Frankel long odds on to extend unbeaten run

Royal Ascot gets under way with back-to-back-to-back Group One races, with the world`s highest rated active racehorse, Frankel, at almost unbackable odds to win the first event.

Surprisingly, connections of ten horses other than Frankel have paid up to contest the Queen Anne Stakes over a mile but surely, unless one of the Sir Henry Cecil-trained unbeaten champion`s legs fall off, he will make it 11 victories from 11 appearances on a racetrack.

Bookmakers are expecting a Frankel-led procession to match that of the one featuring Queen Elizabeth II before racing begins, so much so that they have framed betting markets without the pride and joy of Prince Khalid Abdulla.

That Excelebration, a horse that Frankel has beaten by an aggregate 15 and a quarter lengths in their four meetings, is the favourite in betting without last year`s English 2,000 Guineas winner, speaks volumes about the race.

Frankel should win as he pleases. The four-year-old son of Galileo`s average winning margin is just in excess of five lengths and, given that he defeated Excelebration by five lengths at Newbury last month, that looks about right. If anything, he may win by more than five lengths because Sir Henry expects him to have improved for his recent run.

The King`s Stand Stakes is the second Group One event of Royal Ascot`s first day and, unlike the Queen Anne Stakes, it is anything but straightforward to pick out the winner.

Ortensia has been overshadowed by the hype surrounding her compatriot, Black Caviar, but Australian runners have an excellent record in the five-furlong dash and, having travelled to Ascot via Dubai where she won the Al Quoz Sprint, the seven-year-old merits serious consideration.

However, Ortensia`s handler, Paul Messara, has been vocal in his concern about the good-to-soft ground forecast for Royal Ascot`s opening day because his charge does not produce her best form when there is some give in the racing surface.

At the odds and given the likely state of the Royal Ascot track, Wizz Kid is the value bet. Robert Collet`s filly has almost as good form in the book as any of her 22 rivals and, at the relatively young age of four, she has considerably more scope for improvement than the bulk of the field.

Wizz Kid has won on good-to-soft going and knows her way down Ascot`s straight having finished a close-up second behind Delta Blues over six furlongs in October 2011.

Five furlongs on a relatively stiff track such as Ascot suits Wizz Kid best of all so she is the pick in what is, undoubtedly, the highlight of Tuesday`s feature races.

The St James`s Palace Stakes rounds out the day`s Group One affairs, with 16 runners going to post for the mile contest.

Power is the favourite and a worthy one at that. The Aidan O`Brien-trained Oasis Dream colt was not himself in the English 2,000 Guineas that his stablemate, Camelot, won but bounced back to win the Irish equivalent three weeks ago.

With question marks over all of Power`s major market rivals and no reason to think that the classic winner will finish behind any of those horses whom he beat at The Curragh, he does look likely to reward punters at odds of around 11-4.

The Coventry Stakes follows the St James`s Palace Stakes but the Group Two event is incredibly difficult to evaluate, with the field full of unexposed, improving juveniles.

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18/06/2012     © Frixo 2024