Horse Racing Betting Tips: Raise the stakes with Sand and Chilean in the Royal Hunt Cup
ROYAL Ascot features a number of big field competitive handicaps and the most infamous of them is today’s Royal Hunt Cup (5.00pm), a 30-runner cavalry charge over the straight mile.
This is one of the biggest betting contests of the whole season and plenty of gambles have been landed over the years, though some have gone astray too.
In 2008, Luca Cumani’s Bankable was backed into 13/8, an astonishing price considering the competitiveness of the race, but he could only finish fifth.
A year later and Jeremy Noseda was landing the valuable prize with the 4/1 favourite Forgotten Voice, but tread carefully, he was the last winning market leader and since then eight of the last nine winners were double figure prices.
The big ante-post mover this year has been James Tate’s New Graduate ever since he bolted up in a mile handicap at Ripon in April.
The form of that race has worked out brilliantly with the second, third and fourth all coming out since and winning at least once.
However, he was rated 90 then and is now up to 105 so he is going to have to be every bit a Group horse to be winning this off that mark.
We have no idea if his draw in stall one is going to be an advantage or not, but only two of the last 10 winners came out of a single figure stall so I can’t imagine Tate would have chosen that berth.
At a best price 6/1 with Coral, he simply has to be opposed.
Last year’s winner Settle For Bay is bidding to become only the second dual winner of this race and the first in over 70 years after Master Vote went back-to-back in 1947 and 1948.
It wouldn’t be beyond the realms of possibility as he was a ridiculously easy winner 12 months ago and is only 6lbs higher today.
His run at Leopardstown earlier this month was a bit of an eye-catcher in the context of this race, although he will have questions to answer if the ground turns soft.
My first selection is RAISING SAND, who should be backed at 8/1 with Coral who are paying six places.
Jamie Osborne’s seven-year-old loves to get his toe in, so he will have no problems if conditions get testing, and he also adores Ascot’s straight track, having won here three times in his career.
He is drawn against the stands’ rail which could be an advantage and it would also be a fantastic story for a couple of reasons.
Just two weeks ago a fire ripped through Osborne’s Lambourn yard, while, if successful, Nicola Currie would become only the second female rider to win at Royal Ascot, 32 years after Gay Kelleway took the Queen Alexandra Stakes on Sprowston Boy.
If there is a draw bias, it’s worth having one on the far side and even though CHILEAN takes a bit more explaining, I think he is worth adding to the portfolio at a massive 33/1 with Coral from stall nine.
Martyn Meade’s Iffraaj colt won a heavy ground Group Three over 1m1f at Longchamp on his reappearance last season, beating Study Of Man who went on to land the French Derby two starts later.
The wheels came off slightly after that but Chilean clearly goes well fresh and if the ground deteriorates he will love it.
POINTERS
Raising Sand e/w5.00pm Royal Ascot
Chilean e/w 5.00pm Royal Ascot