Ascot Saturday

1.45 Princess Margaret Japan Cup Stakes (Group 3) 6f

Royal Ascot form is represented by Queen Mary sixth Alta Regina and Albany fourth Dark Issue and while the former will almost certainly prefer the six-furlong trip, having been outpaced in the Queen Mary, preference is for Richard Hannon’s filly, who shaped really well when clear of the others in the Albany, and was forced to weave her way through in the closing stages having travelled well held up.

That was just her second start and she’s sure to progress again, so she gets the vote for all the suspicion is that she will need a step up to seven furlongs sooner rather than later.

2.20 - Longines Valiant Stakes (Group 3) 7f 213yd

Touleen is a top-class filly who was unlucky not to finish closer when meeting significant trouble in the Coronation Stakes over course and distance last time, and that line of form makes her the one to beat. She was beaten by Sukanya when returning in the Fred Darling at Newbury and built on that with a fine run behind True Love in the 1000 Guineas, when drawn on the wrong side, and finishing just in front of subsequent Irish Guineas and Coronation Stakes winner Precise.

Touleen might well have given Precise something to think about at Royal Ascot but for being bumped and then losing her pitch when short of room in the straight, finishing off with a flourish to be beaten a length and a half. That piece of form is much the best on offer and she’s hard to oppose with that in mind, while Sukanya is worth considering for exotics given what happened in their previous meeting, and having not done herself justice since in the Irish Guineas.

2.55 Moet & Chandon International Handicap (Heritage Handicap) 7f

High draws are often favoured on the straight course, at least until the autumn when the track is split in two to preserve the turf, but a smaller than usual field for this valuable handicap means that the effect of the draw is unlikely to be as noticeable as it was at Royal Ascot, and it’s really only when field sizes get close to 30 that the stands rail can be utilised in any case.

It’s usually a good idea to stick to horses with proven form over at least seven furlongs in this, but I’m breaking a couple of rules in siding with Amazing Journey here. Jamie Osborne’s charge has done all his winning at six furlongs and his record over further is an uninspiring 507.

Despite that, I think this trip is what he wants but he’s not really been mature enough to show it until now. You might expect his seven-furlong runs to show him running out of stamina late on, but although he’s been below par in those runs, he’s always got the comment “kept on” or similar, and I don’t think stamina is the issue at all.

Starting slowly hasn’t helped at tracks like Goodwood and York but is rarely such an issue at Ascot, where hold-up horses often come to the fore, and he was very impressive over six furlongs here last time, when winning a competitive handicap decisively despite not getting a strong gallop to aim at. I thought he was much better than the bare result in beating Fast Track Harry by two and a quarter lengths and a 3lb penalty for that puts him some way ahead of the handicapper.

Perhaps he will prove best utilising his sharp turn of foot at shorter, but I will keep the faith that this trip will suit at least as well, and I can see him being a fixture in races like this for some time.

3.35 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Group 1) 1m 3f 211yd

Calandagan should get this race run to suit, and last year’s winner is following the same route as he did 12 months ago, winning the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud after being beaten in the Coronation Cup, and it’s easy to forgive his defeats on ground softer than good, as he seems in need of a lively surface these days, for all that he won a pair of Group 3 contests on testing ground during his three-year-old campaign. A draw in stall seven means that Mickael Barzalona won’t have to work hard to avoid trouble and he should be able to pick the leaders up in the straight given how powerful his final kick is.

Benvenuto Cellini is feared after his Irish Derby win, and Minnie Hauk may well step up on recent form now returned to a mile and a half, although concerns about the stable form aren’t reflected in their odds. Japan Cup runner-up Masquerade Ball is held by Calandagan on past running, as is last year’s King George runner-up Kalpana, and if I was looking for a selection for the forecast, I would nominate Goliath, who was desperately unlucky when Christophe Soumillon got unbalanced in the finish of the Hardwicke Stakes and who won this race in 2024. He’s another French runner who defies conventional thinking by needing firmish ground to show his best, and he is the overpriced runner among the challengers.

York Saturday

1.30 - Sky Bet ‘Jump Jockeys’ Nunthorpe’ Handicap 5f

Low numbers should have the edge in the York sprints, and that looks especially the case in the Jump Jockeys’ Nunthorpe, with the best of the pace coming from those drawn near the far side. Lethal Nymph is expected to go close again but I’m taking a chance on the scopey Managing Director, who looked promising as a juvenile before missing all of 2025.

I thought he shaped like a surefire future winner when finishing fifth at Beverley on his belated return and he could prove well-handicapped if able to build on that comeback as expected. He wouldn’t be thrown in on his old form, but it looks significant that Geoff Oldroyd and the Bond family have persevered and he looked the type who would progress well after his two-year-old season, being a tall, rather unfurnished type then, and he looked to have grown into his frame at Beverley, for all that the run was needed. Connections won this race last year and can repeat the feat.

2.00 - Sky Bet Dash (Heritage Handicap) 6f

In for a penny, in for a pound – I’m rowing in with Geoff Oldroyd again, whose topweight Pocklington is in fine form and seeks to better his effort in last year’s race when beaten just half a length into fifth. Like last year, he’s had wind surgery during the season and again needed one run to get back up to speed, finishing a respectable eighth here at the Dante meeting before an excellent fourth giving weight to the useful three-year-old Tuco Salamanca at Newcastle last month.

Pocklington has no secrets from the handicapper but is thoroughly reliable and is sure to give his running, while a draw between likely pace-forcers Eternal Sunshine and Evening Blues on the far side should give him the ideal tow into the race. I’ll be disappointed if he’s out of the frame.

2:35 - Sky Bet York Stakes (Group 2) 1m 2f 56yd

Last year’s winner Royal Champion looked better than ever when winning the Neom Turf Cup at Riyadh in February but with that race upgraded to Group 1 status recently, he is lumbered with a 5lb penalty and that will make his task difficult.

Pride of Arras won the Dante over course and distance last year, but probably wants more of a test now and I’m siding with this year’s Dante winner Item, who can be forgiven his subsequent flop in the Derby where he simply failed to handle the soft ground. He was impressive when beating Action and Christmas Day here in May and is given a chance to show that form does not flatter him, with the return to quick turf a big positive to his chances.

Recommended:

Dark Issue 1.45 Ascot – 1pt win @ 3/1 (SkyBet, Paddy Power; 11/4 general)

Amazing Journey 2.55 Ascot – 1.5 pts e/w @ 13/2 (general – 5 places)

Managing Director 1.30 York – 1pt win @ 15/2 (Bet365; 13/2 general)

Pocklington 2.00 York – 1pt e/w @ 10/1 (Bet365, Ladbrokes, Boyles – 6 places)

Item 2.35 York – 1pt win @ 2/1 (general)