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- Royal Ascot Day Three: Key Irish horses to watch
Royal Ascot Day Three: Key Irish horses to watch
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© Healy Racing Photos
Day three of Royal Ascot provides another excellent seven-race card and as usual, there’s plenty of Irish interest. It could be Aidan O’Brien’s day, as he has three particularly good chances and they’re all worth highlighting here.
Charles Darwin has a big reputation and he tackles the Norfolk Stakes, Illinois will attempt to fill the void left by Kyprios in the Gold Cup and Prix du Jockey Club fourth Trinity College has every chance in the Hampton Court Stakes, where he drops in grade.
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Charles Darwin - Ascot 2.30
O’Brien has a much better record in the Coventry Stakes than the Norfolk over 5f but he has still won it twice in the last decade. Charles Darwin could add to his tally and the talented juvenile has made a big impression so far.
The son of No Nay Never is a full-brother to the yard’s very smart Group 1-winning juvenile sprinter Blackbeard. He looked in need of the run when fourth on his debut and it was a decent enough effort.
Leaving that run well behind him when upped to 6f at Navan after that, Ryan Moore sent him to the front straight away and his rivals could get nowhere near him. The speed with which he put five lengths between himself and the runner-up was mightily impressive.
Connections decided to drop him back to 5f at Naas next time and aggressive tactics were once again employed. He never really saw another rival and scooted clear to score by just shy of four lengths. It’ll take a smart rival to beat him if he is in similar form at Ascot.
2.305f. 15 Declared.
Norfolk Stakes (Group 2) (Class 1 ) of £150,000.00 2-y-o
- Formscan
- Race Info
1st - €85,065.00 2nd - €32,250.00 3rd - €16,140.00 4th - €8,040.00 5th - €4,035.00 6th - €2,025.00 Going - Good to Firm.
Formscan - Not one of the last 10 favourites managed to win this race, which doesn't bode well for Charles Darwin, who topped many ante post betting lists after building on his Curragh debut to register comfortable wins at Navan and Naas respectively. The son of No Nay Never has the hallmarks of being a class act and cannot be ignored. However, AFJAN posted a very encouraging time when he won over an extended 5f at Chantilly on his racecourse bow and the French-bred son of Mehmas has the potential to do better on a faster surface. First Legion, Naval Light and Comical Point are notable contenders with place claims.
Odds Shortening 
Odds Lengthening | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
315 | 1st | Charles Darwin | 8/15  4/6 | 8/13 |
15 | 6th | Afjan | 6/1 15/2 | 7/1 |
147 | 3rd | Sandal's Song | 12/1  7/1 | 9/1 |
163 | 2nd | Wise Approach | 18/1 10/1 | 10/1 |
713 | 10th | First Legion | 14/1 10/1 | 11/1 |
| 139 | 8th | Naval Light | 9/2 16/1 | 14/1 |
56 | 5th | Comical Point | 25/1 14/1 | 22/1 |
416 | 11th | Clear Force | 50/1 25/1 | 33/1 |
910 | 13th | Hey Tru Blue | 12/1 25/1 | 33/1 |
84 | 7th | Graft | 66/1 33/1 | 50/1 |
108 | 9th | Irish Fighter | 200/1 50/1 | 50/1 |
1114 | 12th | Lil Brother | 66/1 | |
1511 | 15th | Star Material | 66/1 | |
22 | 4th | Ameeq | 100/1 | |
612 | 14th | Exclamation | 33/1 66/1 | 100/1 |
121 | n.r. | London Boy | ||
| Betting Percentage | 128% | |||
| Each-Way Terms | 4 1/5 | |||
8/13
Illinois - Ascot 4.20
© Healy Racing Photos
Star stayer Kyprios has been retired and that leaves a big gap in the division. Ballydoyle will be seeking to fill it with Illinois, who currently heads the market for this race.
