Flat Racing Wednesday 19th June

[joeblitz]

3.45 Ascot Camelot 11/4

Paddy Power

BOG

Al Kazeem won doing handstands at the Curragh over 10f beating Camelot. I could not believe what I saw and had lots of egg over my face afterwards. In hindsight I like many others underestimated Al Kazeem on the day but in hindsight it was clear the way Camelot capitulated that he was far from fully wound up that day. This time he will be fully fit and will have no excuses and although he needs to improve I feel he will and reverse the places with Al Kazeem. Look at what he did with Declaration Of War? O' Brien's record in this race is second to none but hasn't won with all of his horses - that said he has heaped praise on this horse even before he set foot on a racecourse and he won the Guineas and Derby before being cheated out of the St Leger by Al Zarooni who had all of his horses doped. If he doesn't win tomorrow I feel that O' Brien should retire him. There is an old saying: "fools and their money are easily parted". Let us see if that holds true for tomorrow or will the O' Brien magic work again?

10 points win Camelot 11/4

Paddy Power

BOG

[robertob]

Re: Flat Racing Wednesday 19th June 15.05 Ascot: Dancewiththedevil @ 25/1 Betfair - 1pt win Very excited to see this South African super mare at Ascot tomorrow. She's a five times Grade 1 winner, successful in all the big races over 1m in South Africa, beating the boys on a couple of occasions, winning often in simply extraordinary style. Her usual style, trailing the field or travelling at least well off the pace, up to 20 lengths behind the leader, and then powering home to take it up deep inside the final furlong, is very exciting to watch (you can do so here: http://stsp.co.za/TIRWPOTA/search.aspx). There is no doubt, as the only Group 1 winner in this field - and that multiple times - she is a huge price here in this Group 2. Of course there are a few worries, as this will be her first run in over a year. So the question mark is how fit she can be tomorrow. There is also the question of the straight mile course, which will be completely new to her, even though I think it won't cause too much trouble. Really important is then though the pace factor. She needs a decent pace for her racing style. She was found out for that reason the last two times she's been racing at home when she the races ended in a sprint finish. I'm not sure about the pace in this race, but hope it will be alright. The fitness thing is something I have to trust the new trainer. It's Royal Ascot, so you would assume she is trained to the point. If she is fit and if the pace is decent I can't see any other winner here. I have to admit though that I'm not fully without emotions in this case here as I love South African racing obviously.