King's Stand Stakes Tips: Winter To Power To Sprint Glory At Royal Ascot
We are set for one of the most exciting renewals of the King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot in recent times on Tuesday as the superstar American and Australian sprinters Golden Pal and Nature Strip do battle against the premier speedsters from the UK & Ireland in an epic renewal of the Group 1 5f contest. We preview the race here and pick out our best bet for the event...
Flying the flag for America will be the Wesley Ward-trained Golden Pal, who is aiming to hand his trainer a second win (Lady Aurelia won in 2017) in the King's Stand, and this four-year-old warmed up for this event with a scorching victory at Keeneland. This will be the second trip this son of Uncle Mo will have to Royal Ascot as he was last seen at the Berkshire venue finishing a fine second behind The Lir Jet in the Norfolk Stakes a couple of years ago. That was only his second career run that day, and she showed some sparkling speed during that event, but was just touched off. He will be a more experienced performer this time around, but while he has pace to burn he may find it tough to down Nature Strip and the 3/1 about the American sprinter is worth taking on.
Now eight years old, Nature Strip is still producing the goods at the highest level, and he will head into the event as the 5/2 market leader for this event, and Chris Waller's Aussie sensation was last seen bounding to a superb victory in a Group 1 at Randwick. A multiple Group winner at that track, and while that win came over six furlongs, he has winning form over five, and while he may not have the out-and-out pace of Golden Pal he may just have that little bit of extra stamina to maintain the gallop. Whilst the five furlong event will be run at a breakneck speed, Golden Pal could just empty in the final furlong of the race, and it's Nature Strip that could capitalise on that and win the battle of the foreign heavyweights.
Dominating the betting, the two globetrotting sprinters are the ones to beat, but there's some decent speedsters from closer to home vying for glory and Andrew Balding's King's Lynn and Henry Candy's Twilight Calls will be two leading the charge. The pair fought out the Temple Stakes at Haydock Park last time out with the former prevailing, and King's Lynn will be aiming to hand The Queen a Royal winner. However, Twilight Calls is fancied more to reverse that form here and the pair should put up a fight and have to be considered.
Favourite for that Temple Stakes was WINTER POWER, who drifted in the betting in the lead-up to that race, but the Tim Easterby-trained raider will look to recapture her best form here, and if he can unearth her best then marks great value at the current 20/1. A sensational winner of the Nunthorpe Stakes at York last season, her failed to land a blow in the King's Stand when ninth, but he should come on bundles for that Haydock pipe opener, and a return to her best should see him place at least.
Charlie Appleby's Man Of Promise has been plying his trade in Dubai recently and won some Group contests over there, but the Godolphin raider will return to the turf on Tuesday and is an interesting 12/1 chance here, while the Charlie Hills-trained Khaadem will line up on the back of a superb win in the Palace House Stakes at Newmarket, and while this requires more he could run a decent race at 25/1.
The likes of four-time course winner Tis Marvellous (33/1) is one that could outrun his odds, but should struggle at the highest level, while Mondammej (80/1) will be doing all his best work late on and could try and sneak into a place in what is a hugely exciting and competitive betting heat for punters.
