, Friday's Free Tip

17th June 2016

Hi ,

The final day of Royal Ascot on Saturday could feature a winner trained by the Queen, a horse called Magical Memory creating a magical memory in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes and a winning favourite in one of the most competitive handicaps of the season. Dartmouth runs in the Royal colours and Brando could be the bookmaker’s dirty rat if he wins the Wokingham even though James Cagney said that and not Marlon Brando but you get the point.

The Saturday of Royal Ascot used to be known as the Heath meeting and not part of the best Flat meeting in the world. You always saw the odd morning suit because some people thought it was the fifth day of Royal Ascot. To save anybody from that kind of embarrassment Ascot extended the Royal meeting to a fifth day and there are now six races from Tuesday to Saturday. It is the one meeting in Britain that can justify a fifth day because the quality is not diluted which might be the case if the Cheltenham Festival was extended from four to five days.

Royal Ascot is all about tradition but it works in the modern era. There is a strict dress code for certain enclosures but the racing is the best in the world. There are 16 Group races during the meeting and this year horses from eight countries were entered. For many the meeting is more a social date in the calendar rather than a sporting event. However, racing professionals are happy to play their part in the show because the prize money is the highest of any Flat meeting in Britain and Ireland. Champions Day at Ascot is the most lucrative single day of racing but Royal Ascot prize money is sustained at a high level over five days.

The highlight of this Saturday’s card is the Diamond Jubilee Stakes which is a Group 1 contest run over six furlongs for horses aged four years and older. Before 2015 three-year-olds could enter but the Commonwealth Cup was created and is only for that age group. Older orders are targeted at the Diamond Jubilee Stakes which is one of the most prestigious sprints of the year. The race commemorates the Diamond Jubilee of the Queen but she has never won it. Dartmouth could give Her Majesty a winner on Saturday because the horse runs in her colours in the Hardwicke Stakes.

The Diamond Jubilee and its former guises dates back to 1868 and was called the Cork and Orrey Stakes until the name change in 2002. Most of the records date back to well before the 1990’s but Lester Piggott rode the last of his record nine winners in 1993 when he rode College Chappell for Vincent O’Brien who is the leading trainer with five wins. Frankie Dettori rode Undrafted to victory last year, trained by US based Wesley Ward and owned by an American Football player who couldn’t find a team at the end of one season so was undrafted.

Magical Memory is the ante post favourite for this year’s Diamond Jubilee Stakes which was famously won by Black Caviar in 2012. The Australian wonder horse had the race won but the jockey dropped his hands near the line and the filly was almost overhauled. Coolmore and Aidan O’Brien last won the race with Starspangledbanner in 2010 and the last 30 winners were in the hands of different trainers. Magical Memory is trained by Charlie Hills whose father Barry trained Royal Applause to win the race in 1997 ridden by another son, Michael.

Magical Memory is an improving horse whose Racing Post Rating has increased from 93 to 114 over the last year. The horse has won six races from 15 outings and four of those wins have come in his last five races. Magical Memory will have to produce a career best to win the Diamond Jubilee Stakes but the ground will not be suitable on Saturday. The horse excels when the word good is in the going description and Ascot is racing on soft ground this week.

The most popular winner of the day would be Dartmouth because the owner of the horse just happens to be the reigning monarch who is celebrating her 90th birthday this year. The 2016 Gold Cup is called the Gold Cup In Honour of the Queen’s 90th Birthday and Dartmouth would be an apt winner at the Royal meeting in this anniversary year. Queen Elizabeth only has to wait another 10 years before getting a telegram from the Queen and any prize money won by Dartmouth could help pay for the postage.

The Hardwicke is run over one mile four furlongs and Wicklow Brave is an interesting runner at a working man’s price. The horse is trained by Willie Mullins and won a race at the 2015 Cheltenham Festival. Winning at the two major British meetings for each code is not unique but it is rarely achieved. Wicklow Brave doesn’t quite have the class to complete the double so Dartmouth could do the Queen proud. The colt’s recent win at Chester of a mark of 114 makes the horse the form pick. Exosphere is shorter in the betting but is rated four pounds less.

The Wokingham is run over the straight six furlongs at Ascot and looks an open contest for which Brando is the favourite. Movie fans may back the horse blind which could distort the marker and Tupi could sneak into the payout places at a big price. Some bookmakers will be paying out on the first five so backing Tupi with one of them at slightly reduced odds makes sense.

Best Wishes,

BetFan