Daily Placepots
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Harry Bowles /
07 July 2011 /
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Frederick Engels will be bidding to supplement his Royal Ascot success on Day one of the July Meeting

“Burwaaz can boast comfortably the best form in the six furlong conditions event which makes for the fifth leg. He’s drawn against the rail and, if Richard Hills opts to grasp the nettle, could easily make all.”

The July Festival has long since beeen my favourite Flat meeting in the calendar, though pushing it to the back-end of the week this year rankles somewhat – it just doesn’t feel right – but probably not as much with me as the racecourse executive at York. We won’t worry about that, however, as the prospect of a Tommo interview of Census part-owners Liz Hurley and Shane Warne is something to savour this afternoon over and above the racing itself.

13:20 – With a thirteen-furlong Group 3 and a twelve-furlong Group 2 on the same card, it’s no great surprise at least one of the two has drawn a smallish field. Of the six runners engaged in the Bahrain Trophy, Census, Masked Marvel and Solar Sky appeal significantly over the remainder. We’ll take the first two mentioned, Census coming here on the back of a good – and somewhat unlucky – run behind Brown Panther in the King George V Stakes, and Masked Marvel having his sights lowered after finishing mid-field in the Derby.

13:50 – Only two places to work with in the July Stakes as well, and the Royal Ascot form brought to the table by Frederick Engels (won Windsor Castle) and Roman Soldier (runner-up in Coventry) is very hard to overlook. The confirmed stamina of the latter is a valuable asset, but Frederick Engels has given the impression he’s going to find six furlongs falling within his compass and, better safe than sorry, we’re straight-batting this and incorporating the pair of them.

14:25 – The longish shortlist for the mile-and-a-quarter handicap which follows consists of – in racecard order – Mijhaar, Labarinto, Fulgur, Rain Mac, Fadhaa and Swindy. Unfortunately, they are the first six in the betting give or take, and we’re not taking six. Any rain is liable to favour Mijhaar, and it’s no surprise to see him head the market after his good effort in a Group 2 at Royal Ascot, though things are expected to be tight between he and Fulgur, who’s 7 lb better off. Instead, concentrate on the Khalid Abdullah-owned pair, Labarinto and Rain Mac, both arriving here fresh and on the back of sound placed efforts. Swindy is more of an unknown quantity, but his price reflects as much and he’s worth trying to get a result with.

15:00 – Crystal Capella has a very good chance at the weights in the Princess of Wales’s Stakes, sure to be all the better for her return to action six weeks ago. Redwood appeals as being the more solid selection, though, having established a consistent record since finishing runner-up to Sans Frontieres in this race twelve months ago and with a good record fresh. We’re looking to husband lines at this stage, so he’s a banker.

15:35 – Burwaaz can boast comfortably the best form in the six furlong conditions event which makes for the fifth leg. He’s drawn against the rail and, if Richard Hills opts to grasp the nettle, could easily make all. There’s a slight fear that he could pull his chance away if held on to, however, so we’d best take one of the once-raced maiden winners alongside. Richard Hannon’s Harbour Watch is liable to be most popular of those, but Hadaj‘s successful debut came over course and distance and represents a far more solid strand of form, so he’s the one to include.

16:05 – Another small-field non-handicap, and it’s about now I wish we’d swerved the glamour meeting and instead tried our luck at Donny. Fury has done well physically from two to three and remains sure to make his mark in pattern races at some stage, but the fear today is that a lack of pace will prove the undoing of him. It’s always possible the same will be true for Cai Shen, but of the pair he rates the safer bet, if not with quite the same residual potential. This is clearly a whole different kettle of fish as to when runner-up under top weight in the Britannia at Royal Ascot, but he finished placed in a couple of small-field listed events prior to that and should have enough about him to make the first two this afternoon. Please no non-runner!

Selections: 24 lines

13:20 – 1,4
13:50 – 3,7
14:25 – 7,15,19
15:00 – 5
15:35 – 1,3
16:05 – 3

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