Henry's Friend 13/2 – Ascot 2.33
With the majority of horses in this race being on tough handicap marks or untested at the trip, it makes sense to give Henry's Friend a go, who won this race last year off a 1lb higher mark.
He didn't run to a great level after winning this race twelve months ago, but his only other good race came at this venue in December, where he ran to an RPR of 147. Based on that, I get the impression that Ascot brings the best out of Henry's Friend, and the fact that he was out of form everywhere else isn't as much of a concern as it might appear.
White Birch 2/1 – Newmarket 2.44
Ideally, I'd have liked a softer surface for White Birch, but he showed that he can still run big races at the age of six.
He made his return to racing with a run for his new stable, Jamie Osborne, and finished third in a Listed event over a trip which is definitely not his optimal trip.
I'd like to think that he will be fitter now that he has had a run under his belt, even though it was 63 days ago. If he can improve a little bit, he should have too much firepower for this field.
Palamon 2/1 – Wetherby 1.10
Dan Skelton's yard remains in good form, and their runners are always huge players in Saturday handicaps. Palamon is creeping up the handicap, but based on his latest run at Plumpton, it looks like there's still a bit more to come.
At Plumpton last time out, he finished second to Tapley, which is a good yardstick. Tapley has recently moved to Jamie & Josh Moore's from Suzy Smith's yard and has shown a resurgence, as well as a good amount of improvement, so I think that form is solid
Take No Chances 11/10 – Wetherby 2.18
Strong Leader won this race last year when he was ahead of the mare, Take No Chances. I think that Strong Leader can be taken on for today's outing. This is his return to the track, and the weights are driven more in favour of the favourite compared to last year, so I believe she'll reverse the form.
Take No Chances has a 4lb swing in the weights with Strong Leader this year, and she was only defeated by a neck. To add to this, Take No Chances has had a recent run at Chepstow, whereas Strong Leader hasn't been seen since April.
GambleAware