Ante-post gamble Perotto 'has great credentials' - but who else has been laid out for the Royal Hunt Cup?

If there were a simple answer to the question of the draw on Ascot's straight course, then races like the Royal Hunt Cup would not be nearly so tough to crack.

What makes the Hunt Cup particularly hard is its place in the schedule. The only big-field, straight-course races held earlier in the week are for two-year-olds. This makes any track bias harder to spot. Then, specific to this year, there is the question of what effect the rain will have had.

No one can address these questions with serious confidence. Punters should arm themselves with a good knowledge of the general case, then bring in specific considerations.

In a given big-field race on Ascot's straight mile, you want to be drawn at one extreme or the other. The winner is typically a horse drawn near the more evenly-paced side who travels and gets a clear run. Going too hard is not much of a consideration, because front runners are often little more than pacemakers. They burn up and it still allows those who sit behind them to run evenly.

Specifics are harder to guess. Likeliest to have an effect here are the importance of fresh ground, and where the early pace might come from. The second of those is better suited to pre-race analysis.

Sometimes hand-drawn pace maps are not clearcut. That is not the case here. Of those most likely to cut out the running, only two are drawn lower than stall 23. The vast majority of the pace will come from the high-numbered stalls, nearer the stands' rail.

That is good news if you are on the ante-post Perotto gamble. The two horses on his right are both pace angles, while the only two on his left who are guaranteed a run both have a habit of missing the break.

Perotto has pace to latch on to and a rail within reach. While absolutes are hard to come by in the Hunt Cup, his connections would have done well to pick a more favourable scenario.
Race analysis by Keith Melrose

Leading apprentice Davies targeting first royal win

Top apprentice Harry Davies is hoping to land his first Royal Ascot winner this week after a near-miss a year ago when Nymphadora was beaten just half a length in the Palace of Hollyroodhouse Stakes.

The 3lb claimer has two rides to look forward to in the royal colours later this week, including King’s Lynn in the Wokingham Stakes on Saturday, and thinks his mount Aerion Power has each-way claims in the Royal Hunt Cup.

He said: “I’ve got some nice rides this week including in the Hunt Cup with Aerion Power, who wouldn’t be without a chance on his recent form and is sure to be well prepared for it by Sir Michael Stoute. He seems to have a decent draw in stall 21 and I’m looking forward to it.”

Harry Davies: rides NymphadoraCredit: Edward Whitaker

He added of his rides later in the week: “It would be wonderful to get on the board at Royal Ascot as it’s the Olympics, really, but it’s unbelievably hard. I’m riding two for the King and Queen later in the week which are Candle Of Hope in the Sandringham on Friday and King’s Lynn in the Wokingham a day later. I also fancy Frankness, who did not put a foot wrong at Goodwood last time, in the Palace of Holyroodhouse Stakes on the Friday.”

What they say

Archie Watson, trainer of Tempus
He's a dual Group 3 winner and a very good horse on his day. Things haven't really clicked for different reasons this year, due to ground, sharp tracks and so on. He really loves the straight mile at Ascot, he's run two massive races there. He's got a very high mark to contend with but these big-field handicaps with a strong pace to run at suit him down to the ground, so he should be running a big race.

John Gosden, joint-trainer of Reach For The Moon
He’s drawn 32 of 32 which is probably not the best place to be under the stands' rail. He’s in very good form and hopefully he can overcome the draw.

Simon Crisford, joint-trainer of Awaal
The rain they’ve had will help his chances as all his best form is on the soft. He’s drawn close to the stands’ side, so we’ll have to see if that is the place to be but he’s in great shape.

Ralph Beckett, trainer of Jimi Hendrix and Sonny Liston
They're drawn on either side so it's going to suit one of them hopefully. We've got first-time blinkers on Sonny Liston. They've suited him at home so let's hope they suit him on the track as well. Jimi Hendrix is somewhat enigmatic, but he was third in the Britannia last year and has been freshened up since his last start.

Saeed bin Suroor, trainer of Ghaly and Light And Dark
We’ve had this race in mind for Ghaly for some time and he goes there in good form for his first start of the season. Light And Dark just gets into the race and also goes there in good form.

Claire Kubler, joint-trainer of Astro King
We’ve had this race in mind for him ever since we got him as he’s been placed in it twice before. He obviously loves Ascot and we are happy with his draw in 12 as it means he can go both ways however the race pans out.

Richard Spencer, trainer of Revich
He’ll enjoy the 10mm of rain they’ve had and he wasn’t beaten that far at Epsom last time. He seems in good form and has a decent draw in 18.

Richard Hannon, trainer of Dawn Of Liberation
He’s still very lightly raced but has a lot of ability, and a stiff-run mile, on good ground, will suit him well. It looked like he was going to run a horrible race at Chester last time, but suddenly he flew home. He’s the sort of horse whereby the better the race, the better he runs, and I think he could be very competitive off 98. He’s had a wind op so wouldn’t want it soft, but it won’t be anyway so we’ve got no worries on that score.

Harry Eustace, trainer of Chasing Aphrodite
He’s quite unexposed, so is the right type for the race, but I don’t know about his draw in stall three as all the pace horses are drawn high.

Roger Varian, trainer of Perotto and Greatgadian
Perotto is drawn 30 which I quite like as generally they race in three groups. He’s got course-and-distance form at the track having won the Britannia Handicap two years ago for Marcus Tregoning. He ran a great trial for this in the Victoria Cup and, although it’s a tough race, he goes there with great credentials. Greatgadian will have the race run to suit him as he likes a fast pace to aim at and he could creep into the frame at a big price.

Charlie Hills, trainer of Wanees
Any rain that comes will be welcome. He's got quite a nice draw and we're sticking blinkers on him for the first time.

George Boughey, trainer of Koy Koy
He could be the forgotten horse of the race. He ran well in the Britannia last year and was my fancy for the Lincoln earlier in the year, but he didn’t make it. He’s training well and must have a very good chance.
Reporting by David Milnes

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