One of the feature races on day one of Royal Ascot is the Group 1 St James’s Palace Stakes, as the elite three-year-olds do battle for the iconic prize. Our in-house tipster Steve Chambers previews the 4:25pm contest which looks a stunning renewal on Tuesday afternoon…
NOTABLE SPEECH
(William Buick/Charlie Appleby)
Charlie Appleby’s Notable Speech has been one of the revelations of the Flat season, as having only made his debut on the all-weather back in January the Godolphin raider has gone on to win four times, with the last one a spectacular success in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket. He landed a hat-trick on the all-weather before blasting to victory in the first Classic of the season and he’s well fancied to make it five from five on Tuesday. A real class act, the Dubawi colt looks a real top notch miler and is the one to beat here.
ROSALLION
(Sean Levey/Richard Hannon)
A Group 1-winning juvenile, Rosallion ran a fine race to finish second to Notable Speech in the 2000 Guineas and Richard Hannon’s charge is back for another crack here. The Blue Point colt has shown a blistering turn of foot and he built on that Newmarket run with a fine victory in the Irish 2000 Guineas at the Curragh. Now, trying to reverse the Guineas form, Rosallion is another prominent figure in the betting and looks a lively challenger here.
HENRY LONGFELLOW
(Ryan Moore/Aidan O’Brien)
An unbeaten juvenile campaign that ended with a Group 1 win in the National Stakes, Henry Longfellow was well fancied for the French 2000 Guineas, but he got no sort of run that day and could only finish 8th of 13. Aidan O’Brien’s runner certainly can’t be written off after that disappointing first run of the season, and if he can recapture last season’s form then he has to be considered, but he does have work to do against the British-trained duo at the head of the market.
THE FIELD
A gutsy winner of the French 2000 Guineas last time out, where he finished well in front of Henry Longfellow, Metropolitan adds some European interest in the contest and a replication of that Longchamp run will see him get into consideration. Darlinghurst has been in red-hot form of late and has won his last four outings for Jerome Reynier, but he will need to improve on a Group 3 win last time out to figure here.
Fifth in the 2000 Guineas, Alyanaabi ran well in that Classic for Owen Burrows, but he will need to improve significantly to get closer to Notable Speech and Rosallion, while Almaqam and Unquestionable complete the line-up and look to face a stiff test to land the prize.
VERDICT
A race that is set to be dominated by those at the head of the market, NOTABLE SPEECH has already beaten Rosallion once this season when winning the 2000 Guineas and Charlie Appleby’s star can frank that form here. Rosallion’s turn of speed is certainly a worry for Notable Speech fans, but the Godolphin charge can just outstay him in the closing stages, with Henry Longfellow completing the 1-2-3.
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