Rob Dove's Tuesday Royal Ascot Analysis
By top UK Pro Punter, Rob Dove - Day 1 of 5
One of the top pro punters in the UK, Rob Dave, provides his thoughts on three of the major races at Royal Ascot today. Be sure to follow along with Rob throughout this week on ITM Plus.
Coventry Stakes
In an open race I’m taking 3 shots against the field. The first is Camille Pissarro, he looks a bit overlooked in the market due to the Marble Hill form looking shaky on form & the clock but the race was steadily run into a headwind Camille sat a little off the pace but didn’t have any cover and had to make a big move to get to the front runner putting in the fastest sectional of the race but just couldn't get past the better positioned leader, I think he was the best horse in that race and should take a step forward. The next one of interest is Al Qudra who has been steadily improving and I liked the last run , he was forced to run 4 wide round the first turn but still had enough left to power clear with fast closing sectionals that make the overall speed figure a bit better than it looks, William Buick picks him over Symbol of Honour who also looks a little interesting - he improved markedly from first to second start .The final one is a big outsider Cool Hoof Luke the form of his debut win looks nothing special but I thought he was good for a lot extra , he missed the break slightly and was a bit keen but as they came off the bend he picked up very strongly but just got stopped in his run so had to pick up again , his last furlong was super strong suggesting he was good for a fair bit more, clearly also needs to take a good step forward but worth a shot.
Selection
(5) Camille Pissarro 6/1+
(1) Al Qudra 12/1+
(8) Cool Hoof Luke 50/1+
King Charles III Stakes
I liked the return to action of Regional at the Curragh he got taken on for the lead into a headwind and fought everything off before succumbing late to the deep closer who had been out of the wind, the time was fast and he could be better than ever with that run under his belt. Big Evs is currently favourite but he was underwhelming on return at York.
Selection
(5) Regional 9/2+
St James Palace Stakes
Notable Speech was good in the 2000 Guineas but I felt he was a little flattered by the winning margin due to being held up off a collapsing pace & maybe having race fitness was an advantage in this circumstance. Rosallion travelled the best that day and just faded but he came back in the Irish 2000 and overcame a poor position in a steadily run contest with impressive closing sectionals, I don’t think there will be much between them. I’m also interested in Alyanaabi who was also coming off a layoff in the 2000 Guineas and was keen up with the strong pace and has some strong 2 year old form should get a bit closer today if he settles.
Selections
(7) Rosallion 3/1+
(2) Alyanaabi 16/1+