Racing tips: Ascot specialist Rohaan will prove his class in the Group 3

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The French selections did well on Friday, returning a win and a runner-up finish. However, the main story of yesterday was Soumillon's decision to elbow Rossa Ryan off the Ralph Beckett-trained horse.

Thankfully, Rossa escaped without an injury and Soumillon saw a ban of just two months. Let me know what you think about the incident and the length of the ban in the comments. Personally, it should be a lifetime ban. Just because Rossa escaped without an injury doesn't mean he should get away with it. He landed on his neck and could've easily been career and life-threatening if the exact accident was to be repeated. A baffling decision from the French stewards in my eyes.

Redcar 2:47

Redcar has a couple of good races on Saturday and the first race that caught my attention was their Listed race, which has nine runners and has some familiar faces with some young 3yo up and comers trying to fiddle their way into Class 1 honours.

I'd imagine Dubai Poet and I'm A Gambler will be popular with the punters, showing a progressive profile (I'm A Gambler) and connections of Dubai Poet are always on interest in races like this, especially when Roger Varian sends them up north. However, my eye was drawn to another southern raider, but in the shape of SONNY LISTON.

This horse isn't exactly my strongest selection on Saturday, but I think he is worth an each-way bet over a trip which shouldn't suit on pedigree, but based on how he runs I think he could potentially improve for it. He won over 7f on debut and hasn't won since, he is a horse who tends to pull hard in his races so I think a shorter distance race with a faster pace should allow him to settle, so we can see the true ability he has.

He's still a 3yo who is clearly well-regarded by connections as they had him run in the Derby earlier this season, which costs a fee to be entered and to run. Granted he didn't finish anywhere close to winning the race, but the intent to put him in that kind of race shows they think he is a nice horse. I think the soft ground could unlock some improvement. He's related to soft ground winners like Dame Malliot (2x Group 2 wins), and the excess stamina he possesses at this trip could be used to his strength if they go a good gallop on slow ground.

Redcar 3:57

I put up GIVE IT SOME TEDDY at this track over this distance at the start of August where he finished second, finishing behind Diamondonthehill who nabbed him on the line. The winner returns but is 13lbs higher than Give It Some Teddy, so it should be virtually impossible for him to confirm the form.

Give It Some Teddy is a course specialist, and he managed to win this exact race in 2018 and 2019. He ran in this race last year where he finished middle of the pack, but that was off a mark of 79, which was 8lb higher than his handicap mark today. Based on old pieces of form he is extremely well handicapped and has to be respected back at his favourite venue. Despite being an 8yo he is still capable of running good races, shown by the small margin defeat in August.

The ground isn't a concern if it gets testing. He has won on heavy before and run some big races on soft as well, so if the rain does arrive like expected it won't be a concern to me. He is priced up at around 9/2 so isn't exactly an EW price, but with 4 places on offer and considering it's a competitive handicap I probably will be playing him as an EW bet in hope that he will drift, but I can see him going off as the favourite.

Ascot 3:00

ROHAAN is a strange horse in the way that you think he should win a race with ease if he turns up in the same form, but that never seems to happen and he tends to run below par. However, with that being said I have been sucked into backing him for this Group 3 contest, as based on his form of this year and previous years, he is the one they all have to beat if they want to win this.

He has run some good races in Group 1's this year, especially the race in France behind Highland Princess where he finished 4th and a length behind the winner, producing an RPR of 117. He has since run well below par in a Group 2 at York over 7f and then redeemed himself with a better run in the Haydock Group 1 sprint finishing 3rd of 12. The big thing for the reason to back Rohaan today is the track. He loves Ascot and has some seriously impressive form at this course, so the 3/1 available seems too good to turn down.

He is a dual Royal Ascot winner, winning the Wokingham last year off a mark of 112 before winning the same race this year off 109. To win off such high handicap marks in the toughest of handicaps is a seriously impressive accomplishment and shows he has tonnes of class about him. This race is a decent renewal, but the class edge is with Rohaan so I think if he turns up on form he will be seriously tough to beat, granted he gets a clear run.

Longchamp 4:35

I've been waiting for CHECKANDCHALLENGE to run on soft ground all season and now is the first time he'll be able to run on this type of ground. Some will wonder why I've been wanting to see him run of soft ground because he has never been tried on this surface, so surely it's a gamble. I'm not a horse expert but from the way he moves and the pedigree he has makes him look like a horse who will appreciate cut in the ground so based on the face he is 10/1 I think he is worth a small EW bet.

This horse has had a profile of a horse that connections think they have a really top horse on their hands. He won a Newcastle Listed race on his second start and was then chucked into the deep end in the 2000 Guineas. I know for a fact that a lot of the time watchers were very impressed with his run at Newcastle and on the bare look of it, you can see why. He wasn't ready for the Guineas at that point in his career but has since run some nice races in defeat. He finished 2nd in a Class 2 handicap off a mark of 108 where he was incredibly unlucky not to win. He was slow away and was held up from miles back and finished with a rattle to finish second to a good handicapper Sinjaari, which produced an RPR of 115.

In his last two runs, he was very poor in the Group 3 at Goodwood which was on very quick ground and he was hampered at the start after breaking away slowly, ultimately, he didn't look at the races that day. On his last race, he won a Group 3 in France, winning in good style and recording an RPR of 115 beating some good yardstick in the shape of Oscula and Facteur Cheval. I understand today's race is a big step-up in class, but I get the feeling we've not seen the best of William Knight's 3yo colt of Fast Company and I think he has to be taken very seriously on this ground which I am convinced will suit him.

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