5:00 Royal Ascot: Roll the dice on a Yazdi victory
Published:The trends may be stacked against Yazdi in the Queen’s Vase, but he has only had two career starts and can find the necessary improvement to secure a success at 5/1.
All of the runners are previously untested over the 2m trip and so any selection would have to be made with a hint of risk of them seeing out the trip, while the overnight rain will only put stamina at even more of a premium.
Yazdi performed impressively on soft ground last time albeit against modest opposition, but he did still quicken away smoothly to triumph by seven lengths.
Meanwhile, he also ran creditably on debut when staying on in the closing stages to take third in a competitive heat behind Model Pupil and Shantaram.
In the last ten years, the biggest-priced winner of the Queen’s Vase has been 7/1 so it pays to stand by those towards the head of the Royal Ascot betting.
The one big worry for Yazdi is that all of the last 12 winners have had an official rating of at least 96, while eight of these have been rated 100+.
Yazdi is only rated 90, which shows the improvement needed to triumph.
In terms of rating, Minimise Risk must enter calculations at 11/2 and he could provide maximum reward for punters.
He is one of only two horses in the race rated over 100 and excuses can be made for his last two runs, finding the ground far too soft at Chester and then not coping with the unique demands of Epsom.
Stamina should be no issue as he is a relation to the horse Darasim, who tended to enjoy marathon trips.
Three of the last 12 winners had previously taken part in the Lingfield Derby Trial and so Ed De Gas may be another to consider for each-way stakes at 11/1.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
