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Analysis & Selections by
.t.h.e. .r.o.o.k.
Whether it be
"the race of the day" or a small prize round the gaffs, we will attempt to use our knowledge of the formbook to highlight the fancied horses participating each day and their characteristics and requirements. Hopefully this 'second opinion' provides you with a winner or two each day, or even reinforces your own view on a particular may even convince you to back some of those horses which we feel are the "ones to fear", or have decent eachway claims. whichever is the case, we hope the information is of use to you.
SELECTIONS - For each race, we have given you who, in our view, are the likeliest winners;
(1er CHOICE), as well as
the next best runners (in our view, this can include any horses who could run well at eachway
odds). Any runner from our features are shown before each race's analysis.
ROYAL ASCOT
Saturday, June 22nd 2002
2:30 Henry Carnarvon Stakes Registered As The Albany Stakes (Listed Race) (Fillies) £40000 added, 2yo only fillies, 6f, penalty £23200, 19 runners.
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¦ .t.h.e. .r.o.o.k. ¦:¬>The final day of Royal Ascot opens with a nineteen runner listed event over six furlongs. Pearl Dance, Gallivant, Duty Paid, Mail The Desert, Luvah Girl, Tease, La Campanella, Topkamp, Golden Nun, Riva Royale, Black Belt Shopper, and Sport On Saturday, appear to be worthy of consideration. Horses like PEARL DANCE, [who beat Pigeon Point by 1
½lengths on her debut at Goodwood], MAIL THE DESERT, [who won on his debut at Windsor]; GALLIVANT,
[guaranteed to improve on his fourth placing behind Never A Doubt at Sandown on his debut], and
DUTY PAID, [who made all at the same venue eight days ago], all have obviously chances, however at a slightly bigger price, BLACK BELT SHOPPER makes just as much appeal,
especially after his last start, where he did very well to win at Pontefract, having been
interfered with and forced very wide over coming round the final bend, yet he still managed to get up close home to beat Tara Time by 1
½lengths. I feel Barry Hills' runner has a sporting chance in an open race and is certainly worthy of eachway support
¦ 1er CHOICE ¦:¬>Black Belt Shopper, [e/w]
¦ 2nd Choice ¦:¬>Pearl Dance,
¦ 3rd Choice ¦:¬>Gallivant,
3:05 Hardwicke Stakes (Group 2) £146000 added, 4yo plus, 1m 4f, penalty £84680, 9 runners.
{1 } - Yavana's Pace - (56kg)
{2 } - Zindabad - (56kg)
{3 } - Asian Heights - (55kg)
{4 } - Boreas - (55kg)
{5 } - High Pitched - (55kg)
{6 } - Millenary - (55kg)
{7 } - Potemkin - (55kg)
{8 } - Storming Home - (55kg)
{9 } - The Mask - (55kg)
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¦ .t.h.e. .r.o.o.k. ¦:¬>STORMING HOME, [second] and ZINDABAD [third] to Boreal in the Coronation Cup at Epsom last month, here the field for the second - a race which also includes ASIAN HEIGHTS, [who made an excellent
reappearance after a long absence when winning at Windsor last month, beating Potemkin, (who
reopposes today) by ¾llength], MILLENARY, [just pipped by Marienbard in the Jockey Club Stakes (Group 2) at Newmarket in May], BOREAS, [second to Zindabad in the Yorkshire Cup (Group 2) on his reappearance] and HIGH PITCHED, [the very easy winner of the his last start at Newbury, where he easily put 7lengths between himself and Warrsan]. I am a big fan of Henry Cecil's runner, and in my view, he has outstanding claims here,
particularly if (as I hope), either Zindabad, or Yavana's Pace ensure this is run at a decent pace. He is the
selection. Millenary and Storming Home look to be the chief dangers
¦ 1er CHOICE ¦:¬>High Pitched
¦ 2nd Choice ¦:¬>Storming Home
¦ 3rd Choice ¦:¬>Millenary
3:45 Golden Jubilee Stakes (Group 1) (formerly The Cork and Orrery Stakes) £270000 added, 3yo plus, 6f, penalty £156600, 16 runners.
