The feature on today’s racecards is the 16:10 at Ascot, the Group 1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes. It’s a 1m4f race for horses aged 3yo+.
Despite the small field it’s set to be a cracking race, with Calandagan (5/4) and Jan Brueghel (2/1) the top two of the market. They both faced off last month at Epsom, with Jan Brueghel coming out on top by half a length. Calandagan looked to be making the winning run but Jan Brueghel fought him off valiantly. Continuous (100/1) was also in this race and finished 13 lengths behind after front running - it looks as if he’ll be the pacemaker today.
Starting with our Average Speed Analysis, all but Continuous ran much faster than the THM Standard Average last time out. The standout is Calandagan who ran a whopping 4.65kph faster, although we do have to be cautious with speed figures achieved in France as the standard averages tend to be quite slow. It’s still some performance though.
Topping our THM Score last time out is also Calandagan who broke the elusive 900 barrier, which comes as no surprise with the speed figure achieved at Saint Cloud. He has posted 850+ in his last 4 races which is no mean feat.
Jan Brueghel’s score profile is slightly more volatile, dipping under 800 a couple of times, but he did post his personal best of 867 last time out on Good To Soft ground at Epsom. I think it’s safe to say both favourites appreciate a bit of chop in the ground.
Kalpana (11/2) is the only filly in the field today and will be carrying 3lbs less than her rivals. She’s posted over 800 in her last 3 runs and these scores have been achieved on a mixture of Good and Soft ground. Rebel’s Romance (11/2) posted an 848 last time out and importantly this was over course and distance. This is one of his best scores to date.
Jan Brueghel’s biggest question mark is whether he will like the Ascot track as he is unraced there. Calandagan, Kalpana and Rebel’s Romance have all run twice at Ascot, winning once and placing in the other.
However, when we look at the race from a distance form perspective, Jan Brueghel comes out on top. He is undefeated and 2 from 2 over the 1m4f trip. That being said, I can’t see the distance causing any major issues for any of the field.