Royal Ascot Day 3 Tips: The good-looking Davideo looks more than ready for the 12f test

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Gregory did manage to win yesterday, although not in the fashion I was hoping for. I suggested backing him for the Leger before the race, and hopefully, some of you did as he is now into favourite from being 9/1, I've got him in a double for the Leger with the win from yesterday so fingers crossed he is good enough!

Ascot 3:05 – Davideo 15/2 (1pt EW Bet365 6pl)

Outside of the 2yo races, this is up there for one of the hardest races to pick so far at Royal Ascot, so if you find the winner of this race you deserve a big pat on your back. I narrowed my fancies down to four, being Perfuse, Cloudbreaker and Greysful Storm, but I'm not a huge believer of having two in one race so I went with my last fancy, Davideo.

For handicaps at the big meetings you really need to have a Group horse in a handicap, it's one of the most well-used clichés used in racing, but it's true. This race has seen Secret State, Surefire and Hukum win it in the last three years, all have gone on to win or run well in Group races, especially Hukum who is an absolute weapon these days. I think Davideo is worth a punt in this on the back of his win and good 2nd placed effort from his last two runs.

His win was impressive on the eye at Newmarket, the form doesn't look spectacular but he looked ready for the step up to 12f, he handled the quick ground, showed stamina for days over 10f and he looks like a proper physical specimen now, and appears to have filled out from over the winter months. He ran well on his second start before the run at Newmarket, which saw him finish 2nd to Mostabshir who won a Class 2 York race by 5L and the form looks solid, he ran to a rating of 108 earlier this week at Ascot in the St James's Palace Stakes won by Paddington, so that Kempton run doesn't look too bad now, even though he did convincingly beat him. However, that was over a mile and his pedigree would suggest he's built for further, being by Galileo and out of a mare who has produced Time Warp and Glorious Forever who both won Group 1s in Hong Kong over 10f, but they weren't by Galileo, who has more stamina and I think with that type of pedigree, he is surely going to be much better than a mark of 92, whether that's now or not, I'm not sure, but his Newmarket run suggests he's progressing, and quickly.

Ascot 3:40 – Midnight Mile 22/1 (0.5pt EW PaddyPower/WilliamHill)

It's probably a daft idea going against the shortest-priced favourite we've had so far this week (I think), but stranger things have happened and at the current prices I think Midnight Mile is being overlooked too much.

Towards the head of the market, outside of the favourite, you've got horses who are unexposed and haven't really got Group level form, whereas with Mightnight Mile she is already a Group 3 winner as a 2yo and was 4th in a Group 1 at Keenland in the Breeders' Cup, so you'd have to say she should be much shorter than what she is. She is bred to get this distance being out of a Galileo mare who is related to many 100+ rated horses who all exceeded over 12f or further, so I'd like to think that today's trip will bring out the improvement required for Mightnight Mile to run a big race.

Considering she is bred to be better over longer trips, I think that makes her runs as a juvenile much better. She won a Group 3 over 7f at Newmarket and ran a belter, all things considered, in the Breeders' Cup race where she was slowly away from the gates and was last turning for home, didn't get the clearest of runs and on a sharp track like Keenland, it wasn't exactly tailor-made for her, but she did run on strongly in that race to finish fourth. Her return in the Musidora at York over 10f was a pleasing return, but it was definitely a prep run for today's race as they already had her entered, so to see her run well when probably not fully revved up was a good indicator of what's to come in today's race. She'll love the ground, but my only concern is stall 2 and if she breaks slowly that could be her race over before it even begins.

Ascot 4:20 – Eldar Eldarov 9/2 (1pt PaddyPower/WilliamHill)

What a race this Gold Cup is, since the older staying stars have moved on or are on the decline (Trueshan) it's all about who can claim the thrown and stamp their authority in the staying division and I think that might be last year's St Leger winner, Eldar Eldarov.

I never really rated this horse last year, I thought he was decent but I didn't expect him to win the St Leger, but you can't really fault him and based on that run and the run from seasonal reappearance he is well worth his place in this race. He seems to be all about stamina and you don't get a bigger stamina test on the flat than the Gold Cup. His reappearance run must've pleased Roger Varian and all of his stable as he was carrying a penalty for winning the Classic last year, and he wouldn't have been close to 100%, but he still nearly managed to claw the winner back.

I think you've got to forgive him for his run at Champions Day where he did bomb out, but that was to be expected after such a big performance at Doncaster just a month before. The ground shouldn't be an issue for him considering he won on fast ground at Royal Ascot last year in the Vase. I'm expecting a very big run.

Ascot 6:10 – Redarna 100/1 (0.5pt EW Bet365/PaddyPower 6pl)

It wouldn't be Royal Ascot if I didn't put up a crazy selection, and possibly be the only tipster on the planet to put him up, but I think he is far too big of a price even though it does look like mission impossible for Redarna.

It's a total lottery the handicaps on the straight track, and I think it's best to go with the horse you think has a chance rather than playing into the draw and ground bias of the track as chances are it will change throughout the day and we don't know what's best.

Coming into this race off a 258-day absence is never the ideal prep for a horse, but the fact Dianne Sayer brings her horse here on seasonal reappearance gives the impression they fancy their chances of a big run. The trainer is more known for her jumping exploits, but she is proving to be equally as good with her flat horses, with Redarna being her flag bearer for a good few years. This horse won on his seasonal reappearance last year in a big handicap at Thirsk off a mark of 91, she has since finished in the places on a couple of occasions in Class 2 races, including as runner-up at Ascot at the Shergar Cup meeting, which was equalling career-best run, rated to 100 by the Racing Post. That was Dianne's second-ever runner at Ascot, with the first-ever runner being Redarna earlier in his career which saw him win, so he clearly handles the track and it proves that Dianne doesn't like wasting a journey to the Berkshire track unless it's worth it.

He is better known as a miler these days, but he did win over 7f at this track in 2019 and I think the stiffness of the track plus a fast gallop will be perfect for him, it's just whether he's good enough, but at 100/1 I'm willing to have my money on the line to find out, and even a placed effort would return a very nice profit.

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