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The three-year-olds get their opportunity to charge up the one mile straight course in the Britannia Stakes (5:00) at Royal Ascot on Thursday.
The three-year-olds get their opportunity to charge up the one mile straight course in the Britannia Stakes (5:00) at Royal Ascot on Thursday.
It's not often you see an Aidan O'Brien runner down in the weights in a Royal Ascot handicap, but Caracci could be very competitive with nine stone. He is beautifully bred out of a half-sister to Giant's Causeway and won a Dundalk maiden as a juvenile. The colt returned with a third in the Group 3 2000 Guineas Trial and seemed to run too poorly to be true on handicap debut when down the field at the Curragh. The step up to a mile could spark improvement and it would be foolish to dismiss him.
Charlie Hills' Racingbreaks Ryder is looking for a fifth straight victory after a comfortable three-and-a-half length success over seven furlongs at the course. He's only finished out of the frame once in a seven race career and connections have booked Australian-based James McDonald for the ride. This will be the fastest ground he's faced since a disappointing debut, which would be the only concern.
Frankie Dettori takes the ride on Ralph Beckett's Quantam Impact and the duo currently head the market. A twice-winner as a juvenile, he struggled on reappearance over seven furlongs at Goodwood but appreciated the step up to a mile when taking a Class 3 handicap at York. There aren't many negatives about the son of Invincible Spirit, having demonstrated he can act on all ground.
Docklands is up 14lbs in the handicap after a six-and-a-half length victory over course and distance in mid-May. He's a progressive horse for trainer Harry Eustace and hasn't finished out of the top two in his four career starts to date. The ground conditions would be a question mark – he's never raced on anything faster than good-to-soft and has only had two runs on turf.
Roger Varian has already recorded a winner at this year's Royal meeting and is represented by New Endeavour. The three-year-old was beaten two lengths on his first start after a gelding operation and improved when winning a 7f handicap at Kempton Park by four lengths. He tries a mile for the first time with a considerable rise in the weights.
Of the longer priced runners, Charlie Appleby is double-handed with One Nation and Highbank. A two-time winner as a juvenile, he was gelded in August 2022 after a disappointing performance at York and has finished in the placings on all four starts since. He sits near the top of the weights but was only beaten a neck at Meydan on his last run in March.
Highbank steps into handicap company for the first time. He commenced his career with a success in a Newmarket maiden and has struggled to win since, finding the frame on all five subsequent starts. He has been racing well over a variety of different distances and returns to a mile for the first time since September 2022.
WIN: CARACCI
PLACE: RACINGBREAKS RYDER