Royal Ascot tips: Rumstar and Glenfinnan to spearhead Wokingham Stakes cavalry charge at tasty odds

17:05 Royal Ascot: Wokingham Handicap Stakes (6 furlongs)

The final day of an epic Royal Ascot Festival week of top-quality racing brings us another big-field handicap to dissect. 

I always look for horses that can stay a bit further than the distance of the race at Ascot due to the testing uphill finish, and therefore, for the Wokingham, I tend to go for a horse that has form over both six and seven furlongs. 

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As usual, I have used the trends below to reduce the field to a more manageable shortlist of three decent prospects:

• 18/22 – Had between 2 and 4 previous runs that season 
• 18/22 – Returned 12/1 or shorter in the betting 
• 17/22 – Had never run at Ascot before 
• 17/22 – Had won over at least 7 furlongs before 
• 16/22 – Placed in their previous race 
• 15/22 – Favourites that finished in the top 4 
• 14/22 – Carried 8st-11lb or more 
• 12/22 – Won their last race 
•   9/22 – Returned a double-figure price 
•   8/22 – Had exactly 3 runs already that season 
•   8/22 – Winning favourites (1 co, 1 joint) 
•   4/22 – Ridden by Jamie Spencer

Dark Trooper is already as low as 7/1 at the time of writing, which is a short price in a 30-runner handicap.
The four-year-old is one of the big-spending Wathnan Racing purchases (500,000 Guineas), and he is a course-and-distance winner and has an excellent high draw. 

He arrives fresh from a Conditions race success at Saint-Cloud a month ago and should be thereabouts here, although that price looks a few points short to me.

Rumstar won at Group level at the back end of his two-year-old season, but has not won in eight attempts since, so jockey Trevor Whelan will be looking to bring the best out of him here.

Jonathan Portman’s four-year-old also ran in the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup here last season, finishing fifth, which is top-class form and illustrates his capabilities. 

He did perform better last time out five weeks ago, finishing second in a decent Class 2 handicap at Newbury, but he remains six pounds over his last winning mark.

Suggested bet (1): Rumstar each-way in the 17:05 at Royal Ascot

Glenfinnan has a low draw to contend with, but if the races earlier in the week are anything to go by, then horses coming up the middle have won their fair share. My only concern in that respect is that any further watering may change the track bias. 

This four-year-old got off the mark for his new yard over this course and distance in May, and he has won over seven furlongs here as well. 

His relatively new trainer Michael Dods is very adept with his sprinters and has won several big races over the last few years (not to mention he boasts a 36 percent win and place rate at Ascot), so it would be no surprise if Glenfinnan outruns his price here. 

Suggested bet (2): Glenfinnan each-way in the 17:05 at Royal Ascot

It’s no easy task to pick just two horses in such a wide-open 30-runner handicap, especially when Dark Trooper is such a strong contender. 

However, based on the trends (and, to some extent, value) I am suggesting an each-way bet on both Rumstar and Glenfinnan, supplemented with the usual advice to look for best prices and extra places from your bookmakers.

 

READ MORE: Royal Ascot Saturday tips: Best bets for ITV action on Day 5, June 22