ROYAL ASCOT – THURSDAY
4:20 G1 Gold Cup
Raymond Tusk (Jamie Spencer)
We think he could develop into a proper ‘Cup’ horse and his owners are already eyeing a possible trip to Flemington for the Melbourne Cup but that’s a long way off yet, let’s just get this out of the way first. We probably made a mistake at Newbury last time when instead of riding him to finish second (to Crystal Ocean) he was going that well four out that Jamie thought he might actually win so took the ball by the horns and put it up to Stoute’s horse but sadly the winner was always going to reel us in. However it was a very good run and he’s come out of that race in great shape. This is obviously another step up the ladder and it’s a very long way in a Gold Cup but we think he’ll stay and if you take out Stradivarius it looks a wide open race. We don’t have too many Stayers in the yard but Raymond could end up being very good in this sphere and I really think he can go well. He currently resides in the same stable that housed Toronado, Canford Cliffs and more recently Barney Roy….
Raymond Tusk
Ascot Gold Cup️ Trainer @RHannonRacing discusses the chances of the @MprUpdates owned horse
Full tour https://t.co/laWuGX0Ah1 pic.twitter.com/vISQIXDaLA
— Unibet Racing (@UnibetRacing) June 15, 2019
5:00 Britannia Stakes
Beat Le Bon (Pat Dobbs) – NON RUNNER
Dobbsy got off after winning at Goodwood last time and was really excited about him, which is quite unusual as he is never that enthusiastic about anything! But he said the key to this horse is to hold him up which we should be able to do in a field of this size. Things haven’t always gone smoothly as this time last year we had very high hopes for him but he seems to have finally got his act together and the switch to Herridge from Everleigh has helped as well. This race is absolutely ideal and I think he has outstanding claims. Put it this way, I’ll be disappointed if he isn’t in the first three or four.
— Betfair Handicap at @Goodwood_Races
Beat Le Bon (11-2) showed everything needed to win impressively under Pat Dobbs.
Great win all round for @rhannonracing & team! pic.twitter.com/9R3HNQk9ZC
— Sun Racing (@SunRacing) May 25, 2019
Motafaawit (Jim Crowley)
The form of his Ascot win has worked out well with Awe scoring at Newmarket last week and this horse is improving all the time. Jim came and had a sit on him a few days ago and was very happy. He’ll handle any ground and I see no reason why he can’t go extremely close. He has a lot of ability.
Masaru (Tom Marquand) – NON RUNNER
Dads owns a bit of him so it would be great if we could take some of the prize money back to Herridge! He was impressive at Sandown in the Esher Cup but was a little bit disappointing at Haydock afterwards and nothing really came to light so I’m going to draw a line through it and move on. This horse has a lot of ability and we’ve freshened him up at home so he arrives here in good shape. Tom rode him in a piece of work last week and was absolutely beaming afterwards!
Mordred (Thore Hammer-Hansen)
He’s a talented colt but can often race a little lazily so I’m hoping this large field will help give him a tow into the race. There’s no question that he has to improve and he’s a big price for a reason but you often see outsiders run well in this and with Thore’s 5lbs claim, I wouldn’t be surprised if he runs into a place.
5:35 King George V Stakes
Leroy Leroy (Tom Marquand)
We stepped him up to 1m2f at Redcar last time and he ran a great race to finish second, beaten a head, by one of William Haggas’s, but I think he’ll improve even more for the extra 2 furlongs and we’ve been very happy with him at home since his last run. I think one of his main attributes is his attitude and he seems to handle any ground so I certainly wouldn’t rule him out.
Kuwait Currency (Pat Dobbs)
We thought he’d be one of our best juveniles last season after winning impressively at Lingfield and Salisbury but sadly the wheels have come off since and he’s failed to beat a single horse in his last three starts so it would be foolish of me to tip him up here. That said, he’s going up to 1m4f which should suit as he’ll have plenty of time to get into a rhythm but I don’t mind admitting he has to step up considerably on what he’s shown so far this season.
