The Shergar Cup’s team format is not to everyone’s taste but one bet can give you an interest throughout the card and Ireland could be worth backing at around 3-1 at Ascot on Saturday.
Group One Power (2.00) and Dance Fever (2.35) have strong chances in the middle of the card for Joe Fanning and Tadhg O’Shea, while David Egan has several rides that could go well at decent odds.
Ascot 12.50 King Of Stars struggled on soft ground at Goodwood last week but his close second behind the promising three-year-old Twilight Calls at Newmarket in early July was strong form and a return to something close to that level could be enough here.
Ascot 1.25 Uber Cool was a fine advert for Jane Chapple-Hyam’s talents when he returned from nearly 1,000 days on the sidelines to win with something to spare at Chester in May. A 5lb rise in the weights is unlikely to hold him back.
Ascot 2.00 Front-running tactics have brought the best out of Group One Power this season so Fanning looks like the ideal partner for Andrew Balding’s gelding, who is still lightly raced for a four-year-old.
Haydock Park 2.25 Dubai Mirage was 10lb lower in the weights when he won this race last year but showed that a win off his current mark might not be beyond him when finishing a close fourth in a strongly run race at York last time.
Ascot 2.35 A close third in the International Handicap on King George day suggests that Clive Cox’s lightly raced Dance Fever and O’Shea will take all the beating here.
Newmarket 2.50 Value Theory got off the mark under front-running tactics at Newmarket last month and could get a soft lead under Franny Norton.
Ascot 12.50 King Of Stars 1.25 Uber Cool 2.00 Group One Power (nap) 2.35 Dance Fever (nb) 3.10 Contact 3.45 Dream Composer
Haydock Park 1.50 Cosmos Raj 2.25 Dubai Mirage 3.00 Eloquent Arthur 3.35 Waliyak 4.10 Real World 4.40 Acquisitor 5.10 Il Bandito
Newmarket 2.15 Under Oath 2.50 Value Theory 3.25 Neptune Legend 4.00 Komachi 4.30 Quintillus 5.00 The City’s Phantom 5.30 Autumn War
Lingfield Park 5.05 Folly Beach 5.35 Ocean Wave 6.05 Manaafith 6.35 Spirit Level 7.05 Algheed 7.35 Roccozaam 8.05 Lilkian
Ayr 5.55 Retirement Beckons 6.25 Captain Jameson 6.55 Water Iris 7.25 Kentucky Rose 7.55 Rose Bandit 8.30 Klopp Of The Kop
Ascot 3.10 David Barron’s three-year-old Contact bolted up over this trip at Pontefract in June and ran with credit over an extra two furlongs at Haydock last time. There is some pace in the race and Mickaëlle Michel’s mount can stay on late to claim the spoils.
Ascot 3.45 Dream Composer was forced to switch in the closing stages at the Royal meeting before finishing within a length of the winner and should go well at around 5-1 back at six furlongs.
Haydock Park 4.10 Real World made a smooth transition to Listed company last time having blitzed his field in the Royal Hunt Cup in June and Saeed bin Suroor may well have a Group One horse on his hands for the first time in a while.
