Royal Ascot 2014 is set to finish with a bang and the 2 big 6f sprints are the highlights.
Some days, you really cannot believe what you find when you look at the betting. Today is one of those days. Unfortunately for TGL, she got covered in Cheerios as I splurted them out when she told me the price of today’s best bet.
The Diamond Jubilee Stakes at 4.25 is the race in question and Music Master is the horse. I have had this horse and this race on my radar since May of 2013. Music Master is trained by H. Candy, a genius at progressing his horses through the stages of development. A few years ago he trained Markab who from humble beginnings ended up being one of the fastest sprinters around and won the Group 1 Sprint Cup at Haydock.
I see a few similarities between Music Master and Markab. As a 3yo, Music Master ran over a variety of trips and on various going. I remember watching him run a good race against Dundonnel at Newmarket and marking him down as a future sprinter. This impression was confirmed when he ran at this meeting last season in the 7f Jersey Stakes, where he led the field on his side for 6 and a half furlongs before weakening. Later in the season he ran a stormer over course and distance before again tiring on the soft ground and finishing second to Tropics. That was an indication that sprinting was to be his forte.
This season he started out with a good win at Warwick over the Godolphin recruit Mar Mar, before meeting with a slight setback that put him a couple of weeks behind in his training and kept him off the track for nearly 2 months. On his return, he again showed immense pace from an unfavourable wide draw before again tiring late on when a combination of lack of fitness and softer than ideal ground took it’s toll.
Finally, today, he has 6f, fast ground and an excellent draw. I believe he has the potential to be the best 6f sprinter around and cannot understand how he is 16/1!
Now on to the Wokingham Handicap at 5.00. This is the day when another of my favourite, and slightly unlucky horses, Baccarat, sees all the conditions drop in his favour for the first time in a long time. He was done no favours with the draw on at least 3 occasions in the past season and added to this he was badly hampered at York when a faller nearly brought him down. When things do drop for him, there is no doubt he is a very good sprinter. Today he has a good draw and decent ground. His prominent style of racing will be suited to the pace of this race and his jockey should be able to take up a good position before kicking on.
Let the games begin!
Royal Ascot 2014 – Saturday 21st June
4.25 Music Master @ 16/1 with bet365.
5.00 Baccarat @ 14/1 with bet365.
