Those who paid £1.3m on Monday for the filly Jet Setting may be a bit nervous that all the rain forecast for Thursday failed to materialise. Race-times suggest this ground is still providing a significant test on the round course but her chance diminishes with every dry hour that passes.
In any case, this is tacky, holding ground, very different from the slop she splashed through to win the Irish Guineas when last seen. It could pay to look beyond the favourite in Friday’s Coronation Stakes and also past the classy Nemoralia, whose ability to show her blistering pace on this surface must be in doubt.
Odds of 20-1 tempt me to take an interest in Tanaza (4.20), who can probably be forgiven her tired seventh place behind Jet Setting last time. That was her first outing since September and she travelled well for a long way before fatigue set in.
Few trainers are as hot as hers just now, Dermot Weld having won 10 times in the past fortnight at a 40% rate, including in the Derby. If she is straighter for that first run back, she has it in her to run a big race here.
2.30 The great Frankel could get a Royal Ascot winner from his first runner as a stallion through Queen Kindly, who appears to have bundles of talent to judge by her debut success at Catterick. The daughter of a Lowther Stakes winner, she should have more to offer here and may be more versatile as to her preferred racing surface than Cuff or Create A Dream.
3.05 On only his second start, Choreographer showed plenty of latent talent in the Dante Stakes at York to be seventh after repeatedly being denied racing room. Normal progress and a clear run will make him a big player here in what looks an ordinary renewal of this contest.
3.40 Her rocketing success at Haydock last time makes the Karl Burke-trained Quiet Reflection the one to beat in this test of speed. She won’t mind whether the ground dries out or not while a handful of these must still prove they have trained on after excellent juvenile seasons. Log Out Island impressed last time but was gifted an easy lead, which seems much less likely here, and he is no certainty to remain calm through the preliminaries.
5.00 On his first start after joining the in-form Ralph Beckett yard, Kinema beat a fancied Roger Varian runner at Goodwood last month and may be capable of better off just a 4lb higher mark. This is a slight step back in distance, so he will presumably race handily, which is probably the right way to approach this big-field contest and also the best way of coping with a wide draw. The fragile Elite Army has a fine record here and is certainly feared but has so far shown his best form on a fast surface.
5.35 Weld may be able to close out the card with a second winner. In this marathon contest for three-year-olds, the Irishman fields Ebediyin, who relished a step up in trip to score last time. This colt’s mother was a half-sister to two Ascot Gold Cup winners and will be doing his best work at the finish.
