Wigmore Hall worth risking on firm ground at York

The York Stakes, a Group Two race over a mile and a quarter, is the feature event in British horse racing this weekend and it has attracted 11 runners to the Knavesmire course.

Afsare and Planteur head the pre-post betting at around 7-2 and neither of them looks worthy of being such short odds for a Group Two contest on forecast good-to-firm ground.

The Luca Cumani-trained Afsare has won four of his 11 starts and owes his place at the top of the York Stakes betting to his victory in a Listed race at Sandown earlier this month and his runner-up effort in an Italian Group One in May.

Well beaten in Group Two and Group Three company when racing in the United Kingdom, Afsare`s form does not stand up well to close inspection and, while the mount of Kieren Fallon has a fair chance of making it five successes from a dozen outings, he does not appear to have a favourite`s chance.

The same goes for the Marco Botti-trained Planteur, who was bitterly disappointing in finishing five and a half lengths behind Prince of Wales`s Stakes winner So You Think at Royal Ascot last month. The five-year-old son of Danehill Dancer sweated up badly during the preliminaries and was never a factor, going from third to seventh in the final furlong.

Planteur has not won any of his last half a dozen races and his best form is on softer surfaces than the one that he is likely to encounter at York. If you fancy him then wait until the last minute before placing your bet because you would want to see him behave going down to the post first.

Jet Away, representing the Warren Hill team of Sir Henry Cecil and Tom Queally, is a course and distance winner with an excellent strike rate - six wins from 14 starts - and a penchant for firm ground but the York Stakes represents a fair step up in class for the five-year-old Cape Cross entire and he has yet to show that he can handle it.

It is one of the other course and distance winners in the York Stakes that gets the nod at the early prices. That course and distance winner is Wigmore Hall, who is still around 9-1 despite attracting some decent early support.

Wigmore Hall won a Grade One race in Canada the last time that he got to run on the firm ground that he needs to produce his best form. He has disappointed to varying degrees on each of his last six racecourse appearances dating back to late 2011 but he does not relish soft surfaces and, therefore, there are excuses for him.

In peak form and on good-to-firm or harder ground, Wigmore Hall would have a red-hot chance of winning his seventh career race and, as such, he appears overpriced at 9-1.

The York Stakes is not the only black-type race in the UK on Saturday 28 July 2012, with the Group Three Princess Margaret Juddmonte Stakes taking place at Ascot.

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27/07/2012     © Frixo 2024