3 minute read

Jamie Lynch thinks we are about to see the crowning of a top sprinter at Royal Ascot on Saturday.

Once upon a time, the Saturday of Ascot's five-day spectacular used to be known as Heath Day, as the Royal banner only stretched as far as Friday, but it's different now, with the Group 1 Diamond Jubilee making it a significant day, a Royal day, and it's D-Day for Aljamaaheer.

A 'nearly horse' over a mile, second in the Queen Anne Stakes over that trip at this meeting twelve months ago, Aljamaaheer has this year been reprogrammed to become a sprinter, and I think it could be the making of him. Though beaten on his first try, at Newmarket in April, he actually passed the test in that he showed he can cope with the sharper cut and thrust of high-grade sprinting, Aljamaaheer unlucky to finish only third that day, the jockey - rather than the horse - leaving it too late.

Slade Power, team-mate of Tuesday's King's Stand winner (for the second year running) Sole Power, is very good and very fast, getting better and quicker if anything. But, as such, Slade Power is a marked man, and on his back is the target for Aljamaaheer to aim at. This is the day of reckoning for Aljamaaheer, but he has all the ingredients to make a top sprinter, therefore well worth a win bet.

The opener is the Chesham Stakes, a stiff stamina test for two-year-olds, over seven furlongs, and Ireland has got two eyes on the prize this year, the standout colts both trained there. That pair, Dick Whittington and Toscanini, have already met once, and the former beat the latter when they were second and third behind Tuesday's Coventry Stakes runner-up Cappella Sansevero on their debut at Naas.

However, since then, Dick Whittington hasn't been altogether convincing, whereas Toscanini took a step forward when splitting a pair who also contested the Coventry, and he's the one who promises to relish this longer trip. That's why I'm putting Toscanini ahead of Dick Whittington in an exacta.

The Hardwicke Stakes has often been a stepping stone to greatness, but that doesn't look the case this year, with most in the field trying to salvage reputations as opposed to establish them. With that in mind, the race looks ripe for an upset, and the one with which to play the risk strategy is Camborne. Risk and Camborne go hand in hand, because he's a tricky customer, but if he puts his mind to it he has the ability to win this.

All the same, knowing Camborne, it's wise to play the percentages by backing him each-way, to have the place part on your side. Supporting Camborne is one of those situations where, win or lose, you'll at least know your alive, because that's the sort of horse he is.

Last but not least, and not at all likely, let's try and go out with a bang by attempting a trifecta in the most difficult race of the whole week, the Wokingham Handicap. This is Mission Impossible, but if Tom Cruise can do it then maybe we can, so here's the assembled strike team, and the reasons behind their inclusion.

Ninjago is first up, as the strong suspicion is that this date has been in his diary for a long time, and he definitely has the weaponry to win a race of this nature. Next is Absolutely So, who's had half the racing of most of the others, and such an unexposed profile tends to count for a lot in big handicaps. The third arrow to fire is Alben Star, who's back at his right trip after failing over shorter at York, but prior to that he was absolutely thriving.