Ombudsman did exactly what a defending champion is supposed to do. The Gosden-trained five-year-old won the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot yesterday at 5/4, successfully retaining the Group 1 title he won twelve months ago. A £10 stake returned £25.00.
The case had rested on the strongest possible foundation — a horse defending a race he had already won, backing that form up with another big win in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes last time, on going that suited and with a Gosden yard running at 29% over 14 days. William Buick's booking — notable because it was not the trainer's most routine arrangement — was flagged as a sign of deliberate planning for the biggest target of the week. The one honest caveat raised beforehand was a neck margin in his most recent win, hinting he might not be entirely foot-perfect. Whatever question that raised, it did not stop him retaining his crown.
Two From Two
Bow Echo's NAP of NAPs win in the St James's Palace Stakes on opening day. Ombudsman's title defence in the Prince of Wales's Stakes yesterday. Two days into Royal Ascot, two winners from two selections, and the same 200-variable process behind both.
Royal Ascot Day 3 — Ladies Day and the Gold Cup
Today is Ladies Day, traditionally the most fashionable day of the meeting, and the card is headlined by the Gold Cup over two and a half miles — the staying championship of the British Flat season. The Coronation Stakes for Classic-generation fillies over a mile follows, alongside the Ribblesdale Stakes for staying fillies and the Norfolk Stakes for two-year-old sprinters.
Horse Racing Oracle AI's selection for Day 3 is live now at horseracingoracleai.com — published at 11am, before the market opened.
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