There are punters still alive today who can remember a time when the only racing at Ascot all year was during what was then a four-day Royal meeting in June. Now, the Queen’s track stages meetings both on the Flat and over jumps and in every month of the year bar March, but there is still a sense of significance about the first Flat racing of the year at Britain’s premier track and the Sagaro Stakes card on Wednesday afternoon is unlikely to disappoint.
The six-race programme now includes two important trials for Group Ones at the Royal meeting, as the introduction of the Commonwealth Cup for three-year-old sprinters in 2015 has already had a knock-on effect on the quality of the Group Three Pavilion Stakes. Upgraded from Listed status to Group Three when the new Group One parachuted straight into the Royal meeting’s programme, the Pavilion could earn a further rise in status in the near future if Wednesday’s renewal is any guide.
The 12-strong field includes the winner and runner-up in last season’s Gimcrack Stakes – Blue Point and Mokarris – as well as two more of last year’s juvenile Group Two winners in Harry Angel and Tis Marvellous. Blue Point and Harry Angel are second and fourth in the Commonwealth Cup betting at 8-1 and 10-1 respectively, while all but one of the field hold an entry in the Group One next month.
Blue Point is likely to set off favourite at around 2-1 with Harry Angel next in the betting at 9-2, but the latter’s trainer, Clive Cox, also saddles Tis Marvellous, who took last summer’s Prix Robert Papin at Maisons-Laffitte in the fastest time recorded in the race since the mid-1970s. Cox sent out two Group One winners at last year’s Royal meeting, and while the betting makes Tis Marvellous a 14-1 shot, the trainer does not favour one runner over the other.
“They’re both really exciting prospects,” Cox said. “We’re on target for the Commonwealth Cup with both horses all being well, and they’ve both wintered well. Harry Angel has a four-pound penalty for his win in the Mill Reef [at Newbury] last year, but we’re keen to get him on track and get a run or two into him before Ascot.
“It’s a very, very hot race, there’s no two ways about it. The three-year-old path to the Royal meeting only gives us a couple of opportunities to have an airing beforehand without taking on older horses, which isn’t helpful at this stage of their lives.”
Harry Angel was withdrawn from a race at Glorious Goodwood last summer after becoming unruly in the stalls and suffering bruising in the process, but he was heavily backed before his next outing in the Mill Reef and ran out an easy winner.
“I hope we’ve put Goodwood behind us now,” Cox said, “but that’s the reason for wanting to give him a chance to gain more experience before Royal Ascot and that’s why we’re running with a penalty.
“Tis Marvellous is a course record holder at Maisons-Laffitte and he’s a serious contender as well, and without a penalty. It’s just a shame that we have to compete against our own yard in this instance, but that’s racing sometimes, and it’s great to have two horses of this calibre on our hands. They’re both fit and well and raring to go.”
Wednesday’s race promises to be a fascinating pointer towards the Commonwealth Cup, and Harry Angel’s penalty may just tip the balance in favour of Blue Point (3.45), who is bred to get a mile but has been seen as a likely contender for the Royal meeting’s three-year-old sprint since last summer. Six of the eight runners in the Sagaro Stakes have an entry in the Gold Cup, including Harbour Law, last year’s St Leger winner, but Nearly Caught (3.10) is the only obvious front-runner in the field and could make it count.
Wednesday’s tips, by Greg Wood
Ascot
2.00 Corinthia Knight 2.35 Prosper 3.10 Nearly Caught (nb) 3.40 Blue Point 4.20 Firmament (nap) 4.55 Mister Music
Brighton
5.05 Milton Road 5.35 No Not Again 6.05 Tidal’s Baby 6.35 The Juggler 7.05 Alnasl 7.35 Bloodsweatandtears 8.05 Virile
Pontefract
2.15 Ventura Dragon 2.50 Mudaarab 3.25 Gambit 4.00 Mittens 4.35 Gin In The Inn 5.10 Suitcase ‘N’ Taxi 5.45 Horsforth
Yarmouth
5.20 Orsino 5.50 Bartholomew J 6.20 Frosting 6.50 Commodity 7.20 Harlequin Rock 7.50 Lunar Deity 8.20 Compas Scoobie
Wolverhampton
1.20 Maggi May 1.50 Pleasant Surprise 2.25 Inflexiball 3.00 Viola Park 3.35 Ballard Down 4.10 Golden State 4.45 Whispered Kiss 5.10 The Dukkerer
