaped nicely on second start this term and landed a gamble in clearcut fashion in 24-runner handicap at the Curragh (1m6f, good) on latest, challenging 2f out; he was ridden that day as if stamina is a strength and, despite his revised mark, is one to note.
Form: 42322-
OR: 93
W: 9st 4lb
Age: 4 yo Filly
Officially unraced on firmer than good; trained last year in Germany, including when runner-up in Group 3 Italian St Leger (1m7f, heavy) before changing hands for 72,000euros; well held when taking minor honours over hurdles (January and May) in her two runs for new yard, but cheekpieces (tried once last year) return and getting back to the Flat may suit.
Form: 31011-
OR: 93
W: 9st 4lb
Age: 4 yo Gelding
A heavy defeat over hurdles five weeks ago was his only race since October; however, he won three of his four starts once equipped with this headgear on Flat last July-October; the furthest of those wins was 1m5f and he was well beaten trying 1m6f, but it may be rash to dismiss him as a stayer, given he's brother to Magellan Strait who won the 2023 Irish Cesarewitch (2m1f) and half-brother to Lagostovegas who won this race in 2018.
Form: 7/31-7 BF
OR: 92
W: 9st 4lb
Age: 5 yo Gelding
Won 4yo handicap hurdle at 2025 Cheltenham Festival and took a huge prize for Irish Cesarewitch on Flat at the Curragh (2m1f, yielding) last September, in the latter bursting clear 1f out and scoring with considerably more authority than the margin suggests; underwhelming over hurdles before last month's Chester Cup, in which he also had the widest draw, but he started favourite nevertheless and made some headway from the back to finish seventh of 15; he didn't have the rub of the green that day and is shortlisted even though connections also now resort to headgear.
Form: 1/17/ BF
OR: 91
W: 9st 3lb
Age: 6 yo Gelding
Ran three times on the Flat in France, winning over 1m7f on testing ground on first two occasions; that was back in 2023 and spring 2024, but he was a progressive and fairly useful hurdler in the hood for this yard last season (last seen in April) and is unexposed for this Flat handicap debut.
Form: 0-1370
OR: 91
W: 9st 3lb
Age: 5 yo Gelding
4-22 in France, including two 2m wins and latest came with a very late bid in January (AW); peak efforts (not his last two) give him a form chance on this first start since changing hands and leaving Andre Fabre.
Form: 131
OR: 91
W: 9st 3lb
Age: 5 yo Gelding
Last year he was a bumper winner (sole attempt) and ran twice over hurdles; now he's a useful prospect, at the least, under Flat rules having won a maiden at Bellewstown (11.4f, soft) and conditions event at Listowel (1m, good) and he kept on well behind Kizlyar over 1m6f in between, all from off the pace; this race is radically different but he is promising and seriously unexposed.
Form: 321-01
OR: 92
W: 9st 3lb
Age: 4 yo Gelding
French 1m6f winner who tried hurdling for new yard last winter; tailed off in the heavy-ground handicap won by Mordor on return to Flat but dictated the pace and kept his challengers at bay in a six-runner conditions event at Killarney (1m6f, good; Tim Toe third and Defiantly fourth) five weeks ago; improvement is needed but he's still something of an unknown quantity.
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Betting Forecast
11/1 Beylerbeyi, 11/1 Bunting, 20/1 Barnso, 9/4 Reaching High, 40/1 Lavender Hill Mob, 20/1 Mordor, 12/1 Galileo Dame, 20/1 Comfort Zone, 40/1 Siempre Arturo, 18/1 Defiantly, 20/1 Bahadur, 18/1 Small Fry, 12/1 Westminster Moon, 25/1 Ismahane, 20/1 Glenroyal, 6/1 Puturhandstogether, 33/1 All In You, 40/1 Annabels Ghost, 20/1 Tim Toe, 16/1 Kizlyar
Verdict
The headline horse, as he was last year, is REACHING HIGH who is trained by Willie Mullins for the King and Queen and has not raced since the debacle 12 months ago when traffic problems in a steadily run race denied him any proper shot at landing the royal gamble. Trouble in running is part and parcel of this race but, off the same mark, it would be no surprise were Reaching High to put the record straight with a win, albeit at a likely short price and after the year off. In total, 13 of this year’s runners represent Irish stables. Joseph O’Brien has seven of them, coming at it from all sorts of promising angles and possibly headed by the impressive 2025 Irish Cesarewitch winner Puturhandstogether. Also of major interest, however, are Tony Martin’s Westminster Moon and, for last year’s winning trainer, Henry de Bromhead’s Tim Toe. The latter’s inexperience may outweigh his clear promise in calculations, so Westminster Moon, a class act in 2024 and resurgent last month, may prove the best alternative to the favourite.[Richard Austen]