Races
ROYAL ASCOT PREVIEW | The Queen Anne Stakes
Palace Pier heads the eleven-runner field in the opening Group 1 contest at Royal Ascot
Arguably one of the best milers on the flat circuit, PALACE PIER (4/9) returns to Royal Ascot with the aim of landing his fourth career Group 1 success.
The four-year-old has won six of his seven starts for John & Thady Gosden and is seriously hard to bet against in this contest.
The colt has shown his versatility on any ground type and is much higher in the ratings compared to his counterparts here.
It must be noted that his sole career defeat did come at Ascot back in October, but the son of Kingman did have an excuse that day as he lost a shoe.
He is very clearly the one to beat in this contest, but he may not appeal to punters as he currently holds the short price of 4/9.
ORDER OF AUSTRALIA (6/1) caused an upset across the Atlantic Ocean last season, as Aidan O’Brien’s colt landed a 40/1 gamble when stepped down in trip for the Breeders’ Cup Mile.
The son of Australia wasn’t able to follow that up in the Hong Kong Cup, but he has made his mark from his performance at Keeneland.
His stablemate LOPE Y FERNANDEZ (12/1) finished a length behind in third in the same contest, but he is still relatively unexposed over a mile and could well have more to offer.
James Tate’s TOP RANK (16/1) and David O’Meara’s LORD GLITTERS (25/1) finished third and fourth in the Lockinge Stakes last month, but they have seven and 12 lengths to find on Palace Pier respectively.
REGAL REALITY (22/1) is given a tough assignment on his seasonal reappearance for Sir Michael Stoute, while William Knight’s SIR BUSKER (25/1) holds a decent record over C&D at Ascot and could pick up some place money here.
PRINCE EIJI (40/1) makes the step up to Group 1 company for the first time for Roger Varian, while David Simcock’s BLESS HIM (50/1) finished eight lengths behind the market favourite in the bet365 Mile back in April.
Eve Johnson Houghton’s ACCIDENTAL AGENT (80/1) and Charles Hills’ POGO (80/1) complete the eleven-strong field.
