Clever Cookie (left): price plummeted on Friday as the rain came down
PICTURE: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)
Horn run in doubt as punters nibble at Cookie
THE Qipco King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes will be run on Saturday following what Ascot clerk of the course Chris Stickels described as “the wettest Flat turf day I’ve ever known” at the track.
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An inch of rain fell at Ascot on Friday to leave the going soft, changing from good to firm, good in places in the morning, with another band of rain forecast to sweep through before drier weather kicks in.
Stickels, who will reassess the going in the morning, said on Friday afternoon: “We’ve had more than 25mm today, which is an inch, and the ground is soft. I spoke to Hughsie [Richard Hughes] after the last race and he said it was soft, definitely not heavy.
“The course has coped well, bearing in mind it’s the wettest Flat turf day I’ve ever known. To have an inch of rain during racing is very unusual.”
He added later: “It’s going to clear for a bit, but we’re expecting another band of rain to come. It’s due to clear by tomorrow, when it’s forecast to be mainly dry and a nice day.”
Golden Horn: decision will be made on participation
Horn not a certain runner
The persistent rain mirrored the weakness of Golden Horn at the head of the King George market, and owner Anthony Oppenheimer, who dreams of winning the prize with which his family business enjoyed a 34-year association, has cast doubt on the chances of his unbeaten Investec Derby winner lining up.
“What I don’t want is for him to struggle through soft ground when we know his distance is always slightly suspect, have a terrible race and finish at the back,” said Oppenheimer on Friday. “That would be very disappointing for everybody.
“No-one will have the slightest clue until tomorrow morning. It will be a matter of a fluke as to whether they get one of those big bursts of rain. If it’s very heavy he certainly won’t run, it wouldn’t be fair on him.”
Cookie a monster on soft ground
The first victim of the deluge was Flintshire, whose non-participation reduced the field to nine, but one contender who won’t mind the going, and who was subject to a significant gamble on Friday, is proven soft-ground performer Clever Cookie, with Coral cutting the seven-year-old to 8-1 (from 40).
The Peter Niven-trained gelding, a Grade 2 winner over hurdles last year, has won both of his starts on the Flat this season, including when beating Tac De Boistron in the Group 3 Ormonde Stakes on testing ground at Chester.
However, stepping up to Group 1 level and conceding weight to Golden Horn would be a different test altogether for Clever Cookie, who would also be bidding to become the first seven-year-old winner of the Ascot showpiece.
Niven, though, is optimistic the conditions will be a leveller for his stable star. The trainer said: “He’s in good form and wouldn’t be going if he wasn’t.
“I don’t know if we are flying too high but the fact that he has got ground he can act on and others might struggle on maybe brings it back to his level, whatever that is. I can’t wait.”
fonte : RacingPost
