Leung Ho Yin, Simon's Bio
Simon is a well respected full-time thoroughbred racing commentator specializing in overseas international racing. Bringing with him a wealth of racing knowledge, Simon is the host and race caller for the overseas simulcast programme since 2008/09 season. He is currently the presenter on several racing television programmes including ‘Racing Horizon’ and ‘Horse Racing – Results’.

Ascot Racecourse – Track Analysis (Prince of Wales’s Stakes Day):


Racing in a clockwise direction, Ascot is a triangular venue so well acclaimed of its enormous track width, featuring on top of which a 1600m home chute to accommodate for straight contests at up to a mile.

For the day’s marquee feature – the 1993m Prince of Wales's Stakes – runners will dip right-handed right into the Swinley Bottom shortly after the break; still, thanks to a more sedate pace as per customary in deep routes, horses breaking from out wide still have plenty of time to position properly. The same can also be said of the 2831m Queen’s Vase, when they will hit the first turn at merely 200m after the start, then again easily finding their choice spots with an extended 800m run on the backside. Meanwhile, both the 1000m Queen Mary Stakes and the Windsor Castle Stakes, and both the 1600m Duke of Cambridge Stakes and the Royal Hunt Cup (Handicap) will all be staged on the straight course, and starting positions are numbered reversely back in, where the runner drawn highest will break from the stands side. When it comes to full fields of 20 or more dueling for early speed on a firm track, this particular stands side, as per customary for many a contest in this Royal meeting, is the better place to be; that being said, one simple rainy day would easily turn such case totally upside down.

In all, be it for straight dashes, or cruising around the full circuit, fields will have to fight for Ascot glory through that grueling 500m-plus homestretch, where another steep, surmounting ascent suddenly looms in large right before the finish. On top of all the ups and downs throughout this course, front-runners do need more than a herculean task to take the field all the way home.

In the 2018 running of the Prince of Wales's Stakes contested on good to firm turf, POET'S WORD, poised in fifth position early, found good headway on the outside approaching the two-furlong marker, took command in the final furlong, and never relinquished it, in all staying on boldly for a clutch score, while second-placed CRACKSMAN, who never traveled worse than fourth the whole trip, was forced wide on the home turn, fought for a brief lead, but was headed deep stretch, and HAWKBILL, who tracked the leaders well into the stretch while saving ground, could not accelerate quite as strongly in the final stages, and was only third-best on the day.

With sunny skies that will extend towards Wednesday – and therefore good to firm goings – on deck for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes Day this year, forwardly-placed runners may be much favoured.

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