1:50pm – Lowther Stakes (Group 2)
Dramatised is strong at the head of the market as she is set to put her unbeaten record on the line in this Group Two contest for two-year-old fillies.
She won her maiden at Newmarket in fine fashion before impressing at Royal Ascot, comfortably beating twenty rivals to gain success in the Queen Mary Stakes.
An exciting filly, she has a mix of speed and stamina in her pedigree, and is certainly the one to beat in this race.
Mawj appears the biggest threat to the favourite and has only suffered one loss in her three-race career, when she finished second to the promising Meditate in the Albany Stakes.
She is well-bred by Exceed And Excel out of a New Approach mare, and is a half-sister to Classic-winner Modern Games.
When last seen at Newmarket last month she survived a stewards’ enquiry to keep the Group Two Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes, as she drifted left in the closing stages, interfering with eventual runner-up Lezoo.
She has shown plenty of ability and could show the progression required to compete with the favourite here.
Matilda Picotte has been in the tracker since her maiden win on debut at the Curragh where she impressed to win by two-lengths, making all and looking comfortable.
She is yet to record a win since, but hasn’t been finishing too far behind and certainly has each-way claims in this.
In May she finished fourth in a Group Three, a length-and-three-quarters behind winner Meditate.
The distance between the filly and Meditate is the same distance as the gap between Meditate and Mawj at Ascot, which would indicate there isn’t much between them in relation to the formline with Aidan O’Brien’s filly.
Of course both races were run in different circumstances, but Matilda Picotte has shown promise and could be one to watch.
George Boughey has been thriving with his fillies this season, from winning the 1000 Guineas with Cachet, to the excellent performances of the consistent Oscula.
He saddles Kinta here, another filly with two wins from three this season.
Her only defeat came in the Princess Margaret Keeneland Stakes, where she was beaten a length by the aforementioned Lezoo.
Prior to that she recorded two wins on the all-weather, winning both comfortably enough.
Lady Hollywood recorded a hat-trick of wins in a Listed contest at Naas when last seen. She is a promising filly for Alice Haynes.
The exceptionally bred Queen Me has only been seen once on track when winning her maiden ay Haydock last month.
By Dubawi out of a Frankel mare, she has plenty of class in her pedigree and is unexposed.
Maria Branwell is worth a mention at a big price, having recorded two wins from her first two starts.
She showed plenty of ability and finished third in the Queen Mary Stakes, three-lengths behind winner Dramatised. Last time out, however, she was a beaten favourite in a big field spring at Newbury, and may fare better in this contest.
Win: Dramatised 11/10 – K R Burke, Daniel Tudhope
Each-way selection: Queen Me 28/1 – Kevin Ryan, Tom Eaves
3:00pm – Class 2 Handicap
Blue For You and Echo Point currently head the market ahead of this competitive handicap. The former, trained by David O’Meara, is 3lbs higher for his second behind stablemate Orbaan at Goodwood when last seen. The winner there is 12lbs higher here, bidding for a three-timer and has previous form over course and distance.
Revich and Ouzo finished closely together, in third and fourth respectively, at Goodwood, and both have each-way claims once again here at decent odds.
Tyrrhenian Sea is yet to be tested in a big field handicap but has shown he possesses talent with three wins on the all-weather over a mile.
Top-weight Brunch finished second behind Cruyff Turn at the track in May, and has won here previously, but faces a tough task off a mark of 106.
Northern Express is 7lbs higher than when winning over 7f at the track in June. He finished a decent fourth in a good race at Ascot when last seen and should be suited to the step back up to a mile.
Britannia Stakes runner-up Saga was unlucky at Royal Ascot and was disappointing on his reappearance. He doesn’t appear the best handicapped in the race, but he is a talented colt who could be open to further progression.
Shining Blue made an impressive start to his career in May with three wins in his first three races. But, in the Goodwood Golden Mile Handicap he finished last of the field, breaking from a tricky draw and racing wide before weakening in the final stages whilst also being hampered.
It’s difficult to know whether or not he’s good enough at this stage in his career to feature in such a competitive race, however he has shown talent and it may be worth keeping the faith for now.
Value bet:
Shining Blue 14/1 (EW – 6 places) – Saeed bin Suroor, Frankie Dettori
3:35pm – Yorkshire Oaks (Group 3)
Alpinista is the one to beat in this year’s Yorkshire Oaks on the Knavesmire. She was unbeaten last season, with five wins including three Group One victories.
Last month she made her first appearance of the season, winning the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud convincingly, beating a field that included Hurricane Lane.
She appears set for an Arc bid at Longchamp in October, and is currently as short as 7/1 in antepost markets.
In this contest, the most dangerous challengers she’ll face, according to the market, are two Irish-raiders, three-year-old fillies Magical Lagoon and Tuesday.
The former won her first Group One on her last outing at the Curragh in the Irish Oaks, and has excelled since stepping up in trip to 1m4f.
Tuesday reigned victorious in the Epsom Oaks, narrowly beating Emily Upjohn in a tight finish.
Both fillies receive the allowance, and both are clearly talented, but Alpinista does appear in a class of her own at this stage.
La Petite Coco could be the biggest threat to the favourite.
The four-year-old filly is quite lightly-raced and is a force to be reckoned with on her day.
She completed a four-timer when last seen winning over 1m2f at the Curragh, and has previous form over 1m4f.
Last season she beat Love in the Blandford Stakes and this could be a challenge perfectly suited to her.
Lilac Road steps up in trip for the first time and, although her pedigree doesn’t appear to suggest it will be perfectly suitable, she has stayed on well in defeat on a number of occasions.
French-raider Raclette won a Group Two over the trip at Longchamp last month.
She has shown improvement as she has stepped up in trip, and she could be overlooked in the market.
Poptronic completes the lineup and is largely unexposed at this level.
She is a Group Three winner, and finished second in a Listed contest when last seen, but it would be a surprise to see her beat the field here.
Best bet:
Alpinista 5/2 – Sir Mark Prescott Bt, Luke Morris
By Katie Midwinter (17/08/22)
THE CONDITIONAL 