Al Khawaneej keen to claim Ascot Stakes title
On the card of the Ascot Stakes (Handicap), Al Khawaneej seems to be the strongest candidate who will unleash winning performance on the Ascot track of 2 miles and 4 furlongs in an effort to add fourth straight success to his portfolio. The high-profile
Class 2 contest will commence at 5:00 (GMT) today, June 19.
For the sake of the prize cheque worth £34,238, the David Simcock-trained brown colt will have to face 19 strong rivals including the bigwigs like Monterey and Dark Ranger.
Al Khawaneej possesses excellent success ratio. The four-year-old young and energetic sprinter has won 3 of his total 7 starts so far.
After debuting in May 2011, the brilliant runner had to struggle for breaking his maiden for at least three months. Finally, he managed to accomplish a mammoth triumph on August 16.
This spiked up the colt’s confidence level greatly and he embarked upon aggressive running that helped him finish first in each of the two subsequent races during April-May 2012.
At the moment, the son of Arch out of Fraulein is carrying unprecedented winning impetus that will lead him on his way towards the finish line of Ascot ground.
However, Monterey has enough potential to impede Al Khawaneej. The Robert Mills-trained bay gelding resumed racing in the last month after a long break of almost two years, making a strong comeback.
After getting third in Betfair Funds The PJA Doctor Handicap on May 24, the veteran horse marvellously notched up top spot in his last outing on June 9.
Overall, the son of Montjeu out of Magnificent Style has won 2 of his total 6 stars so far. In today’s marathon, he will surly show a lot of resistance against Al Khawaneej but his chances to thrive are no more than 80 percent.
Dark Ranger too looks to be dangerous enough. The Tim Pitt-trained brown gelding finished as a runner-up in each of his last four races from December 14, 2011 to May 17, 2012. By and large, he has 6 classic conquests to his name.
Thus, there will be a tough tug of war in the race. Let us see who carries the day.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and do not reflect Bettor.Com’s editorial policy.
Tags: