Best bets for the horse racing Saturday including the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes
Following a quiet week in which I have had just one bet, Dark Vision who was a winner on Thursday, it’s a busy weekend fixture wise with one of the most famous races in the game to look forward to; I will start my write-up with that race.
At 3.35 over at Ascot we have the 1m4f Group One King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes. I am a big fan of the race and it’s a little upsetting to see this year's renewal have just two yards and effectively two sets of connections represented; a sign of the mixed-up crazy fixture list for this year I suppose, or at least, I hope so. Anyhow onto those who do run. Enable is going for a hat-trick in the race having won in 2017 and 2019 but does arrive with two twos’ next to her name and her air of invincibility gone. That said neither of the horses to beat her recently will be in Berkshire on Saturday. It is, truth be told, hard to see past the Khalid Abdullah owned mare in this line-up and that’s why she is odds-on. The opposition is headed by Japan, who finished behind Enable in last year's Arc (2nd & 4th) and this year's Coral-Eclipse (2nd & 3rd). He is perhaps the one that can give her a race but still looks set to see her backside again. What we have seen of him thus far this year he doesn’t appear to have improved over the winter and is officially rated 6lb inferior to the jolly. The other two from Ballydoyle are 2019 Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck who was beaten out of sight in this last year and despite looking better of late it's hard to see him giving Enable 3lb and a beating, plus last season's Irish Derby winner Sovereign who is rated 11lb inferior to the mare and could only manage third in a Group Three out in Ireland last month. It isn’t the field we as punters would perhaps have hoped for but it’s still well worth a watch.
My three fancies on which you can actually have a punt on Saturday follow in time order. I really wanted to back Top Rank at York but he doesn’t run, might go to Thirsk next week, but there are some decent bets to be had.
Dhahabi makes his racecourse debut for Charlie Appleby in the 7f British Stallion Studs EBF Maiden Stakes at Newmarket due off at 1.40. I have had an eye out for this 3,100,000 Guineas yearling. A son of Frankel out of Fleche D’Or he is a half-brother to four winners including Golden Horn. It is a pedigree to die for with his grand sires being Galileo and Dubai Destination and grand mares Kind and Nuryana. It’s no guarantee of success but big things must be hoped for. The yard is in cracking form and running at around 26% strike-rate with their tow-year-olds. Get on him to make a winning debut at the best price you can grab when they chalk-up.
At 1.50 we have the 7f Listed BetfredTV Pat Eddery Stakes at Ascot. Twaasol arrives two from two and steps up in class. A couple behind him at Windsor on debut have come out and won since and the Godolphin owned Modern News he beat at Epsom last time is no slouch so this sort of class should hold no fears and the way he won both times suggests the seven furlongs will also be fine. The yard has been amongst the winners lately and I honestly think, with respect to those at Kingwood House Stables, if he was with one of the powerhouse stables, he’d be a shorter price. I missed the 100-30 that was about briefly but have the 3-1 overnight.
They go over the straight mile at Ascot at 3.00 for the Betfred 'Nifty Fifty' Handicap. A couple in here with chances including last time winner Johan but I think he has been penalised by the handicapper pretty hard for his neck victory at Newbury. The one for me is Tsar. The Kingman colt showed a good turn of foot when making a winning handicap debut at Yarmouth recently and was perhaps unlucky to come up against an impressive Lord Campari, who had the run of the race, when second before that at Newbury; he did finish well clear of the third. I think he might be the group performer in a handicap here and have the 9-4.
They have the Group One Tattersalls Gold Cup out at the Curragh on Sunday but Magical is odds-on for that having be routed there rather than a clash with Enable at Ascot.
Be lucky