Right Royal Fancies

Alex Peperell with his selections for the big meeting.

- Alex Peperell

The spectacular five-day festival that is Royal Ascot is just around the corner and it’s probably time to start looking at which horses could be figuring in Berkshire.

One of the most anticipated clashes will be the rematch between Churchill and Barney Roy in the St James’ Palace, I imagine this will all depend on whether the son of Galileo heads to Epsom though (and of course they may meet again in the Irish 2,000 Guineas anyway).

Couple that with the potential encounter of Minding vs Almanzor in the Prince Of Wales’s and Lady Aurelia returning in either the Kings’ Stand or Commonwealth Cup, it really is shaping up to be a breathtaking week of racing.

JERSEY STAKES DREAM CASTLE (8/1)

There were mixed feelings about Dream Castle after the Greenham regarding what his optimum trip is, he pulled hard and tanked his way through that race looking like the winner until a furlong out before being overtaken by Barney Roy.

Looking at that you would think he would perhaps be more suited to six furlongs than a mile and the 2,000 Guineas would find him out, but to be honest I’m not sure the Newmarket classic revealed too much regarding distance. He certainly looked to stay the mile as he took fifth from Eminent in the final few strides. However, the first half of the race wasn’t particularly strongly run and the fact he was held up might have exaggerated his stamina.

Once he encountered trouble when beginning to mount his challenge having travelled very well into the race, his chance was gone and Silvestre De Sousa was easy on him. The pace of the race may have flattered his staying power and perhaps a mile could be a little bit of a stretch for him given his keen going style and the drop back to seven furlongs in the Jersey could be ideal for him.