Royal Ascot Preview
Following hot on the heels of Ryan Moore's epic Epsom double, Royal Ascot is the next major meeting to make horse racing spread betting fans salivate. With Moore getting the Classic monkey off his back, he will be riding with even more confidence than normal and he will surely be at the top of the Sporting Index jockey win index. Johnny Murtagh won the top jockey award narrowly last year from Richard Hughes and both will have a strong book of rides to try to beat the champion jockey.
The action kicks off on Tuesday 15th June and spread bettors couldn't wish for a better day's flat racing anywhere in the world. It was actually a good day for followers of favourites on the spreads 12 months ago with three jollies obliging on the first day of the Royal meeting. None of the first five winners were priced bigger than 13/2, so Strike The Tiger's success at 33/1 for American Wesley Ward in the closing Windsor Castle Stakes was a mighty relief for those spread punters buying SP's. Flashman's Papers won this race at 100/1 in 2008, so it has certainly been a profitable race for the buyers in recent years.
Tuesday's highlight is the King's Stand Stakes, the second race on the card, which features some of the fastest horses anywhere in the world. The race has taken on an international flavour in the past decade with three of the last five winners being trained in Australia and the other two in France and Spain. Spread bettors will be interested to see how the Australian-trained Nicconi fares, but patriotic punters will surely be looking at last year's runner-up Fleeting Spirit and recent impressive Haydock winner Kingsgate Native. Scenic Blast became only the second favourite to win in the past decade last year and spread SP buyers will remember Equiano's win at 22/1 in 2008.
One of the biggest punting races of the five day festival is Wednesday's Royal Hunt Cup, won by Jeremy Noseda's Forgotten Voice 12 months ago. Johnny Murtagh's mount became the first favourite to win this race since 1996, much to the chagrin of spread SP buyers who were hoping for a repeat of Mr Aviator's win in 2008. The draw can have a big impact on the result of this race, so spread punters are advised to watch earlier races before making their decision. The last two renewals have been dominated by those drawn low, but things do change at Ascot. It's also worth pointing out that the last three winners have been four-year-olds, so the race has tended to go to the younger, unexposed horse of late.
The other highlight of the second day is the Group 1 Prince of Wales's Stakes which has been won by some outstanding horses over the years. Olivier Peslier brought home Vision d'Etat in front last year to give France its second win in the last three years. Spread SP sellers will be pleased to hear that three of the last five favourites have won and the longest priced winner in that time was the iron filly, Ouija Board at 8/1 in 2006.
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