16:50 Ascot
Good To FirmBritannia Stakes (Heritage Handicap) (Colts & Geldings)
- First Prize: £67002
- 1m 0f 0y
- Class 2
- 32 runners
ITV
Runners: 32 runners
Type: Flat Turf
Surface: Turf
Weather: Sunny
Form: 15-33 D
OR: 103
W: 9st 9lb
Age: 3 yo Colt
He did have an entry in the St James's Palace and retains one in the Irish Derby; close up in a Group 3 last season (1m, good to firm) and ran well under top weight to be third of 17 on handicap debut at Goodwood (7f, good) where he was nearest at the finish after hitting traffic; by no means exposed and he is very much respected.
Form: 1-384
OR: 102
W: 9st 8lb
Age: 3 yo Colt
Promising 2yo winner; yet to get in the thick of things this season but started off in Group races and he ultimately paid for chasing a strong pace when folding late on in a good Listed event at Sandown three weeks ago (1m, good; unraced on faster); no forlorn hope on handicap debut with Toby Moore taking 7lb off this back.
Form: 1-12 DBF
OR: 101
W: 9st 7lb
Age: 3 yo Colt
Unable to make it 3-3 when a shade of odds-on for his handicap debut at Sandown (1m, good; firmer will be a first) but he gave it a good go behind Laureate Crown and retains significant potential having been gelded in the meantime (now goes in cheekpieces); up 4lb for a defeat but he's been a lively one in the ante-post market; stable won this four times within six years from 1996 but without a win in it since.
Form: 1-51 D
OR: 100
W: 9st 6lb
Age: 3 yo Gelding
Sole defeat was at Kempton (behind Langstone) where he had a bad draw and tried a hood, which was soon dispensed with when pushed out to beat a subsequent winner with the pair clear at Newmarket a month ago (1m, good); brings potential and lots of it into his handicap debut.
Form: -44910
OR: 100
W: 9st 6lb
Age: 3 yo Colt
Won two 6f novice races last season (good to firm/good) and added 7f Listed honours on the AW in February, after which he was gelded; never really sighted when behind some of these on handicap debut at Goodwood (7f; 18-1) but that was after nearly three months away; entitled to run better this afternoon but others are probably on kinder marks.
Form: 22-855
OR: 99
W: 9st 5lb
Age: 3 yo Colt
All six runs on good or good to yielding ground; runner-up in small-field Group 3s last season and returned to something like that level when beaten 3l (held up) in a competitive 1m1f Listed race at Navan; however, when that was only 11 days ago this hardly smacks of a masterplan; sports headgear for the first time.
Form: 856-11 CD
OR: 98
W: 9st 4lb
Age: 3 yo Colt
Won on good to firm here on debut but bypassed the Silver Bowl at Carlisle last month on account of those conditions; he'd probably run well if okay on this surface, having gone 2-2 since being gelded and last time at Sandown (1m, good) looking good value for his narrow defeat of Organise.
Form: 121 D
OR: 97
W: 9st 3lb
Age: 3 yo Gelding
Awarded his debut race after the first past the post weighed in light; clear second behind a classy rival next time out and then made all in a small field at Hamilton (extended 1m, good); P J McDonald rode him that day; as with so many in here, he's open to improvement on handicap debut.
Form: 414
OR: 95
W: 9st 1lb
Age: 3 yo Gelding
Lightly raced French raider who won his second race over 1m1f on soft ground and posted a respectable RPR (with a view to this initial mark) when beaten 3l last time over 1m3f (good to soft); has to be of some interest for his powerful connections, for all that this trip and ground will be a first for him; tries a tongue-tie.
Form: 221-61
OR: 95
W: 9st 1lb
Age: 3 yo Colt
Yet to run a bad race as the sixth at Newmarket (1m, good) on handicap debut was a close one; back over 7f there and sent off the 4-11 favourite, he romped home by the thick end of 10l to earn today's 11lb higher mark; that rise asks serious questions, but he has the wind in his sails and Oisin Murphy would have had options for this.
OUR TIP
Form: 3213-4
OR: 95
W: 9st 1lb
Age: 3 yo Colt
Bundles of promise last season even before winning easily on his handicap debut and finishing third in the Group 3 Horris Hill when soft ground might not have been to his liking; his reappearance offered lots of hope for the future, finishing fourth of 17 at Goodwood (7f, good) behind horses with kinder draws and nothing was finishing stronger than this colt; running style and pedigree shouts improvement over this longer trip; he might be the one.
