Bet 365 are now offering special markets for Royal Ascot and GG.COM take a look at the Top Trainer and Top Jockey prices to see if there are any interesting betting opportunities.
Last year, Ryan Moore and Richard Hughes shared three winners apiece and they’re near the market head again, both priced at 3/1. The marginal favourite though is 19 year old J P O’Brien who will enjoy the pick of his father’s horses. The O’Brien yard have been flying in the early season and will have a strong hand at the meeting, with Fame and Glory perhaps their most obvious chance of a winner as he will attempt to retain his Ascot Gold Cup crown. Power will also be fancied in the St James Palace Stakes.
However in recent days some of Aiden O’Brien’s older horses, three years plus, have been really struggling to run up to their best on their home soil. He has had one or two winners but several alarmingly disappointing efforts from the likes of Learn, Tibet and Tower Rock- all completely stuffed despite having big chances on form. After such an amazing haul of Classics thus far in 2012, perhaps they’ll have a quiet Ascot with only one or two winners- it’s very difficult to sustain such a good run, even for O’Brien and some of the recent results in Ireland have cast a cloud of sorts over the yard.
Moore and Hughes will ride the best of the horses trained by Sir Michael Stoute and Richard Hannon and have obvious chances again of being top jockeys for the meeting. At more value prices however, we like the look of Tom Queally and Jamie Spencer at 20/1 apiece to give us a good run for our money. Both of these top pilots have at least one strong favourite to ride each-namely Frankel for regular partner Queally and Fame and Glory, whom Jamie Spencer usually rides as a retained jockey for the owners. Queally will ride the very best of Sir Henry Cecil’s string, including Frankel, Chachamaidee and any number of classy youngsters coming through and is bound to pick up a few good spare rides as well. Jamie Spencer is always in high demand and is well known and liked by American trainers too. At 20/1 they’re both worth a few quid.
Aiden O’Brien is a warm order at 8/11 with Bet 365 to be top trainer but we’ve already expressed some concerns over the well-being of his horses in recent days. He is a master trainer though and it would be no surprise to see him sweep all before him again. Richard Hannon will have a strong hand of two year olds again and is a 5/2 second favourite. But he has no Canford Cliffs this season and Strong Suit will find it tougher to win this year as well. He could struggle to math the four winners enjoyed in 2011.
John Gosden is a solid 10/1 chance and has a great record with the horses he sends to the meeting, last year saddling two winners to victory. But the one we fancy is Sir Henry Cecil at a huge looking price of 16/1. He has racked up a tally of 73 Royal Ascot winners through his legendary career and has trained more winners at the meeting than any other trainer in history. Frankel will ensure he gets a winner on the board straight away on day one and he has several nice youngsters who could ruffle some feathers despite a slow start to the season for some of them. His particular affiliation with fillies will see any he saddles command upmost respect, along with some nice two year olds that tend to keep progressing with time. Frankel aside, he doesn’t have the most obviously strong team, but there is a feeling that he’ll want to have more than one winner this year and he may have geared much of his training of the yard inmates to peak for this meeting.
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