The day 2 card opens with a 10 furlong, class 2 handicap for fillies.
The eye is immediately drawn to favourite in the market Waliyak, who’s second at Royal Ascot in the Sandringham stakes is a stand out piece of form.
The winner Onassis has since followed up by winning a listed race over in France so the form looks rock solid.
Only up 3lbs in the handicap for that effort, the slight move up in trip is likely to draw out the improvement necessary to notch a win for Roger Varian and David Egan.
| Date | Course | Distance | Type | Weight | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 05/06/22 | CHU | 8.5 | Fm | 8-6 | 6 |
| 16/04/22 | KEE | 8.5 | Gd | 8-11 | 6 |
| 17/10/21 | WOO | 10 | Y | 8-12 | 4 |
| 17/09/21 | CHA | 9 | Sft | 9-2 | 1 |
| 21/08/21 | SAN | 8 | Gd | 9-4 | 2 |
Racing continues in Sussex with a tricky looking 2 mile and 4 furlong handicap.
Roger Charlton sends 5 year old True Destiny who’s shown himself well in 2 outings this season.
Secondnd on reappearance over 2 miles at Kempton opened the pipes for another good effort at Newbury over the same trip. Finishing 3rd to Reshoun and Rajinsky looks to be a strong run to build on and he kept on really smartly to suggest the extra half a mile will suit.
An unchanged handicap mark of 86 looks lenient.
| Date | Course | Distance | Type | Weight | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25/10/24 | SLI | 20.5 | Y | 11-3 | 2 |
| 19/10/24 | LIM | 21 | Gd | 11-2 | 2 |
| 07/10/24 | FAI | 24 | Gd | 11-3 | 8 |
| 30/08/24 | DRO | 24 | Gd | 10-12 | 8 |
| 12/08/24 | BAL | 23 | Y/Sft | 11-6 | 9 |
David Simcock sends his in-form 3 year old Carlos Felix for the 1 mile 4 furlong handicap for race 3.
Last seen at Ascot in a 4 runner race over 12 furlongs for the first time, Luke Morris produced his mount 3 furlongs out and easily hit the front with a furlong left to run. Eventually winning by an impressive 4.5 lengths a mark of 78 certainly underestimated him.
He might have gone up another 10lbs in the weights, but it might not curb his improvement and a repeat of his last effort will certainly make him hard to beat.
| Date | Course | Distance | Type | Weight | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22/11/24 | NCS | 12.5 | St | 9-12 | 9 |
| 18/06/24 | CAT | 12 | GS | 11-0 | 6 |
| 03/06/24 | AYR | 10 | Gd | 9-10 | 6 |
| 03/05/24 | MUS | 12.5 | Gd | 9-9 | 6 |
| 24/11/23 | STH | 14 | St | 9-6 | 8 |
We switch to the 2 year old sprinters for race 4 and Significantly peaks interest.
He’s hit the post on all 3 of his runs this season but he’s shaping like his time is certain to come soon enough. Last seen in a listed race at Sandown, he was just outgunned late on by Gussy Mac. Switching now to a sharper track will definitely suit more than the stiff finish he encountered at Sandown.
Building on his 3 pieces of experience he can get his head in front for the first time here.
| Date | Course | Distance | Type | Weight | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22/11/24 | NCS | 5 | St | 9-10 | 7 |
| 21/09/24 | NBY | 5 | Hy | 9-3 | 8 |
| 08/09/24 | YOR | 6 | GS | 9-4 | 6 |
| 04/05/24 | NMK | 5 | Gd | 9-9 | 6 |
| 17/04/24 | NMK | 6 | Gd | 9-9 | 8 |
The Sussex Stakes looks like it might be the race of the year, the market attention is being held towards the top of the betting with the Irish and English Guineas winners lining up.
At an each way price Aidan O’Brien sends over Vatican City off the back of a respectable run in the Derby. The trip maybe taxed him too much but his run before saw him come 2nd to Siskin in the Irish 2000 Guineas.
He didn’t get much luck in running but when he got the daylight to run into he finished powerfully into a never troubling 2nd.
Double digit odds underestimates his chances with that line of form in the books with a clearer run.
| Date | Course | Distance | Type | Weight | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25/09/20 | DUN | 10.5 | St | 9-5 | 7 |
| 12/09/20 | LEO | 8 | Gd | 9-5 | 3 |
| 29/07/20 | GOO | 8 | Gd | 9-0 | 7 |
| 04/07/20 | EPS | 12 | Gd | 9-0 | 8 |
| 12/06/20 | CUR | 8 | GF | 9-2 | 2 |
The final race of the day comes back to the handicappers over 7 furlongs. Champion jockey Oisin Murphy takes the ride on Toro Strike.
As a 2 year old the Richard Fahey trained colt came 3rd in a course and distance race at last year’s festival. Making Reappearance at Royal Ascot in the Britannia Stakes he ran creditably to come 5th in the big field. The soft ground and 1 mile trip probably weren’t his ideal so coming back down to 7 furlongs on firmer ground gives him a much better chance.
With the run under his belt to open the pipes up, he looks progressive enough to out run a mark of 94.
| Date | Course | Distance | Type | Weight | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27/07/21 | GOO | 7 | Sft | 9-3 | 6 |
| 29/05/21 | HAY | 7 | GS | 9-0 | 6 |
| 17/04/21 | THI | 7 | GF | 9-2 | 1 |
| 04/10/20 | LON | 7 | Hy | 9-0 | 8 |
| 30/08/20 | GOO | 7 | GS | 8-12 | 2 |
