4:25 Royal Ascot: Gatewood to take weight rise in his stride
Published:Gatewood has looked capable of big things this season and possibly a Group-horse in the making, meaning 3/1 may still be worth taking that he triumphs in Listed company in the Wolferton Handicap.
The son of Galileo took a break from the racecourse after picking up a problem last season, but returned in decent fashion to triumph at York on his seasonal reappearance.
He then travelled to Epsom, where despite being last with little more than 2f remaining and short of room, he found a route down the outside to prevail by a neck.
There are certainly grounds to believe that he would have won by further with a clearer passage to the front and so a 7lb weight rise is unlikely to be enough to stop him.
The one doubt is that favourites do not have the greatest track record in the Wolferton, with only one market leader claiming victory in the past 11 years.
Ottoman Empire was the horse caught on the line by Gatewood at Epsom and re-opposes on 5lb better terms here.
Therefore, 25/1 looks particularly big value on his chances.
There appears to be a lack of strength of depth in the field and the only other runners worthy of note are Mijhaar and Qaraaba.
Like Gatewood, Mijhaar is still open to improvement and he has some strong form in the book, notably a fourth in a Group Two behind Nathaniel.
Meanwhile, he was third over an inadequate 1m on his seasonal reappearance, in a race where Royal Ascot winner Prince Of Johanne finished second.
Qaraaba should like the ground more than the remainder of the runners and if they fail to act to their best on the surface, he looks the most likely to profit.
He is another worthy of each-way consideration at 7/1.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
