Eddie Lynam uncertain about Sole Power’s chances at Ascot
Trainer Eddie Lynam has admitted that only a miracle can take his charge, Sole Power, to glory in the King´s Stand Stakes (British Champions Series & Global Sprint Challenge), taking place at Royal Ascot on Tuesday, June 19th.
Sole Power is coming into this Group 1 event after an excellent performance at Haydock last month. The Group 2 Betfred.com Temple Stakes saw him finishing second to Bated Breath. Since he could not add the winning touch, he missed the top spot by a neck’s
distance.
It was Sole Power’s third consecutive runner-up place this season, as he was second in two big events at Meydan in March. The five-year-old is in good form these days, but still Lynam is unsure about his trainee’s chances on good to soft at Ascot.
The handler explained that the surface was good, but the recent showers have made things a lot testing. He said on eve of the big event:
"He's in good form and he came over the on Sunday night but I'd say 50-50 (to run) is as good as he is, and he's less than that to produce his best. The ground was good when he came over but the rain was coming down. Last year they said the ground was good
and I thought it was slow. I don't think it will be as good as that, so we're hoping for a miracle really."
Besides Sole Power, there are 22 runners in the 5f event. A handsome cash prize of £198,485 is reserved for the winner for the class-1 meeting.
On the other hand, Bryan Smart is expecting a big run from Tangerine Trees. The 7-year-old was pretty impressive at the end of last season, when he clinched two back-to-back wins.
After a long lay-off, the bay gelding returned to action in late May, but failed to make an impact, finishing seventh behind Bated Breath at Haydock.
Nonetheless, the trainer is happy with Tangerine Trees’ recent progress, saying that the runner is well prepared for the Ascot challenge.
"He needed his race at Haydock. I'm very pleased with him, I couldn't be more pleased," said the trainer.
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