Royal Ascot: Foreign Raider To Take The Spoils In The Prince Of Wales’s Stakes? Ante-Post Preview

The feature race on Day 2 of the Royal meeting is set to stage a rematch between the first two home in the Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh in May. Here we take a lot at their prospects of a win and provide an ante-post bet for the race.

Camelot has been a hype horse for almost his whole career with the Ballydoyle outfit claiming he was one of the best horses they have ever had. A triple Classic winner last season, the jury was still out on the value of that form and after a bout of colic over the winter, he returned with questions to answer this season. Sent off a 4/11 favourite for the Tattersalls Gold Cup he ran a good enough race, travelling well for a long way but was ultimately no match for Al Kazeem on the day, who managed to strive past him inside the final furlong. Visually it is difficult to argue that Camelot will reverse that form if both horses turn up in the same sort of form. Having had surgery for colic over the summer however it is entirely possible that he will improve as the season goes on and he may not quite be at this best yet; whether his best is as good as was once though is still highly debatable though. Al Kazeem has looked impressive in two starts this season and deserves his place at the top of the market. He is very consistent; he has finished in the top 2 in every race since his debut (9 races) and with a lack of strength in depth in the race he has a good chance of keeping that record going. From an ante-post perspective both trade at relatively short prices and so are best left alone until closer to the race

Snow Fairy has been a fantastic servant to connections and has shown no signs of slowing down just yet. A comprehensive winner of the Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes when last seen, her form is top class and although not seen yet this season she is likely to be primed for this race. The Oaks winner back in 2010, she has ran well in all the major races over this distance including when 3^rd behind Cirrus Des Aigles in the Champion Stakes at Ascot in 2011; her only start to date at the track. It is always slightly difficult to assess what kind of form she is in having not seen her on a racecourse since September and back in 2011 she struggled on the back of a break when well beaten in the Eclipse. A repeat of her last performance makes her a big player but again from an ante-post perspective she is not the safest of propositions.

It may be left to the foreign entries in the race to provide some betting value at this stage. The race has common theme running throughout at this stage with very few confirmed runners but one who has to be considered is Maxios for French trainer Jonathan Pease. Highly thought of early in his career, he struggled with set backs as a 3 year old but has appeared better than ever of late, registering his first Group 1 success last time out in the Prix d’Ispahan. He was runner up in the Prix Ganay last year behind the smart German raider Pastorius, who managed to finish 4^th behind Frankel at Ascot last season. Maxios finished ahead of the likes of Dunaden, Giofra, Saonois and Ridasiyna who are all Group 1 winners and his form puts him in the mix in the context of this race. A possible Arc tilt is being considered later in the year but it is entirely possible he will make the journey over to Ascot first. A French trained son of Monsun was ridden to victory in this race by likely jockey Stephane Pasquier back in 2007 when Manduro was the victor and there is every chance history could repeat itself.

The Fugue was unlucky on several occasions last year but still managed a Group 1 success when winning the Nassau Stakes. She confirmed herself as a very promising filly and can be considered a stable star at the John Gosden yard. Unraced against colts this test would require more if she were to take her chance but she could not be ruled out given the consistency she showed at the highest level last season.

This race could feature a small field and because of that now could be the time to but down your money on an each way selection for the race. By doing so, you ensure your each-way terms on the race pay out on 3 races; even if only 5 or 6 runners run in the race your ante-post bet is still paid out on 3 places.

E/W Selection: MAXIOS @ 7/1 with William Hill

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