Alex Hammond’s blog and racing tips for Ascot and Breeders’ Cup

As I sit here writing this, it’s approaching 7:00 pm on Friday.

This usually means it’s time to switch off. However, I am looking forward to the opportunity as the first night of the 41st Breeders’ Cup begins soon. I spent a productive day studying the form for the first Ascot jumping card of the new season, as I’m leaving there on Saturday for Sky Sports Racingso first I’ll share what I learned about it.

It is stated that there are several fine horses running at Berkshire Racecourse and one of them must be leader in the park. The old cliché that everything he achieved through overcoming obstacles was a bonus rang in my ears as I took a closer look at Chasing the Limited Beginners Handicap Ascot Underwriting.

As a six-year-old boy and now facing greater odds, he needs to start to shine, and a score of 121 may seriously underestimate him. He is a half-brother to the Grade 1-winning Beneffective rider and he won his Irish points by 56 lengths.

As you would expect from The £100,000 Byrne Group Handicap Chase14:05 wide open.

Master Chui carries the maximum weight, but as a horse that did well at Level 1 as a beginner, he should be able to handle it. Worth seeing are the Matterhorn and Madara, as well as Saint Segal.

It’s only a matter of time before Venetia Williams gets her first winner of the season. Martator is another handsome fellow in this 2 mile 1 furlong event.

The latter gets my vote. He has already shown his affinity for this course and distance and is running well in this top field.

Lavazza Handicap Hurdle at 15.15 it also attracted a lot of attention. I narrowed it down to the bright looking Secret Squirrel and Break My Soul, one of two mares in the competition.

Secret Squirrel is represented by Hughie Morrison and David Bass, and Bass already knows the horse well, having ridden him in six of his eight starts. They are a match made in positivity heaven and will be fun to watch.

Break my soul ran only five times, and it took her some time to get into the winning groove. However, she is now gaining confidence and looking impressive with her last two wins.

She’s already in class, but Henderson isn’t the type to ignore his accusations.

The second £100,000 competition is Sodexo Live! Handicap Chase for the Gold Cup more than three miles. Chianti Classico won the Ultima at the Cheltenham Festival and made his first run since Aintree in the spring.

I think he will win some decent races this season, but I have a little doubt about the ground, which may not be optimal for him.

As a result I will switch sides High stakes player.

Tom’s eight-year-old son Lacey is good at jumping and jumping over fences at four of his five years. He can indicate here the weight he gains from his maximum weight.

After Ascot it’s Breeders’ Cup fully. History is calling City of Troy can he overcome the statistics to give Aidan O’Brien his first Classic win.

In the past, he has tried and failed with projects such as Giant’s Causeway, Galileo, Hawk Wing and Henritennavigator. We’ll find out in the first furlong if they can pull it off as he’ll need to rocket out of the third ground to avoid being surrounded by those big dirty performers.

The tie is crucial in many ways at Del Mar as the wideouts face an uphill battle.

This includes Bradsell and Big Evs in Sprint on the lawn. However, regardless of the draw, they may have problems because Cogburn looks like a monster for trainer Steve Asmussen and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. His opponents may not see which direction he is going.

Frankie Dettori’s Best Car – Emily Upjohn lawn for the Gosden team, but it will not be easy for them with Rebel Romance And Jayarebe in opposition.

I’m upset that Ramatuelle wasn’t included mile for Christopher Head, but it’s still a tough competition with the 2000 winner. Notable Speech the bet is on to give Charlie Appleby a third straight race win and 1000 Guineas runner-up Porta Fortuna to provide a worthy challenger to Donnacha O’Brien and Tom Marquand.

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