We kick the final day of the meeting off with the Chesham, and Aidan O’Brien’s filly Bedtime Story is my pick here. She was impressive in her debut win at Leopardstown where she won nicely and, being by Frankel and out of Mecca’s Angel, she’s bred to be out of the top drawer. Godolphin’s Mountain Breeze could push her close, but I think the Ballydoyle filly will be just too good.
The Hardwicke follows and sees the return of the Leger hero Continuous. He was top class last year, winning a Classic and running a mighty race in the Arc too. He accounted for Middle Earth and Desert Hero at Doncaster, and you’d expect he’d be able to do the same again here, even without a run. Aidan O’Brien knows how to get his horses fit for the important days, and I think he’s going to be hard to beat before going onto bigger and better things this season.
15:45 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes
This looks like a really open renewal of the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes, but I think Mitbaahy can take home the spoils for Charlie Hills. I was at the Curragh on the day he won the Greenlands, where he flew home impressively to win. I could see him doing similar again, and it’s a positive he’s got Jamie Spencer on his back, as he rides the Ascot straight track better than most.
The Jersey seems like it’ll be a rematch between Haatem and River Tiber. I’m going to go for the former to confirm the form of their second and third placings in the Irish Guineas. The Hannon horse is just so consistent, and it was encouraging to see Rosallion win the St James’s Palace the way he did. River Tiber is a course winner from the Coventry last year, but I’m picking the British horse to take this one.
It’s clear that the Wokingham is going to be a hard puzzle to solve, with 31 declared to run. I liked the look of one at a price in the shape of Strike Red for Richard Fahey. He was in good form last year and his trainer might just have had this race in mind for him for a while. He’s the one I’d go for, hopefully a nice each-way chance who could hit the frame.
The way that Hand Of God won at Sandown showed he is a really progressive horse to follow. The Charlton team have stepped him up in trip here and I wouldn’t have thought that will be a problem to him, given he’s bred to stay this distance well. Given the race that it is, it’s hard to know which horses are about to improve out of nowhere, but I think Hand Of God is the one here with William Buick in the plate.
Onto the finale of the entire meeting, the Queen Alexandra, where Dawn Rising looks set to go back-to-back in the race. Joseph O’Brien’s charge was much the best 12 months ago and has continued to run with credit since, despite not winning. He was only five-and-three-quarter lengths behind the Gold Cup winner Kyprios on his last start, and I think he’ll bring the house down again, giving William Buick a double on the day.
Best of luck,
Mick