The son of Galileo is a logical candidate for this, having finished second by a neck in the St Leger last season, and you can see why he’s popular. O’Brien’s four-year-old isn’t all stamina, though, as he possesses a touch of class too.
Second to Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe favourite Sosie in the Grand Prix de Paris last term, he followed that up with a narrow defeat at the hands of stablemate and Irish Derby winner Los Angeles He battled back well to win a French Group 2 over 1m7f on his final start at three.
Chester’s Ormonde Stakes was his fast task this season and connections felt he would improve significantly for the run. That didn’t stop him winning however, and the second has boosted the form by convincingly winning a Listed contest since.
4.202m. 3f. 210yds. 8 Declared.
Gold Cup (Group 1) (Class 1 ) of £650,000.00 4-y-o plus
- Formscan
- Race Info
1st - €368,615.00 2nd - €139,750.00 3rd - €69,940.00 4th - €34,840.00 5th - €17,485.00 6th - €8,775.00 Going - Good to Firm.
Formscan - Following the retirement of dual winner Kyprios, Aidan O'Brien relies on the highly talented Illinois as he bids for a record-breaking 10th winner of this illustrious event. However, top-tier success has been elusive for the son of Galileo, who will be stepping into uncharted territory over this marathon trip. That is not the case with the 2024 runner-up, TRAWLERMAN, who has a major chance of going one better this year. The John and Thady Gosden-trained gelding stays well, is effective on the forecast going and enjoyed an ideal preparation by defeating Coltrane by five lengths in the Henry II at Sandown. His stable companion Sweet William and the unexposed French raider Candelari are also capable of being on the premises.
Odds Shortening Odds Lengthening | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42 | 1st | Trawlerman | 7/4 9/4 | 2/1 |
74 | 6th | Candelari | 100/30 5/2 | 5/2 |
81 | 2nd | Illinois | 13/8 5/2 | 5/2 |
38 | 4th | Sweet William | 9/1 13/2 | 7/1 |
| 25 | 3rd | Dubai Future | 28/1 | |
16 | 5th | Coltrane | 33/1 | |
67 | 7th | Yashin | 50/1 | |
53 | p.u. | Wonder Legend | 50/1 | |
| Betting Percentage | 113% | |||
| Each-Way Terms | 3 1/5 | |||
Trinity College - Ascot 5.35
Detain and Trinity College were third and fourth respectively in the Prix du Jockey Club, which was won by the latter’s stablemate Camille Pissarro. Not a lot separated them that day and that could well be the case once again here.
It took the son of Dubawi a couple of starts to get the hang of things as a two-year-old but he did win a Galway maiden by 12 lengths, before running well in Group 2 and Group 3 company.
O’Brien’s colt stuck to his task well after being headed at Chantilly and may well want even further in time. The drop in grade should be a big help and if he can reproduce the level of form he showed in France here, you would imagine he’ll be bang in the mix.
5.351m. 1f. 212yds. 12 Declared.
Hampton Court Stakes (Group 3) (Class 1 ) of £150,000.00 3-y-o
- Formscan
- Race Info
1st - €85,065.00 2nd - €32,250.00 3rd - €16,140.00 4th - €8,040.00 5th - €4,035.00 6th - €2,025.00 Going - Good to Firm.
Formscan - High Stock built on the promise he showed when successful on debut in the Wood Ditton to fill the runner-up spot in the Dee Stakes and could have lots of improvement in him on only his third outing. However, TRINITY COLLEGE finished a head behind Detain when fourth in the Prix du Jockey Club and may turn the tables. Aidan O'Brien's colt possibly took it up too soon and was only caught late on so, with slightly different tactics possibly deployed this time, he could be the one to beat. Glittering Legend is an improver to keep an eye on after his Listed triumph at Newcastle in April.
Odds Shortening Odds Lengthening83 | n.r. | Jackknife | 5/2 6/1 |
111 | n.r. | Al Shababi | |
| Betting Percentage | |||
| Each-Way Terms | |||
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