Ante-Post Update

                                         

2012 Japan Cup

I was pleased with Sky Hunter's run in the Jockey Club on Sunday. It was his first foray into Group company and for all that he hadn't the class to handle Intello he has bags of scope, especially over a longer trip and I took some 40/1 about him for the Arc on Sunday evening. As much as I like Intello I don't see him as a horse for Paris in October and I think his trainer doesn't either considering that he's going to the Marois over a mile next. He has a similar profile to Lope De Vega who ran in both the Poulains and the Jockey Club before returning to a mile en route to the Arc where he was well behind in Workforce's year. My profile picture on Twitter is of Orfevre but I'm kind of going against that horse this year with my early Arc bets. He's a touch short at around 6/1 and as well as Sky Hunter and Bravodino I have taken a small position on Gentildonna who beat last year's Arc runner-up in the Japan Cup last Autumn (albeit with no small measure of good fortune)

Elsewhere I've backed Reckless Abandon for the King's Stand on the opening day of Royal Ascot. He ran really well carrying a penalty in the Temple Stakes last time out, a run that proved he had trained on, and a 10/1 quote from Victor Chandler was just too big to ignore. The race features a short priced Aussie horse called Shea Shea and no matter how good he may or may not be it's no gimme that these crack sprinters are going to run to form when they come over here as Black Caviar showed last year.

In the Queen Anne I've taken 20/1 about Elusive Kate. A straight mile on fast ground is her optimum conditions and I'm hopeful she'll get them. The American horse Animal Kingdom is favourite and rightly so after his demolition job in Dubai but the market weakness in Farhh suggests that colt is probably headed to the Prince of Wales and so there is a fair amount of juice in the market from an each way point of view. I cannot have Declaration of War and Most Improved shorter than Gosden's Group 1 winning filly so I've stepped in. She goes well fresh after finishing second to Giofra in the Falmouth last year first time up on ground softer than ideal and if she's ready for this it's hard to see her out of the frame.

Queen Anne Stakes:
Elusive Kate £15ew @ 20/1

King's Stand Stakes:
Reckless Abandon £25w @ 10/1

Diamond Jubilee Stakes:
Gordon Lord Byron £15ew @ 16/1

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe:
Gold Ship £15w @ 25/1
Bravodino £5w @ 76/1
Sky Hunter £10w @ 40/1
Gentildonna £10w @ 33/1


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King George:
Al Ferof £20w @ 16/1

Champion Hurdle:
Jezki £13w @ 20/1
My Tent or Yours £20w @ 95/10