This should be some Group 1 battle at Ascot on Wednesday. This is a ten-furlong thriller and Highland Reel is heading up the market at 5/2 with Bet365. There are some good odds floating around in his one and the Irish Derby winner Jack Hobbs is opposing the favourite pretty well in this one. Highland Reel landed a dominant win at the Coronation Cup at Epsom and that was a pretty strong recovery having lost out to Jack Hobbs in Dubai during the off-season.
So Highland Reel is looking to land a rare double here after his win at Epsom and Aidan O’Brien’s charge is sure to be in the picture somewhere. He was at Ascot last summer in taking both the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes over 12 furlongs and so there is no question about his staying power anyway with the Prince of Wales trip being two furlongs shorter than that. The five-year-old has taken over £5.5 million in prize-money in a phenomenal career.
Highland Reel is a tough, gritty horse who isn’t going to back down from this challenge. He has continuously been thrown into high-level campaigns and has won the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita, between finishing second in the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and runner-up in the Longines Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin.
Jack Hobbs hasn’t had any action of note since his Classic campaign when he won the Irish Derby. But he did card that win at the Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan in March, with Highland Reel only finishing seventh. He was bang on form in Dubai for that Sheema Classic and was really relishing the extra give in the ground to land a one length victory which was clearly his best ever shot over a mile and a half. He should really be a title contender in his one but can he get close
Ulysses took a comfortable win over Deauville and My Dream Boat to land the Gordon Richard’s Stakes back in April. He has had enough time to really get ready for this Group 1 challenge and the colt is looking for his first win at this level. Has the pace and has performed pretty well against Group 1 contenders before and will have appeal to get himself in the frame for a place finish in this one. There has been notable desertions for the Hardwicke Stakes from this one, such as My Dream Boat and Hawkbill.
So that has shifted the market around a bit and Decorated Knight comes into play as he took a win over Arab Spring in the Winter Derby Trial and showed up well in Maydan. He was back in action at Curragh last month and he took the Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup over Somehow and Deauville and he makes for a great shot in this one. Mekhtaals claimed a maiden Group 1 title at Chantilly last month. This will be his British debut, but with Grouped honours over in France, he has been respected in the betting market.
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Prince of Wales’s Stakes Royal Ascot Betting Odds
Highland Reel 5/2, Jack Hobbs 11/4, Ulysses 10/3, Decorated Knight 8/1, Mekhtaal 10/1, Queens Trust 12/1, Scotland 25/1, Nezwaah 33/1, Johannes Vermeer 33/1
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