Form: 31-457
OR: 94
W: 9st 0lb
Age: 3 yo Colt
All runs 7f, the win in an AW maiden in November; gelded after disappointing in a classy conditions race and his handicap debut at Goodwood (good) last time was fairly eye-catching when he had a wicked draw and saw his race out well (behind Pathein, Wechaad and New Monarch); not dismissed.
Form: 192 D
OR: 93
W: 8st 13lb
Age: 3 yo Gelding
Disappointed in a Derby trial after winning his maiden (1m, heavy) but soon back in the groove when runner-up at Naas (1m, good) to one who was completing a hat-trick; the winner did him for toe that day but the stronger pace of a Britannia could suit.
Form: 5-112
OR: 93
W: 8st 13lb
Age: 3 yo Colt
It's 23 years since Clive Cox won this with New Seeker and this gelding is one of two live hopes for the yard, along with Blue Courvoisier, whom he finished 1.5l behind in the rescheduled Silver Bowl at Carlisle (1m, good to firm); the clear concern is going up 6lb for a defeat and this race is even more competitive.
Form: 11-131 D
OR: 93
W: 8st 13lb
Age: 3 yo Gelding
Multiple wins in France and fairly scooted clear for a wide-margin success at Saint-Cloud last month (1m); however, that was on soft ground that seems to suit him well and whether he'll be so efficient on this surface remains to be seen (has won on good); ability respected, however.
Form: 12-241 D
OR: 92
W: 8st 12lb
Age: 3 yo Colt
Came up shy in his first two handicaps (1m, good) but he was a big market mover when repelling stablemate Langstone in the Silver Bowl at Carlisle (1m, good to firm); that was courtesy of a canny front-running ride by Saffie Osborne and he's gone up 9lb to boot; there's a suspicion that he might have left his Britannia chance in Cumbria.
Form: 1-13 DBF
OR: 92
W: 8st 12lb
Age: 3 yo Gelding
Looked good in winning a pair of 7f/1m novices on Newcastle AW and he was conceding a stone to the front two when third under two penalties at Doncaster (1m, good to firm); inexperienced for a race of this nature but on the flip side he's dangerously unexposed.
Form: 11-3 D
OR: 91
W: 8st 11lb
Age: 3 yo Gelding
Won on soft (6.5f) and very soft (1m) in France prior to 60,000gns sale; faced promising horses when last of three in an AW conditions race at Southwell in April and shouldn't be knocked for that, but it's probably true that others in this field are more intriguing.
Form: 131 CD
OR: 91
W: 8st 11lb
Age: 3 yo Gelding
All three runs over 1m under Kaiya Fraser; won on the AW, then third under a penalty; stepped up again when smuggled into his handicap debut from off the pace to win with a bit up his sleeve here in early May (good); it's interesting that Harry Eustace won that same race with his high-class Docklands who came on to win this in 2023; up 6lb but it's likely that further improvement has to be factored in for this well-bred gelding.
Form: 22-311 D
OR: 91
W: 8st 11lb
Age: 3 yo Colt
Reliable and progressive, but he's 6lb higher than when narrowly winning a Class 4 handicap at Carlisle 19 days ago and now 9lb higher than when his season began; he may have revealed his hand.
Form: 811-49 D
OR: 91
W: 8st 11lb
Age: 3 yo Gelding
7f/1m AW wins late last year; given every chance when 3l behind Laureate Crown at Sandown two runs back (1m, good) and then failed to make any impression in Newbury's always-strong London Gold Cup; pulling hard was the last thing he needed when upped to 1m2f in the latter but it wasn't the ideal preparation for this tough a test.
Form: 1-14 D
OR: 91
W: 8st 11lb
Age: 3 yo Colt
One of three runners for the Gosden yard; Frankel colt; two novice wins on good ground (beat St Anton on debut) and had a double penalty when close up at Nottingham (good to soft); lacks handicap experience but so too did last year's winner Arabian Story; every chance of serving up a personal best and he's tongue tied for the first time.
Form: 44-176
OR: 91
W: 8st 11lb
Age: 3 yo Colt
Doesn't appear to have made any striking progress as a 3yo and he was beaten fair and square on handicap debut at Goodwood last time in a race contested by others in here who didn't get the rub of the green that day; looks vulnerable.
Form: 310-27
OR: 91
W: 8st 11lb
Age: 3 yo Colt
Last season's novice win came on good to firm (7.5f); this year's defeats at Musselburgh (1m, good to soft; ran well) and Newmarket (good to firm; not so well from the front) mark him down as an unlikely winner of this.
