A look at “The Horses on Course for the St James’ Palace Stakes” Royal Ascot provides us with some of the best races in the British flat racing calendar. The first day has three Group 1 races, including St James’s Palace Stakes, which is only open to three-year-old colts and runs over 7 furlongs. Historically the race features horses that have seen success in the 2,000 Guineas, so it makes sense that this year’s favourite is Chaldean, the winner of this race.
We’ll look at Chaldean and the other two most fancied horses to determine which one is in with the best chance of making horse racing history this June.
Chaldean
It makes sense to start with Chaldean. This stunning colt is by Frankel, the top miler who’s already sired numerous Group 1 winners. He’s trained by Andrew Balding, who currently has a 15% strike rate.
Of his seven starts under rules, Chaldean has won five, came third in his first-ever race, and had an unfortunate incident where he unseated his jockey in the remaining race. This is a stellar track record to have coming into this race and features considerably more mileage than other 3-year-olds.
Chaldean’s last run was an incredible performance, where the fiery chestnut colt stole the 2000 Guineas from Hi Royal, who set off at 125/1. Despite shattering the dreams of punters everywhere, Chaldean looked every inch the quality horse and he’s now fancied for the St James’ Palace Stakes. Of course, performances like this come at a price, and Chaldean is already the short-priced favourite for the race.
If you’re looking to place a bet, using one of the free horse bets could be a good way to wager on this favourite without using your cash.
Royal Scotsman
Royal Scotsman is next in the betting, and for good reason, he gave Chaldean a run for his money in the Darley Dewhurst Stakes, where the latter almost struggled to get to the post in time. As well as this, he was a respectable third in the 2000 Guineas, where he was clearly a little overwhelmed on the day and set off pulling hard, wearing himself out by the finish.
If jockey J Crowley can keep on top of Royal Scotsman’s nerves and allow him to remain settled on the day, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see him taking on Chaldean again. With that said, he’s only managed two wins in his career so far, but with a recent entry into the Irish 2000 Guineas, it could be interesting to see if this race will be the making of him.
Al Riffa
If there’s one trainer who is synonymous with the St James’ Palace Stakes, it’s Aidan O’Brien. This Irish trainer has the largest number of successes in this race, with eight wins under his belt.
While Aidan O’Brien doesn’t train Al Riffa, he is trained by the next best thing, his son. Joseph Patrick O’Brien was previously a flat jockey who’s won many a good quality race. He made the switch to training in 2016 and has proved to have an excellent eye for a fit horse.
The fact that he’s trained Al Riffa for the whole of this horse’s career bodes well. O’Brien horses tend to run to form, meaning a surprisingly poor performance from Al Riffa will be unlikely. He looked the kind of horse who could win the St James’ Palace Stakes when he beat a strong field at Curragh in September last year to take home the Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes.
It’s clear that seven furlongs are this horse’s optimum distance, and as long as nothing too drastic has changed since last year, it wouldn’t be surprising to see this colt sailing past the winning post in the first place.
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