July Cup 2022 Tips & Prediction: The price isn't right for Naval Crown

An absolute humdinger of a race pits the winners of the Commonwealth Cup and the Platinum Jubilee Stakes against one another. I personally believe the latter was a much tougher race, without taking anything away from Perfect Power who beat his age group in pretty convincing fashion. 

But if you look at their respective time figures, there's a good bit between them. Perfect Power is a bit too short at 5/2 even though I respect him. Whereas in the Platinum Jubilee, pretty much every six-furlong horse worth his salt was in that race - I don't think anything was missing. 

The time figure was exceptionally good and NAVAL CROWN did really well to win it because he was drawn towards the near side and one of the few horses to win up the stand side rail.

The likes of Creative Force (11/2) and Artorius (4/1) were drawn where the best horses were and where the pace was so got dragged into the heat of the battle whereas Naval Crown had to row his own boat. I think the prices are wrong here. Maybe it's because he went into the Platinum Jubilee as a 33/1 that people think he won't be able to do that again. He looks good to me at 13/2.

JIMI HENDRIX comes out incredibly well on the figures. If you consider that he made all the running in the Britannia Stakes, which is almost impossible to do in any straight track race at Royal Ascot in a big field, you've got to upgrade his run 10-fold.

He should have dropped out the back of the telly really. He had all those really good horses circling around him inside the last two furlongs and yet he managed to repel all of them bar Thesis and Saga, who were ridden miles off the pace. 

That's normally the run style that wins at Royal Ascot; the frontrunners fade and others coming through hit the line hard. That run of Jimi Hendrix was sensational, his time figures are miles better than any of these have achieved so far including Bay Of Honour (4/1). He should be favourite for me.

The value is with ROPEY GUEST (20/1) based on his run in the Buckingham Palace - the nearest thing you'll find to the Bunbury Cup all season long - a double figure field where they're stretched across the track, they go a real flat out gallop and there's almost the guarantee of a fast time. 

If you believe in the form, this race should work out similarly to what we saw at Ascot where Ropey Guest was a worthy second. He got himself to the front just over a furlong out, and just got outrun by a stronger finisher in the latter stages. He has beaten most of Saturday's field, some of which have been priced shorter than him in the betting.