{1 } - Bahamian Pirate - (59kg)
{2 } - Caller One - (59kg)
{3 } - Continent - (59kg)
{4 } - Ellens Academy - (59kg)
{5 } - Invincible Spirit - (59kg)
{6 } - Malhub - (59kg)
{7 } - Misraah - (59kg)
{8 } - Mugharreb - (59kg)
{9 } - Orientor - (59kg)
{10 } - Three Points - (59kg)
{11 } - Vision Of Night - (59kg)
{12 } - Danehurst - (57½Kg)
{13 } - Feet So Fast - (56kg)
{14 } - Indian Country - (56kg)
{15 } - Johannesburg - (56kg)
{16 } - Miss Beabea - (54½Kg)
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¦ .t.h.e. .r.o.o.k. ¦:¬>Last season's leading two year old JOHANNESBURG, is on a bit of a recover mission here after a below par effort in the Kentucky Derby, travelling well enough, but failing to pick up in the home straight, eventually
finishing 13lengths behind the eventual winner War Emblem. He has plenty to prove here, though not as
much as some claim - some pundits have questioned whether he trained on, well being
beaten by Rebelline in the Gladness Stakes (Group 3) at the beginning of April now looks to be a much better effort than most originally suggested. That said he has plenty to do here with the likes of DANEHURST, [laid out by Sir Mark
Prescott for this event, she is a very good filly on her day, as she proved last time out when beating Eastern Purple at Doncaster], MISRAAH, INVINCIBLE SPIRIT and VISION OF NIGHT [all of whom were
unlucky in running behind Kyllachy in the Temple Stakes at Sandown (Group 2)], THREE POINTS, [slightly
disappointing last year, however he still managed a good effort in this race last year, and has
apparently improved during the close season], CONTINENT, [a fast finishing second in the King Stands Stakes earlier in
the week], and CALLER ONE, [a fascinating runner from the USA, who could be very interesting if he could translate his Dubai Golden Shaheen (Group 1) form on turf]. Having already suffered defeat at the hands of his elders Johannesburg is worth taking on here... Three Points is just
preferred to Danehurst and the favourite.
¦ 1er CHOICE ¦:¬>Three Points
¦ 2nd Choice ¦:¬>Danehurst
¦ 3rd Choice ¦:¬>Johannesburg
4:20 Wokingham Stakes Showcase H' cap £100000 added, 3yo plus, 6f, penalty £58000, 30 runners.
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¦ .t.h.e. .r.o.o.k. ¦:¬>One of those horribly open sprint handicaps,
which have found out the punters so far this week, comes next. I can make cases for Senior Minister, Doctor Spin, Watching, Flying Millie, Border Subject, Chookie Heiton, Antonio Canova, Marsad, Banjo Bay, Capricho, Crystal Castle, Grey Cossack, Hurricane Floyd, Kathology, Onlytime Will Tell, Premier Baron, Vanderlin, Ellens Lad, Brevity, Fantasy Believer, Halmahera, and Grey Eminence. WATCHING, [who ran well when
finishing just behind stablemate Rudi's Pet at Epsom on Derby day] BORDER SUBJECT, [who made all, to beat Chookie Heiton at Newmarket last timeout], CHOOKIE HEITON, [who followed up that
effort behind Border Subject, by winning a valuable handicap at York at the end of May] and ONLYTIME WILL TELL, [another winner for
Dandy Nicholls on the Derby day card at Epsom ] have obvious claims. I will go with MARSAD, [a money horse - who was the subject of a massive punt when
winning at Newmarket at the beginning of May]. He didn't disgrace himself when finishing third under 10-0
behind Kingscross at Goodwood last time out and should be too far away. After Rudik's near miss yesterday at big odds (the story for me
this week), I am encouraged to put up Brevity and Grey Eminence at big odds as outsiders who come creep into the money.
