Royal Ascot 2008

The biggest threat to the Gosden/Fanshawe monopoly of the Royal Ascot Hunt Cup could come from a statistically surprising source. Given that Luca Cumani has trained winners as far afield as Japan and America, and went agonisingly close to winning the Melbourne Cup last season, it has to be said that he has never enjoyed much luck at the meeting. That could all change because Cumani has a major chance of winning the Royal Ascot Hunt Cup with Bankable, who loves the track and appears to be trained with this race in mind.

Follow Gosden and Fanshawe in the Big Handicaps at Royal Ascot 2008

Maybe Gosden will have better luck at Royal Ascot 2008 in the Wokingham. Throughout his career, Gosden has always had a great record in the valuable handicaps and in Transcend he has a horse that could take off back at sprint trips. He will certainly like the ground and uphill finish. Watch out for a Hughie Morrison special, though, because that trainer has the best recent record in this particular race and he intends to saddle last year’s runner-up, Intrepid Jack.

While punters will be focussing on the handicaps in their Royal Ascot betting, the purists will be much more interested in the Group races and the good thing of the week would appear, once again, to be Yeats in the Royal Ascot Gold Cup. The winner of the race for the past two seasons, Yeats’s main form challengers are stablemates in Aidan O’Brien’s yard and it would be surprising if the likes of Septimus will be sent over to spoil the party.

The dark horse comes from France in the shape of Andre Fabre’s Coastal Path. Yeats will have to be at his best to repel this French raider in the Royal Ascot Gold Cup race this year. Newmarket trainers Jeremy Noseda, whose Mythical Border is fancied in the Queen Mary, and Peter Chapple- Hyam, are often the men to follow in the horse racing betting on two-year-old races, but the final word must go to our antipodean friends.

We are all used to us Pommies getting bashed up by the Aussies at cricket but the racing fraternity were all bowled a Shane Warnesque googly when the Australian sprinter Choisir came over and won the King’s Stand Stakes on the opening day three years ago. Since then the floodgates have opened and the European sprinters haven’t had a look in.

The 2006 winner of the King's Stand Stakes, Takeover Target, will be back but perhaps more interesting is the multiple winner Universal Ruler, who has been carrying all before him back in Australia.

Related Links

Royal Ascot Betting
Horse Racing Betting
Glorious Goodwood Betting
York Ebor Betting
Sprint Cup Betting
St Leger Betting