Form: 432-13 D
OR: 91
W: 8st 11lb
Age: 3 yo Colt
0-5 as a 2yo but there was plenty of encouragement, including a 2l defeat here behind Laureate Crown; gelded prior to this campaign which he kicked off with a clearcut maiden win on the AW (1m) and he then held his own in the Silver Bowl at Carlisle won by Blue Courvoisier; he was only 100-30 for that and unlucky not to be closer than 2l; yet another to bear in mind.
Form: 2317-5
OR: 90
W: 8st 10lb
Age: 3 yo Colt
Contested a Group 2 last season after winning his novice; gelded in December; his comeback run at Chester was seriously promising when he had to be dropped in from a wide draw, then found trouble up the straight yet was beaten only 2l behind a shorter-priced stablemate; he's way better than that bare form and gets in off the same mark; possibilities.
Form: 551-7
OR: 90
W: 8st 10lb
Age: 3 yo Colt
Made it third-time lucky last season in a 7.5f novice at Chester (good to firm); however, he was only seventh in the Italian 2,000 Guineas (good) in his comeback race and that casts a shadow over his prospects.
Form: 4221
OR: 90
W: 8st 10lb
Age: 3 yo Colt
Close up in a 7f maiden (soft) and 1m handicap (good) before making the most of a good opportunity on the AW (7f maiden; at 8-11); there are some reasons for optimism with his steadily progressive profile.
Form: 44-1 D
OR: 90
W: 8st 10lb
Age: 3 yo Colt
Encouraging runs behind Group-class horses last season; back from a lengthy break and a gelding operation when the workmanlike winner of a big-field maiden at Newbury (1m, good) that's produced a stack of winners; unexposed and respected.
Form: 1-26
OR: 89
W: 8st 9lb
Age: 3 yo Colt
Made a highly encouraging start on the AW before suffering a reality check in Sandown's Group 3 Classic Trial (behind Wise Prince); it could be that he never did himself true justice on that occasion but he did go off at 80-1.
Form: 911-66 D
OR: 89
W: 8st 9lb
Age: 3 yo Colt
Reserve; won twice over 1m for Joseph O'Brien but only sixth in two races for Lemos De Souza, finishing behind three of today's rivals at Carlisle last time; now trained by Henry Dwyer so presumably bound for Australia.
Form: -11112 D
OR: 89
W: 8st 9lb
Age: 3 yo Gelding
Reserve; some feat to win four handicaps on the bounce (7f/1m) but he has gone up another 5lb since his narrow defeat to St Anton at Carlisle (good to firm) and that rise spells danger.
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Betting Forecast
20/1 Pathein, 33/1 Wise Prince, 8/1 Organise, 16/1 Tales Of Wisdom, 66/1 Hilitany, 14/1 Flushing Meadows, 14/1 Laureate Crown, 22/1 Conclave, 25/1 New Connection, 9/1 Were Goosers, 17/2 Wechaad, 33/1 Richies Rocket, 40/1 Victory Tip, 12/1 Langstone, 28/1 Charly, 12/1 Blue Courvoisier, 33/1 Noelan Star, 50/1 Intense Vision, 10/1 Outback Heat, 25/1 St Anton, 66/1 Capall Rasa, 33/1 Runman, 50/1 New Monarch, 50/1 Vincenzo Peruggia, 20/1 Crest Of Fire, 9/1 Moonfall, 40/1 Lion Of Alba, 14/1 Jamestown, 16/1 Exclusive Code, 33/1 Winding Stream, 50/1 Synners Kid, 25/1 Wild Thoughts
Non-runners
Bobby McGee
Verdict
A typical Britannia conundrum that’s full of horses who have yet to reveal their true ability to the handicapper and there will be Group horses lurking. WECHAAD dipped his toe in those waters last season (on unsuitably soft ground) and there was heaps to like about his reappearance at Goodwood, where he was soon on the back foot from his wide draw yet finished his race out strongly. That was after seven months off and he’s crying out for this longer distance. That Goodwood handicap could be key as Pathein, who was entered in this week’s Group 1 St James’s Palace, finished third despite a messy run through, while Richie’s Rocket’s effort further back can also be upgraded. As always, the eyes are drawn to many contenders and, from the rescheduled Silver Bowl that looks strong form, the third Crest Of Fire (second choice) is interesting as that race didn’t go at all to plan. Organise, We’re Goosers and Moonfall are understandably towards the peak of the betting.[Alistair Jones]