 Tim Carroll 's Bio | |
|---|---|
| Tim started off as a jockey in Australia before pursuing a media career. He is a highly experienced and respected racing presenter who has been based in England since 2005. Tim has travelled the world covering many of the major meetings, including Royal Ascot, The Epsom Derby, The International meeting from Sha Tin, The Dubai World Cup, The Everest, The Saudi Cup and The Breeders. He is currently a presenter for Sky Sports Racing, specialising in both the local and international scene. Tim is a regular contributor to the At The Races Website where his twice weekly tipping column on Hong Kong racing has gathered a strong following. | |
Ascot Racecourse – Track Analysis (King’s Stand Stakes Day):
Ascot is a large right-handed galloping triangular shaped track, just over 2800m in circumference, with a straight run of 500m on the round course. There is a straight 1600m course, which all races below 1600m are held. There are two start points for races run over 1600m, one on the round course and the other on the straight course.
The track was redeveloped in 2005 and the ground in the straight drains quicker than the rest of the course, meaning ground descriptions can vary. Being a large track with an uphill finish dragging almost the entire straight (including the length of the straight course), Ascot suits hold-up horses, and front-runners need to be ridden conservatively to ensure they save energy, although on-pace runners do tend to perform strongly over the 1000m.
King’s Stand Stakes Day, day 1 of the Royal Ascot meeting see’s seven turf races for coverage.
For the races on round course, the 1598m St James's Palace Stakes, they start from a chute at the top of the course on the right-hand side, and re-joins the course proper midway through the Swinley Bottom. In other words, from the lowest point of the entire round course, they will attack straight up a steady incline before hitting the home bend and entering the 500m straight, meanwhile continuing to race uphill, all the way to the finish. There is no draw bias, but horses ridden with restraint usually do well.
For the 2003m Wolferton Stakes, they start in back straight and travel downhill for approximately 200m before levelling out at Swindley Bottom and turning into a straight that sees a steady rise to the home turn, then enter the 500m home straight and run uphill until the finish. Statistically speaking, barriers are of little consequence, but like most races on the round course, horses ridden with patience tend to do well.
For the 2841m Copper Horse Stakes (Handicap), they start from half way up the straight course. After passing the winning post they run downhill, turning right onto the far side straight, before heading onto Swindley bottom and turning onto another straight, that gently rises. They then enter the 500m home straight and run uphill until the finish. Barriers are of no consequence, but it is a stamina testing contest and although those on the front will be afforded every opportunity in steadily run races, backmarkers are suited in races run at an honest tempo as the uphill rise in the straight will take its toll on those ridden aggressively. The 4001m Ascot Stakes (Handicap) is similar to Copper Horse Stakes (Handicap), the only difference is the runners start toward the end of the straight course and have a long run before meeting the first turn.
Three races are on the straight course – the 1600m Queen Anne Stakes, in smaller fields they tend to come down the middle, but in larger fields they can split into two and even three groups. With the straight course being uphill nearly all the way, the further they go the more it suits horses ridden patiently, and those ridden with restraint normally do well. For the 1200m Coventry Stakes, they will look to come down the centre, but can split into two and three groups in larger fields. The straight draw results will vary, but it is advisable to look for the speed angle, especially in larger fields, as the winner usually comes from where the pace is, and results are more pace-dependent than draw-dependent.
The feature race, G1 King's Stand Stakes is over 1000m, they tend to come down the centre of the track and rarely split into more than one group. Over the last ten years, they have come down the middle on each occasion, although they can drift to one side or the other over the latter stages. During this time, they have never split into two or more groups, two horses have attempted to run solos but no success. The average field size over the last ten years has been 16.7, whilst the average winning draw has been 10. It’s worth noting that during the last ten years only two horses have drawn lower than stall 8 to win the race, the brilliant Hong Kong sprinter LITTLE BRIDGE, who won from stall 7 in 2012, and GOLDREAM from stall 3 in 2015. Unlike most race distances at Ascot, those on the front do perform well over 1000m, with seven of the last ten winners coming from up on the speed, but only BATTAASH in 2020, has made all.
Last year’s King's Stand Stakes saw a field of 16 go to post. On jumping, the entire field elected to come down the centre of the track, with QUE AMORO leading from WINTER POWER, with the favourite, BATTAASH just in behind the leaders, whilst several were held up off a solid pace, including OXTED and ARECIBO. As they approached 300m out, the field drifted toward the grandstand rail. The hot early pace took its toll with the leader and several others coming under pressure. WINTER POWER momentarily hit the front with BATTAASH challenging, but both tired over the concluding stages and it was the closer, OXTED who came through to win running away with another late finisher, ARECIBO, running on for second whilst the American raider, EXTRAVAGANT KID, got up on the line to deny the tiring BATTAASH third spot, in a time that was 0.37s faster than standard.
The weather forecast suggests it will be mostly fine in the days leading up to day 1 of the Royal meeting and sunny weather is being forecasted for the opening day. Over the last ten years there has been good in the ground description every single year except in 2016 when the going was soft. If the forecast is correct, the going is likely to have good in the description this year.
Disclaimer:
The above content and information are the personal views and/or opinions of each individual writer and do not represent the views of The Hong Kong Jockey Club and/or its subsidiaries (together, the "HKJC"). The content and information are provided by the writers solely for entertainment purpose only, and should not be construed as a suggestion for anyone to place any bet nor should they be taken and/or relied upon as advice of any kind. The above content and information have not been verified, confirmed and/or endorsed by HKJC and HKJC shall not be liable to any person for any loss or damage suffered by such person as a result of any use or reliance of the above content or information.
HKJC shall not be required to give and does not give any warranty, whether express or implied, arising out of or in connection with the content or information. The Club disclaims any responsibility and accepts no liability (whether in tort, contract or otherwise) for any direct or indirect loss of damage arising from any inaccuracies, omission or typographical errors that may be contained therein. The Club also does not warrant the accuracy, completeness, timeliness or fitness for purpose of any such information.
