Ascot Vale
The Bristol Turks entry, Bad Romance jumps from the best of the draw and was staying on well when beaten into third in the heat on Saturday. The daughter of Requiem was considered good enough to take her place in the Golden Slipper and while well beaten out of the money in that event, she has run some decent races and is worth including into bets. Happy Skipper Stable’s Pharoah Hanover has won the Golden Slipper with impressive bursts of acceleration and power and she gets put to the big test on Saturday. She ticks all of the boxes required to win a race of this nature.
Willo Blitz is the DR Stables runner, who qualified for the final on Sunday. She has campaigned admirably over the short distances and is one who stays well. However even on her best exposed form she looks to have some ground to make up in this field against quality sprinters. Midnight Slowpoke finished a good fourth in the heat and can only improve over this trip.
Rossa Sent Ralphy ran a fast finishing second in his last race, has a nice draw and the genius of Chieko Kish to help him to make amends. The lightly raced Station ran on powerfully for a good third to speed star Pharoah Hanover in the heat, and from a reasonable draw over the 300m extra, she looks a decent prospect.
The lightly tried three year old Cashback steps into stronger company and impressed when disposing of Noddy’s Rossa Sent Ralphy at his last start. The son of Cyan Gates, Forever Gas stayed on quietly for sixth place, he is drawn midfield and could improve.
Carrots Ace ran second in the Sunday heat and this race comes quite quickly on the heels of that effort. Big Bad Governess has maintained a good run of form, is a classy sort and cannot be discounted if putting her best foot forward.
The Not Too Soon filly Rough Can Be was unplaced at her last start, and will need to be at her best to challenge. Arse Kicker is another to draw wide and his form is scratchy.
| # | Form | Horse | Stable | Jockey | Final Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1,3,10,3 | Bad Romance | Bristol Turks | Bree Vascones | N/A |
| 2 | 2,1,1 | Pharoah Hanover | Happy Skipper Stable | Judith Eakes | N/A |
| 3 | 11,1,1,2,1 | Willo Blitz | DR Stables | Numbers Prashad | N/A |
| 4 | 10,4 | Midnight Slowpoke | Racing Stripes | !Linette Bankhead! | N/A |
| 5 | 6,11,2 | Rossa Sent Ralphy | Dopey Donkeys Digs | Chieko Kish | N/A |
| 6 | 1,4,3 | Station | Whispering Death | Sandy Novik | N/A |
| 7 | 4,8,1 | Cashback | Frankel Farm | Rosio Koran | N/A |
| 8 | 5,4,2,2,6 | Forever Gas | Gaspers | Dayle Muranaka | N/A |
| 9 | 8,13,7,6,2 | Carrots Ace | Dotties Stables | !Melvin Vasquiz! | N/A |
| 10 | 3,6,3,2,2 | Big Bad Governess | Burgersfortheboyz | Waneta Jerkins | N/A |
| 11 | 2,1,5,5 | Constantine | Diva Lodge | Chantell Wittenburg | N/A |
| 12 | 6,8 | Rough Can He | annstable | Geoffrey Willoughby | N/A |
| 13 | 10,5,6,7 | Arse Kicker | KILL BILL | Lanie Reiger | N/A |
| 14 | 1,1,2,5,7 | Bucks Spinner | alex stable | Kacy Sankowski(A) | N/A |
Pre-race comments from:
Racing Stripes – “I like Midnight Slowpoke but she has not yet shown great form. The additional distance should suit her but I am hoping for warmer weather.”
DR Stables – “Willo Blitz has a lot going against her going into this final. Her regular jockeys won’t be available, so she will have a new jockey. She is a short distance runner so the sprint distance is another disadvantage. The track condition won’t favor her. If the track stays dead she will give it a go, if the track turns good she will be a scratch. Back her at your own risk, top 5 could be possible.”
Bristol Turks – “Well, this is a really difficult race to predict. Probably the 2nd most unpredictable race after Golden Slipper. Bad Romance ran an ok heat, nothing spectacular but not too bad either. I changed the jockey for the final, tried and tested Bree Vascones, should get the best out of her. It will be down to going, if the track is on the dry side she’ll be in with a chance, otherwise she’ll struggle I think.”
Dotties Stable – “I seemed to have qualified my second string Carrots Ace so I have no idea what to expect in the final. Anything could happen.”
alex stable – “It’s going to be very difficult to figure in this big race but we take our chance as a big outsider, also both of my jockey’s are out on another target on the day so I only have my apprentice to ride.”
Whispering Death – “It feels like a big win might happen for Station sometime soon. This race may be to soon – but she has a decent chance.”
Frankel Farm – “Cashback finally ran to expectations last time out. Unfortunately, I’ve had to draft in a new jockey for this race due to an unforeseen time clash with the Spring Guineas. Hopefully, this won’t penalise her too much as she would have had a chance on her heat win. But, I fear her time has not come yet.”
Burgersfortheboyz – “The Governess ran a nice second in her heat, unfortunately our stable manager fell asleep on the couch watching the peloton chase the breakaway group up the Pyrenees climbs , and missed the all important barrier draw. Hence we have ended up with gate number 167 in the outer carpark making our journey a long and ardous trip home. The prediction is Happy Skipper will be doing a hop skip and a jump with the Ascot Vale Cup in hand.”
Happy Skipper Stable – “Here we are two days away and nervousness is setting in. It’s a tough dangerous field and will need a perfect ride from jockey Judith Eakes to bring home the prize. Will be no easy task! Good luck to all!!”