There were two winners on Day two, albeit the shorter-priced horses.
Blue Bolt cruised into contention under Colin Keane, who oozed confidence. I was worried about Colin being in the saddle, but he got it spot on. In all fairness, he was probably on the best horse by quite a margin. Oisin Murphy had a stinker on the Gosden runner.
Ombudsman put in a fantastic display. He really needs a solid pace to see him to his best effect, hence why the pacemakers are so important for him. Personally, I'd like to see the BHA do something about the pacemakers. They set a precedent by banning Soumillon for his ride for Aidan O'Brien on Day One, so they now have to keep the consistency.
Cannes 8/1 (1pt EW, 5pl) – Ascot 3.05 (King George V Stakes)
I think having a wide draw in the big field handicaps around the round course is an advantage. It allows your jockey to settle in a position which they find to be right. Whereas, if you're drawn low, you will easily find yourself in a lot of trouble. Believed was a horse on my list, but drawn in four was off-putting, and after seeing Oisin struggle to maintain a position on Wednesday, I opted out.
Joseph O'Brien can do little wrong at the moment. He is having his horses run massive races, no matter the odds. He sends four for this race, but his stable jockey, Dylan Browne McMonagle, is on Cannes.
Cannes fits the profile for a winner of this race. He has had three runs, makes his handicap debut, and has shown enough from his qualifying runs that he is a real threat at this level.
Johanna Walsh 8/1 (1pt EW, 4pl) – Ascot 3.40 (Ribblesdale Stakes, Group 2)
Once again, the most likely winner on form is at the top of the market. I don't think you can question why Legacy Link is the short-priced favourite, but that doesn't mean it's an automatic win.
She ran a couple of weeks ago in the Epsom Oaks and finished second. That was a tough race, so has that race left any marks? I wouldn't be backing her at 13/8 to find out. The others in the race didn't interest me, and if it wasn't for Johanna Walsh, I'd have left this race alone.
Joseph O'Brien is having a superb season, and since he had the winner of the Epsom Oaks, he should have a good gauge on how good his other fillies are. I was unfortunate enough to bet against Johanna Walsh last time out at Leopardstown, and I thought she was impressive. She won the race from the front, and did it with ease, and I thought she looked like a proper Class 1 horse that day.
Fast forward a month, and I'm backing her for the Ribblesdale. I really think she has a much better chance than her odds suggest, and I can see her going off a little bit shorter. If they let her get the lead, she could be hard to peg back. Ascot can be good for front-runners, and from what I saw, she will keep rolling.
Carmers 16/1 (0.5pt EW 3pl) – Ascot 4.15 (Gold Cup, Group 1)
The talk will be about Scandinavia and Trawelerman for this renewal of the Gold Cup. It's the potential next staying superstar against the older statesman. We've seen these clashes before with the likes of Stradivarious and Kyprios pushing back the young pretenders, but I'm not sure how this one is going to go.
At the prices, I thought Carmers was worth a chance. With the top two taking up a lot of the market, it has meant the likes of Carmers is a big price. We saw a Godolphin runner finish third in this race last year at odds of 28/1, so it's not out of the ordinary to get place money.
Carmers won at this meeting last year, beating Scandinavia and Rahieeb. Both of those horses reversed the form in the St Leger, and Scandinavia was ahead of Carmers on their run at the start of the new season. However, Carmers looks much more comfortable on a very quick surface. All of his below-par runs have been on ground with some level of soft in the description.
We don't know if the trip of 2m 4f will suit him, but he stayed on well over two miles last time out. We know he likes the track, and he bounces off good to firm ground, so he got my vote.
GambleAware