👑 ROYAL ASCOT WEEK STARTS WITH SOFT TOUCHES IN FORTUNE COOKIES: Daqman launches Royal Ascot week with his Fortune Cookies. One of them won yesterday, German Derby and Arc contender Wonderful Moon (WON 30-100) in Cologne, and he had Khalifa Sat (WON 8-1), a home winner at Goodwood among his daily tips. With the eve-of-Ascot forecast thunderstorms, a trio of soft-ground specialists are new to the Cookies list, including a potential shock Gold Cup winner.
THREE MONDAY BETS: Including a Pontefract NAP in the Listed contest.
ROYAL ASCOT FORTUNE COOKIES
What will be will be. Miss O’Connor is not a cue for a song but for a right royal Ascot for trainer William Haggas, who could have a Tuesday-Wednesday double.
Lester Piggott’s son-in-law has just struck form and I have two excellent reasons for putting these three in my Lucky 13 Fortune Cookies:
🏇 Miss O’Connor (William Haggas, Duke Of Cambridge Stakes, tomorrow)
🏇 Addeybb (William Haggas, Prince Of Wales’s Stakes, Wednesday)
🏇 Technician (Martyn Meade, Ascot Gold Cup, Thursday)
Reasons? Apart from their obvious form chances, all three like soft ground and my ‘good thing’ tip for the meeting is RAIN! So the Met boys tell me.
🏇 ADDEYBB (form 121211 William Haggas) won the Wolferton Stakes handicap at the royal meeting a year ago and had improved enough by October to get within threeparts of a length of winning the British Champions Middle Distance title there at Group-1 level in October.
He’s improved again to a 122 rating after continuing the good work Down Under, dual winner of Graded races at Randwick during March and April. Seven times a winner with ‘soft’ (once heavy) in the going return.
🏇 BORN WITH PRIDE (10 William Haggas) Another Haggas hope. Disappointed in the Kempton Classic Trial but beat Saturday’s Irish 1,000 Guineas winner, Peaceful, on heavy at Newmarket in November.
Could be seen in the Ribblesdale tomorrow or the Queens Vase on Friday, then the Irish Oaks on July 18.
🏇 DEMOCRACY (22 Peter Schiergen) The two-year-old champion at Baden Baden, No Time Limit, only just held on, driven out, in the top fillies’ trial at Cologne on May 17, but those who saw the race are convinced that the neck runner-up Democracy would get her revenge in the German 1,000 Guineas on June 21.
🏇 FRANKLY DARLING (21 John Gosden) Frankly Darling demolished a maiden field on the opening day at Newcastle after lockdown to take her place in the Oaks line-up. Daughter of Frankel, dam a Daylami mare. Ribblesdale Stakes tomorrow.
🏇 INNISFREE (112 Aidan O’Brien) Epsom Derby, July 4; gave Galileo nine straight wins in the Beresford (the last three were: Capri, Saxon Warrior, Japan), despite heavy ground, and three-lengths defeat by Kameko in the Futurity at Newcastle doesn’t look at all bad after his Guineas success.
🏇 KINROSS (100 Ralph Beckett) Sixth in the English 2,000 Guineas, Kinross, by star miler Kingman out of a Selkirk mare who was also trained by Beckett, could do better with give underfoot. Could go for the Jersey Stakes on Thursday.
🏇 MISS O’CONNOR (1111 William Haggas) After the Jimi Hendrix album winner, Electric Ladyland at Goodwood yesterday, I was looking for a connection with Hazel O’Connor but none that I know of. Sire was Roderick O’Connor. She loves give underfoot, so look out tomorrow.
🏇 OCEAN ATLANTIQUE (2121 Andre Fabre) The Fabre stable has been in terrific form and this colt won his trial at Deauville on the way to the French Derby (July 5). Owned by The Lads (Magnier, Tabor, Smith).
🏇 QUADRILATERAL (1113 Roger Charlton) Frankel’s daughter didn’t quite have the pace in the 1,000 Guineas but gets a chance of revenge in the Epsom Oaks, July 4.
🏇 RAABIHAH (11 Jean-Claude Rouget) Powerful finish at Longchamp in May to book her place in the Prix de Diane on July 5
🏇 TECHNICIAN (101011 Martyn Meade) The Manton yard was in the money yesterday with Lyzbeth and this would be a great scalp for Martyn Meade if he could take Stradivarius in the Gold Cup, and it would be a hat-trick for Technician after the Chaudenay and the Prix Royal Oak, both on very soft ground.
🏇 VICTOR LUDORUM (1113 Andre Fabre) French 2,000 Guineas winner for the Fortune Cookies.
🏇 WONDERFUL MOON (32111 Henk Grewe) Won again for the Cookies list yesterday on his way to the German Derby (July 12) and a tilt at the Arc de Triomphe.
ANTONIA ANOTHER BECKETT PONTY RAIDER
⭕ 2.50 Pontefract (Castle Fillies’ Stakes Listed) Six meetings in the UK and Ireland on Monday and it’s generally quantity over quality which is easy to understand on Royal Ascot Eve.
The exception being this fillies’ Listed event over a mile and a half in which four-year-olds usually dominate – the last six runnings all going to that age group.
Ralph Beckett won it in 2018 with Isabel De Urbina and it’s hard to get away from his representative this year Antonia De Vega who is definitely the class act in the race. She has plenty in hand on official ratings and is a full 22lb in front of her stable companion Nette Rousse.
The key selling point though is Antonia De Vega seems to go well fresh. She won on debut and also after a 244 day break in 2018 . So the break today, if anything, could be a positive.
She’s also lightly raced and still progressive. Without doubt she’ll find this company easier than the Group 1 level she was competing in at the end of last season.
12 buys me 10 on BETDAQ and she looks a solid pre Ascot NAP.
KING LAYS DOWN THE LAW
⭕ 4.25 Pontefract A more speculative selection here is the Alan King trained Lexington Law. King’s runners on the flat could well be worth following this season and he has made a bright enough start with 3 winners from 28 runners.
Lexington Law has only won once on the flat – and that was back at Kempton in December 2018 but returns to the turf on what could be a very attractive handicap mark of 70.
He hasn’t been seen on the flat (turf) since finishing last of five in a Newbury class 3 handicap and whilst that form line alone wouldn’t inspire much confidence, the fact that he is now 15lb lower and two classes lower means this could be a whole new ball game.
Current BETDAQ favourite Highwaygrey hails from a stable that are only 2-78 and needs to show plenty of improvement himself.
PEGGIE SUE, PEGGIE SUE
⭕ 6.25 Chepstow Class 4 is as good as it gets at Chepstow tonight and Peggie Sue is interesting over this minimum trip.
Trained by Adam West (5 of his last seven runners placed), the five-year-old ran well after a break at Kempton on 3rd June and can put that edge to good use.
Despite winning three times last season she is arguably still well handicapped.
DAQMAN’S BETS (all staked to win 10 points)
BET 12.0pts win (nap) ANTONIA DE VEGA (2.50 Pontefract)
BET 1.5pts win LEXINGTON LAW (4.25 Pontefract)
BET 2.9pts win PEGGIE SUE (6.25 Chepstow)
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