Our racing expert has found a 12/1 in the market he believes has been overlooked
Three-year-olds have enjoyed a fair degree of success in this Group 1 prize in recent times and the Classic generation appear to have a strong hand in this year’s renewal, with the likes of Advertise, Ten Sovereigns, Khaadem, Hello Youmzain and Forever In Dreams all arriving here holding strong form lines. Indeed, all five met in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot and the former confirmed that over six-furlongs, he’s one of the best sprinters around. Although beaten by his old pal Ten Sovereigns in the July Cup, Martin Meade’s colt quickly got back on track by taking the Prix Maurice De Gheest at Deauville when last seen and that performance just about makes him a worthy favourite – around the 5-2 mark – at the weekend.
Slightly disappointing in the Commonwealth Cup, Ten Sovereigns exacted his revenge on Advertise when they last met at Newmarket and on that form alone, Aidan O’Brien’s charge would have a terrific chance. Well-suited by the lightening quick ground that day at HQ, he couldn’t quite match that level of form over York’s sharp five-furlongs in the Nunthorpe last time out and it would be a worry for his supporters if there were to be any rouge showers circulating in the Merseyside area in the build up to the race.
Khaadem has also gone on to prove the value of the Royal Ascot form with a smooth success against the older sprint handicappers in the Stewards Cup at Goodwood and while he does seem to be improving, he looks quite a short price given how much he has to find strictly on his running at the Berkshire venue.
The one that does appear to have been overlooked based on his current price is (HELLO YOUMZAIN best price 12-1) and he has to come into calculations on several counts. Firstly, Kevin Ryan’s colt did extremely well to finish a close-up third in the Commonwealth Cup considering he missed the break and had to make his ground up in the hottest part of the race, and secondly, it’s well worth pointing out that he’ll be one of the few in the line-up with solid C&D form next to his name. Runner-up to the smart San Donato in a warm juvenile contest on just his second outing, the son of Kodiac confirmed his likely for the flat, Merseyside track when accounting for Calyx in the Group 2 Sandy Lane on his return visit back in May. Arriving here fresher than most after a two-month break, the lightly-raced three-year-old has all the qualities to provide his handler with a deserved success in this prestigious prize (gone close with Brando) and having won on soft and good-to-firm ground, he won’t mind what the conditions are come the weekend either.
Forever In Dreams, a creditable runner-up in the Commonwealth Cup also seems overpriced on those exploits and she, too, has a C&D win next to her name thanks to her gutsy win in the Cecil Frail back in May. If she were trained by a bigger name, there’s little doubt she would be a good deal shorter in the betting and it would come as no surprise to see her outrun her current 20-1 quotes.
