It’s a typically busy summer Saturday as far as UK horse racing is concerned but we’re in that fairly quiet spell between the Derby and Royal Ascot. Haydock stages the day’s two features – the Pinnacle Stakes and the John Of Gaunt Stakes – with both sponsored by online bookmakers Betway, who also provide prize money for five other races.
John Of Gaunt Stakes History and Trends
The John of Gaunt Stakes is a Group 3 race open to horses aged four or older. Run over 7f at Haydock Park, the event is named after the 1st Duke of Lancaster. The current race conditions have been in place since 1998 and it was promoted to Group 3 status in 2008.
This is usually a competitive affair but it certainly won’t be the hottest 7f contest to be run in the UK this month. However, a certain standard needs to be achieved to win it with almost all recent winners starting with an official rating of at least 107. We can almost certainly write off the 95-rated Dream Walker straight away as he was well beaten in a handicap last time. So was Hillbilly Boy, who also falls short of the accepted benchmark. That Is The Spirit also appears to have a metaphorical mountain to climb and was only sixth in the race in 2015. A run within the last month is preferable and winning form over 7f is pretty much a pre-requisite so, for different reasons, there are question marks hanging over Sandown third Jallota and Growl – the latter having been found wanting beyond 6f in the past.
A remarkable feature of this year’s race is the number of runners who have tried to win the Group 3 before. Absolutely So was third two years ago but current favourite Breton Rock has failed to make the frame in the last two renewals and the Lockinge Stakes third has a hefty penalty courtesy of his win in a weak-looking Group 2 at Doncaster last September. He’s drifted out to a best 11/4 but is no value at all at those odds given he finished behind SO BELOVED last year – David O’Meara’s handsome seven-year-old is the one we want to be on at 15/2 with Skybet.
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So Beloved was hampered when finishing third in the John Of Gaunt Stakes last year but still finished ahead of Breton Rock, who is worse off at the weights. He has a very decent record at Haydock, where the long straight suits his big stride. Soft ground is not a problem, though connections wouldn’t want the going to become even more testing – his stable won the race in 2014. Jallota (a general 7/1) might be the danger.
John Of Gaunt Stakes Current Best Odds
Breton Rock (11/4), Growl and Mitchum Swagger (5/1), Jallota (7/1), So Beloved and Absolutely So (15/2), Hillbilly Boy (18/1), That Is The Spirit (25/1), Dream Walker (40/1)
