Here are five horses to follow at Royal Ascot, which begins on Tuesday.
ERVEDYA (Queen Anne Stakes, Tuesday)
Arguably one of the most underrated horses in training. A pacey, strong filly with previous Royal Ascot-winning experience, she simply never disappoints on a racecourse. Expect a much different beast from the one that was given a very considerate ride on her return to action last month. American mare Tepin will be popular on the day, but Ervedya is a class act and is surely a more appealing betting proposition.
AWTAAD (St James’s Palace Stakes, Tuesday)
The opening afternoon’s exchanges are among the finest of the week and in the Irish 2,000 Guineas hero a real star could be confirmed. He has always been held in the highest regard by veteran trainer Kevin Prendergast, who has seen enough quality horses over the years to know something special when he sees it. The Cape Cross colt travelled and quickened at the Curragh and, crucially, is likely to act on the ground however it works out.
SHEIKHZAYEDROAD (Gold Cup, Thursday)
The real joker in the pack and way overpriced if he can stay the gruelling two-and-a-half-mile distance. A quality performer at around 10 furlongs and a mile and a half, particularly on his travels, where he is a Group One winner, there will not be many quicker in the finish if he stays. The fact he has won over a mile and three-quarters gives hope that he will, and he came home well enough from off the pace in last season’s Goodwood Cup to suggest he can be ridden with a bit more confidence in that department.
CHOREOGRAPHER (King Edward VII, Friday)
With just two starts under his belt, the old ‘could be anything’ cliche certainly applies to this Roger Varian-trained son of Sea The Stars. Winner of a Windsor maiden in April, connections took the bold move of stepping him up to Group Two company for the Dante at York a couple of weeks later. He hardly helped himself in racing a bit keenly through the early stages, but he then found any amount of trouble when poised to challenge and was noted staying on at the finish. He would have finished much closer and with a step up in trip likely to suit judged on his pedigree, he is dark horse material.
TANZEEL (Wokingham, Saturday)
If there is one yard in the country which should know where it stands when it comes to sprinters it is that of Charlie Hills. Magical Memory, Cotai Glory and Strath Burn all zoom up the gallops so the fact he remains convinced we have yet to see the best of this five-year-old gelding suggests he thinks there are big prizes to be won off a mark of 101. He would surely have been sent to the sales if owner Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, did not think the same way.
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