Hugh Taylor has a pair of Tuesday picks for the primary day of Royal Ascot 2024 – reside on Sky Sports activities Racing – together with a play within the opening Queen Anne Stakes.
There are just a few horses that I’ve preferred from a way out for day one of many Royal assembly, however within the two staying handicaps, specifically, those I used to be most thinking about have proven their type on testing floor and with that in thoughts I am reluctantly leaving these races alone from a betting perspective.
With the bottom set to journey on the fast facet, the six furlongs Class 2 novice occasion at York’s Might assembly would possibly maintain the important thing to the Coventry Stakes (3.05), and with loads of tempo amongst the excessive numbers, Andesite is most well-liked to Yah Mo Be There.
Each colts created a robust impression at York, pulling an extended away from the rest in a good time determine for two-year-old debutants at the moment of 12 months. Andesite was ridden a bit extra prominently into what was a gentle headwind, confirmed indicators of greenness, and his steady’s two-year-olds usually discover loads of enchancment for his or her first outing.
He ought to get a great tow into the race from a few high-drawn horses that made all final time, and this half-brother to the steady’s Queen Mary Stakes winner Dramatised might be a giant participant if, like so many from his steady, he goes the correct approach from his debut.
Yah Mo Be There, who like Andesite has been sturdy out there in current days, may be very a lot revered for a similar connections who received this race with Rajasinghe in 2017. Of the rest, Cowardofthecounty was my different long-range fancy for this race having recorded an excellent time determine for an April two-year-old on testing floor when beating scorching Norfolk Stakes favorite Whistleinthejacket. He deserves to be favorite primarily based on that type, however there’s clearly the query of whether or not he will be fairly so efficient on faster floor.
I’ve thought Maljoom would possibly win a Group 1 race on the straight observe at Ascot ever since he recorded a monster time determine on his second begin at Kempton in 2022, and while this notoriously fragile performer clearly has a lot to show after a subsequent profession that has been blighted by prolonged absences, he seems to be to have the best situation to showcase his undoubted capacity within the Queen Anne Stakes (2.30).
He adopted up that fast-time Kempton victory by successful the German 2000 Guineas, doing effectively to run down a sensible rival who slipped the sphere early within the straight.
He then produced a career-best effort when an unfortunate fourth within the St James’s Palace Stakes, shaping like he would have received readily granted a transparent run.
He has solely been seen twice subsequently, every time coming back from lengthy absences. At Newmarket final September he was very weak within the late market and ran accordingly, racing keenly, not seeming particularly at residence on the observe and fading.
He was stronger out there near the off on his seasonal debut at Ascot, however that help seemed questionable given not one of the 5 runners had a historical past of creating the working, and unsurprisingly Maljoom proved far too contemporary, unable to realize cowl and ending up main by default at a gradual tempo, usually a big benefit however not so within the case of a free-going horse whose finest type has come when held up off a robust tempo.
It is clearly onerous to evaluate how a lot capacity he retains, but when he is ever going to win a Group 1 race he seems to be to have his best circumstances right here, a robust tempo wanting on the playing cards with Viewers, Massive Rock and up to date all-the-way Epsom winner Royal Scotsman within the line-up.
Horses which have recorded a giant all-weather pace determine usually do effectively on the straight observe right here, as talked about on quite a few events on this column, and while Maljoom’s profile means I would not be thinking about him at short-ish odds in a lesser race, he seems to be price chancing at double-figure odds right here with circumstances in his favour.
