Royal Ascot - Day 3

In today’s blog:
Review of yesterday’s blog
Today’s Racing Selections from Royal Ascot
World Cup Specials

Review of yesterday’s blog
Oh so close for the first selection RED JAZZ who led from the off and had them all off the bridle at the furlong pole. He was caught 100 yards out, but fought back to go down by just a head to the winner who set a new track record time. Then our second selection TWICE OVER came with a strong, late run to nearly catch the eventual winner, but just failed by half-a-length. So, from the 4pts staked we recovered a 3pt profit on the day but, for want of a bit of luck, we nearly had a 36pt profit.

Today’s Racing Selections from Royal Ascot
The third day at Royal Ascot and the Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes looks ripe for Henry Cecil to take with his filly PRINCIPAL ROLE. She should appreciate the 12f trip of this race, whereas likely fav Gertrude Bell clearly did not stay the Oaks trip. The danger could be Hannon’s Middle Club, but Hannon has such an awful record at Royal Ascot. That and it’s hard to pin down the value of her recent Italian form. PRINCIPAL ROLE @ 5/1 looks fair value

In the Gold Cup, ASK is the horse that holds the key. Almost certainly the best of these where it run over 12f, this race is unlikely to be run at a pace capable of stretching his stamina as so many in the race are tackling this trip for the first time. He should be able to track the leaders and make his move at the 2f pole where his dominant ability – he’s at least 4lb clear on official ratings - will come into play. The 4yo’s Age Of Aquarius and Manifest are nowhere near the OR121 rating of ASK over 12f and Kite Wood will tee this race up very nicely in making the pace from the front for ASK. Odds of 6/1 available on Wed evening have gone this morning but, even so, the 11/2 looks very generous for a horse of his class with the opposition so ordinary.

Royal Ascot 2:30 PRINCIPAL ROLE – 0.50pt EW @ 5/1 (Hills/Bet365)
Royal Ascot 3:40 ASK – 1pt EW @ 11/2 (Hills/Bet365)
Plus 0.50pt EW double
Total of 4pts staked

World Cup Specials
Yesterday, the World Cup Bank ended up £4.17, at a balance of £79.08 from a start of £100.00 (£10.00 staked per match). Chile confirmed their superiority with a solid win against Honduras (+£4.17). But what a shocker from Spain! Despite having superiority for most of the game, Spain did not put the ball in the Swiss net. When will teams realise that to win you have to score? Games are not won but how much your team is worth on the transfer market. This awful result cost the blog World Cup Bank (-£10.00). Uruguay then easily brushed aside South Africa (+£10.00).

Day 7 starts with Argentina v South Korea and this looks interesting. What I’ve noticed is that the match odds from before the tournament started have not changed much to reflect results of games already played. South Korea are 8/1 for this despite beating Greece comfortably 2:0. I think this could end-up a draw. The wager is on the draw with £5.00 @ 7/2 Hills, and £5.00 on Argentina to win @ 1/2 with Corals.

Next, its Greece v Nigeria; where do we start? The Greeks find scoring difficult and concede goals even from weak teams, ie North Korea (2); Senegal (1); Luxembourg (1); Moldova (1). At least, the Nigerian’s look like they can score goals, so we have to go for a Nigeria win. The wager is Nigeria to win with £8.50 @ 1/1 (evens) with Bet365, and £1.50 on the draw @ 12/5 available generally.

Finally, we have France v Mexico. France will know they have to win this game and odds of 11/8 look generous, especially as Mexico have struggled against European teams. The wager is France to win with £8.00 @ 11/8 with Corals, and £2.00 on the draw @ 23/10 with Ladbrokes.

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