¦ 1er CHOICE ¦:¬>Marsad
¦ 2nd Choice ¦:¬>Watching
¦ 3rd Choice ¦:¬>Grey Eminence, [e/w]
4:55 Sandringham Rated Stakes (H' cap) (Fillies) (Registered As Fern Hill Stakes) (Listed Race) £50000 added, 3yo only fillies, 1m, penalty £29000, 17 runners.
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¦ .t.h.e. .r.o.o.k. ¦:¬>Aldora, Chorist, Desert Alchemy, Fine Arts, Purple Haze, Sandy Lady, Tashawak, Vinthea, White Rabbit, Celtic Ballet, and Miss Pinkerton appear to have the best chances in
the penultimate race of the meeting. CHORIST, [the winner of two of her three starts this
term, most recently when beating Silence Is Golden at Newbury] makes plenty of appeal and should go close here, as should PURPLE HAZE, [who made all to Entrap at leicester last time out], ALDORA, [a good third to Jonny Ebeneezer at Epsom last time out],
VINTHEA, [ a good winner at Leopardstown last time however carrying 7st7lbs to victory in a handicap is a long way from the task required here .. she has to be
respected though] and FINE ARTS [who made all to win a Salisbury maiden]. I am very keen on
the claims of topweight TASHAWAK. Her victory over Misterah at Salisbury is by far the best bit
of form on show here, and the way this meeting has gone - you may as well go with her, and take a chance with her
fitness/training on.
¦ 1er CHOICE ¦:¬>Tashawak (e/w, if you prefer)
¦ 2nd Choice ¦:¬>Fine Art
¦ 3rd Choice ¦:¬>Vinthea
5:30 Queen Alexandra Stakes (Conditions Race) £35000 added, 4yo plus, 2m 6f 34yds, penalty £20300, 14 runners.
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¦ .t.h.e. .r.o.o.k. ¦:¬>The final race of the meeting ... one last chance to bail
yourself out ... one final chance to land a touch.... With one or two exceptions this is a field comprising
disappointing horses on the level. The obvious horses are FIRST BALLOT, [who finished fourth behind High Pitched at Newbury over 1m 5f at the end of May], DOUBLE HONOUR, [well beaten by Wareed at Longchamp], COVER UP, [well behind Fantasy Hill in the Chester Cup], ARCHDUKE FERDINAND, [the 2001 Northumberland Plate
winner is slowly coming back to that sort of form this season]; YORKSHIRE [very
disappointing on the flat of late, however jumping obstacles appears to have rekindled his
enthusiasm]. GREY SHOT, [once useful on the flat, this elderly grey on his last two trips to the racecourse has taken two
sickening falls over fences] and SAN SEBASTIAN, [He has run well in the Gold Cup before, but
hasn't look over enthusiastic on the flat of late - and certainly will need to be in better form than he showed behind Pushkin at Longchamp last time out]. To be brutally frank, none of these install massive
confidence in me .... bluntly If I were down i would walk away and accept my loses... however if I were significantly up ... I'd throw a few quid (for a bit of fun) the way of DAT MY HORSE.... This formerly
decent Welsh pointer hasn't stopped improving this year, and would have won more races if his
steeplechase technique wasn't so weak. I am not in the last bit surprised that he
didn't escape the attention of a profession trainer and Pat Murphy has been making hay with him over hurdles this term. I'd be
amazed if he were quick enough to win this, however if he is put up at around 50s, he could be good enough to sneak into the money. First Ballot is just
preferred to San Sebastian, for those looking a more conventional selection.
¦ 1er CHOICE ¦:¬>Dat My Horse, [e/w]
¦ 2nd Choice ¦:¬> First Ballot
¦ 3rd Choice ¦:¬> San Sebastian,
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