Letter from Ascot: Fugetaboutit!

[Wandering Eyes]

The day before the Royal Meeting at Ascot begins, it is all about the humans who will be working over the prestigious five-day spectacle. Some in top hat and tails, some in jockey silks. Many have pointed their skills, their horses, their hats and their bankrolls to this week in June.

As for the jockey ranks, my humble feeling is that William Buick is the best rider in the world today. He has been a major winner at this meeting, as well as at Arlington, Belmont Park and Breeders’ Cup events. He was injured one month ago at Ascot, when Sir Busker (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}) unseated him in the parade to the post. He is suffering post head-injury syndrome. Tough with no date to return, since he had G1 Epsom Derby winner Masar (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) and G1 Melbourne Cup champ Cross Counter (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) as his intended mounts.

This subtraction of Buick is an addition for James Doyle, but even with those added Buick mounts, I don’t think he can win more Royal Ascot races than Ryan Moore, since Moore is the go-to rider for Aidan O’Brien. And neither do the bookies.

Moore and O’Brien as so favored that the price is 11-10 that they both will win jockey and trainer titles though this Saturday evening. To bet the ebullient Italian, Frankie Dettori, or the aforementioned Doyle, is like betting that Bill de Blasio will be the Dem’s candidate in 2020. Fugetaboutit!

Trainer John Gosden learned a lot about training winners on the turf at Santa Anita from his boss, Charlie Whittingham, from 1977 to 1987. Since then he has been outstanding at conditioning winners in his native England. Since you did not blow any GBPounds on the jockey or trainer championship, may I suggest a punt in the G1 St. James’s Palace S. on Tuesday? Too Darn Hot (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) is not just a hunch play, since that is the opening number of Act II of the current Broadway revival Kiss Me, Kate. The 3-year-old, who is owned by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, took the G1 Dewhurst S. and Frankie Dettori will ride.

Like the guy from Farmers Insurance says, “They know a thing or two, because they saw a thing or two.”

The wildest (and worst odds) play of any day is what color hat Queen Elizabeth will wear in the Royal procession each day. Every bookie at the track and every wagering operation takes the bet. My expert on this wager is none other than Elinor Penna, whose late husband, Angel Penna, Sr., won more than 250 graded stakes on three continents. I defer to my tout on this…Elinor writes, “I will be watching Ascot all week, think QE2 will be wearing rose on Opening Day.”

At your own risk…fugetaboutit!

Editor’s note: Dave Johnson is a racecaller and sportscaster (famous for his signature `And down the stretch they come!’) who is attending his 25th consecutive Royal Ascot meeting this year. He is writing a daily Ascot report for the TDN from an American’s perspective.

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