Talking Horses: Royal Ascot expands schedule to seven races per day

Ascot racecourse said on Monday morning that it will permanently expand the schedule at its showpiece Royal meeting in June to seven races per day from this year, after what was described as a “temporary” revision to the traditional six-race daily card in 2020 proved popular with both participants and punters.

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Last year’s change was made to allow for extra runners at the Royal meeting, which was staged just over a fortnight after racing returned after a two-and-a-half month suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The new programme required the creation of three new handicaps – the Copper Horse Stakes, the Palace of Holyroodhouse Stakes and the Golden Gates Stakes – as well as the return of the Buckingham Palace Stakes, also a handicap, which had been discontinued in 2015.

These races will be retained and another new race – the Kensington Palace Stakes handicap for fillies and mares over a mile – has been added to the schedule. However, two “Silver” handicaps – for horses eliminated from the Royal Hunt Cup and Wokingham – have been discontinued. As a result, the Saturday card will also have seven races, rather than the eight at last year’s meeting.

Dreal Deal’s swift and occasionally controversial rise through the ranks continued on Sunday, as he passed all six of his rivals in the home straight to win the Grade Two Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle at Punchestown, establishing himself as a live 16-1 chance for Cheltenham’s Supreme Novice Hurdle at Cheltenham in March.

Ronan McNally’s gelding first attracted attention when he won a handicap hurdle at Navan in September off a mark of 84, having been backed in from 20-1 to start at 6-4 favourite. He then won two handicaps on the Flat (off 45 and 51) before adding two more handicap hurdles from official marks of 106 and 111, starting at odds-on each time.

Dreal Deal’s price went in the opposite direction on Sunday, however, as he set off at 22-1 after opening at 9-1. He was several lengths behind the rest of the field for much of the race but accelerated impressively turning for home to cross, crossing the line three lengths in front of Ganapathi. After the race, McNally outlined a series of possible reasons for Dreal Deal’s weakness in the market and set his sights on the Cheltenham Festival.

“That was the dream, but he had to go and do that today,” McNally said. “We had a poor preparation, because he got a stone bruise during the week and that’s why he didn’t go to Fairyhouse [on Tuesday].

“All my horses were a wee bit off around Christmas and then with the frost, they missed work as well, so to be honest he’d done no galloping,” the Irish trainer said. “Also his coat wasn’t great the last couple of weeks, and he hasn’t eaten as well as he could. Nothing really was clicking. I knew anything he did today, that he’d go forward from it.”

A much-anticipated meeting between Envoi Allen and the Grade One-winning hurdler Asterion Forlonge in the Killiney Novice Chase fell flat, Asterion Forlonge falling after a clumsy attempt to get over the first fence.

Envoi Allen, the 1-2 favourite at Punchestown, did not need to leave second gear to extend his unbeaten career record to a dozen races. He is around even-money to make it 13 out of 13 in the Marsh Novice Chase at Cheltenham in March.

“He’s in everything at Leopardstown [in February] for fear something happened [with Covid restrictions on travel],” Gordon Elliott, Envoi Allen’s trainer, said, “but I’d say we’d go straight to Cheltenham.”

“The concept of extended cards last year was well received, and we are very pleased to be able to offer additional opportunities to the horsemen community, the public, broadcasters and media going forward,” Nick Smith, Ascot’s director of racing and public affairs, said on Monday.

“Following consultation with the BHA, we decided to remove the two reserve races and bring in another high-quality handicap, as we are actually reducing the number of races run by one from last year, where eight races were staged on the Saturday. It occurred to us that the Old (round) Mile course is only used twice during Royal Ascot and another race on this track would add to the variety on offer.

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“Last year’s extended cards were only possible by reducing some field sizes slightly, and because no overnight stabling was allowed under Covid-19 protocols.

“In order that field sizes can go up to their maximums again and with overnight stabling extremely important, we have commissioned extra temporary stabling to be built to the required high BHA standards.”

This year’s Royal meeting will effectively see a return to the six-race programme in 2019 – for instance, with three Group One races on the first day and the meeting opening with the Queen Anne Stakes – but with an additional race at the end of the afternoon. The only exception is Saturday’s card, which will still conclude with the Royal meeting’s traditional closing event, the Queen Alexandra Stakes.

Lingfield

12.15 Rose Ohara
12.45 Miss Austen
1.15 Not That Fuisse
1.45 Timberman
2.20 Getariver
2.50 Aronius
3.25 Mystic Dreamer
3.55 Vegas Blue

Ayr

12.25 Bass Rock
12.55 Gold Miner
1.25 Cornerstone Lad
1.55 Strong Economy (nap)
2.30 Skipping On
3.00 Hot Gossip
3.35 Made For You
4.05 Fortescue Wood

Wolverhampton

4.10 Livia The Empress (nb)
4.40 Lethal Lunch
5.10 It Must Be Faith
5.40 Jumira Bridge
6.10 Rainbow Dreamer
6.40 Power Of States
7.10 Wallem
7.40 Critical Thinking
8.10 City Escape

Monday’s best bets, by Greg Wood

The stayers’ handicap chase at Ayr is the obvious place for punters to start today, with all seven runners priced up between 7-2 and 10-1 and Strong Economy (1.55), three times a course winner already, on offer at 6-1.

Ian Duncan’s runner has made 19 of his 20 career starts at this track and while he is stepping up to three-and-a-quarter miles for the first time today, there was nothing in his latest win over three to suggest that it will be a problem.

A 3lb rise looks perfectly fair for Skipping On (2.30) as he looks to follow up a win in a late December, while at Wolverhampton later this afternoon, Livia The Empress (4.10) will appreciate a drop back to an extended mile after just failing to last home over 10 furlongs last time.