15:45 Royal Ascot: Punters wait on Delegator with Bated Breath
Published:Saturday’s Golden Jubilee Stakes will be the most watched race of the Royal Ascot week and punters will have a tough task picking the winner with the two favourites unsure of a run.
Delegator’s first run at this six furlong distance ay York in May saw him beat three of these in Dalghar (12/1), Genki (16/1) and Hitchens (25/1), and if you believe Delegator will just improve on that run, those three have to be written off.
The problem is we won’t know until Saturday morning whether or not Delegator runs and while he currently heads the market at 4/1, if the rain continues to fall he will be withdrawn.
There are also concerns about the 5/1 second favourite Star Witness who will not run if the ground is heavy, although if the Aussie sprinter does run, he has to be fancied after finishing second to Prohibit earlier in the week.
We’d love to make a case for both Bewitched (7/1) and Hooray (14/1), but a filly hasn’t won this race in 18 attempts and the females have only placed on three occasions – Bewitched would be the better each-way shout.
Bated Breath is a very intriguing four-year-old trained by Roger Charlton and will be making his step-up to Group company for the first time.
The 7/1 chance will enjoy a bit of cut in the ground and looks very good value having posted a very quick six-furlong time at Windsor on his last start.
Elzaam finished second behind 2011 Jersey Stakes winner Strong suit at Royal Ascot last year and is a very tempting price at 10/1, but he is drawn right in the centre and that’s a big disadvantage.
Should Delegator and Star Witness run then we are likely to see these two battle it out at the finish with the preference for the latter, but if they don’t then Bated Breath looks the likely winner.
