Galileo filly maybe answer to Coronation Stakes puzzle

Of all the Group One races on the Royal Ascot program, the Coronation Stakes is the hardest one to fathom given the considerable concerns regarding the form of the runners who contested the 1,000 Guineas events in England and Ireland.

Homecoming Queen did not just beat her English 1,000 Guineas rivals at Newmarket; she slaughtered them. The 25-1 outsider led from start to finish, relishing the soft ground and passing the finishing post nine lengths ahead of Starscope.

But following the daughter of Holy Roman Emperor`s run in the Irish 1,000 Guineas at The Curragh, in which she could only manage a seven-length fourth behind 12-1 shot Samitar, with two even bigger outsiders occupying second and third, questions have been asked of the Newmarket form`s value.

Another factor regarding the English classic to take into consideration is the half-hour delay as a consequence of Gray Pearl sustaining a fatal injury in the stalls. The death of the Charlie Hills-trained filly in that freak accident surely unsettled many of the runners and it is reasonable to suggest that it had an impact on the result.

Rain is forecast to soften up the Ascot track and, because of that, some punters will overlook Homecoming Queen`s flop on good ground in Ireland and get on her to make amends. But there is a better course of action given the serious doubts.

Aidan O`Brien has two runners in the Coronation Stakes, with Maybe making up his team. The Galileo filly looked like she did not see out the mile and a half in the Epsom Oaks and, although it is not ideal for racehorses to go back in trip because sometimes it blunts their speed, there are grounds for thinking that Maybe could bounce back to her 2011 juvenile form that earmarked her as a mature star.

Samitar will have her supporters, especially after Irish 1,000 Guineas runner-up Ishvana won the Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot earlier this week, but either she improved dramatically to win at The Curragh or Homecoming Queen performed many pounds well below her Newmarket run. The latter is far and away the most probable explanation.

The race that precedes the Coronation Stakes is the King Edward VII Stakes, also over 12 furlongs, and it contains a stand-out bet in the shape of Epsom Derby third Astrology.

There was no shame in O`Brien`s charge going down by five lengths to Ballydoyle stablemate Camelot, the champion galloper who has the triple crown in his sights after winning the English classics at Newmarket and Epsom.

A repeat of Astrology`s performance on the difficult downs would be sufficient to take out the Group Two contest and, hopefully, punters will latch on to Frankel`s full brother noble Mission and cause the favourite to start at good odds.

Noble Mission has two wins and two seconds from his four outings, none of which have been over more than a mile and a quarter. Many racing pundits think that Nobel Mission will see out 12 furlongs but there has to be question marks over his stamina given that Frankel is yet to race over more than eight, although Sir Henry Cecil will run him over 10 soon.

Back Astrology to have his half-a-dozen rivals seeing stars on the penultimate day of the top-class meeting.

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21/06/2012     © Frixo 2024