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Royal Ascot Day 4

Stradivarius stamped his authority and class all over Royal Ascot yesterday in what was one of the greatest staying performances in living memory. The cheeky look over the shoulder by Frankie rounding the turn for home and the "Three Gold Cups" will live remain a part of Royal Ascot footage for many years to come. After such a performance, it is disappointing that so few were in attendance to appreciate the achievement and give the combination the reception they deserved but such are the times. 

The ground appears to be drying out with minimal rain overnight and that should suit Golden Horde in the 3.35, who could be a sprinter out of the top drawer. His trainer, who knows a thing or two about top sprinters, holds him in high regard and he has achieved more than anyone else in the field to date. He first came to our attention as a potential Group 1 performer when a very encouraging 5th in the Coventry at the Royal meeting 12 months ago. His form appeared to take off from there, winning a Group 2 at Goodwood before bumping into Earthlight twice in Group 1 company. In particular, I was impressed by his neck second to Earthlight at Newmarket, pulling clear of the remainder. He hit the line really strong on that occasion and if he has strengthened up as reports suggest, he could be a sprinter worth following this season. There are a few dangers, particularly Lope Y Fernandez who shaped like a sprinter in the Irish Guineas. Obviously, his lack of a prep run is a slight concern, but he is still worth a small investment.

In the opening race on the card, there is no doubt that Art Power will be very hard to beat. However, 2/1 in a big field Ascot handicap is not very appealing and it makes the market from a value point of view if opposing the favourite. Keep Busy kept improving with each run (and there were a lot of them) in her two-year-old campaign and rounded off the season winning a Listed race in France. The graph seems to be heading in the same direction in the early stages of this campaign. She was a highly encouraging 7th in a Group 3 over 6 furlongs on her reappearance and her run behind Lazuli at Sandown last Saturday suggest she could be better than her current mark. Admittedly well beaten by the impressive winner, she was the only one to make any bit of a race out of it and had a couple of horses rated 104 well behind in third and fourth. It was an improvement on her first run and if she improves again like she did through last season, she should go very close. 


0.5 pt win Golden Horde (9/2 general) Ascot 3.35 *use BOG firms

0.5 pt win Keep Busy (15/2 Bet365, 7/1 general) Ascot 1.15 *use BOG firms


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