Norfolk Stakes Tips: Whistlejacket To Play Right Tune
The two year old races so far at Royal Ascot have been a graveyard for favourite backers, but one of the week's biggest hotpots runs in the Norfolk on Sunday. Can Billy Grimshaw find a reason to oppose him? Read on to find out!
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I'm siding with favourite WHISTLEJACKET in the Norfolk at Royal Ascot on Thursday, but can see the negatives so let's delve into them first before I attempt to convince you why he's still a worthwhile market leader and one worth backing. Firstly, his conqueror first time out Cowardofthecounty was thumped in the Coventry in a race that saw plenty of unheralded types come through to contest the final strides. This can be mitigated by looking at Cowardofthecounty's yard form as well as the scattergun nature of these Ascot two-year old races.
The last point I make there is of course another negative for backing a shorty in races like this, as within minutes of myself beginning to pen this piece we've just seen another unfancied horse win the Queen Mary to kick Wednesday off with the hot favourite and the Ballydoyle main fancy nowhere to be seen. Okay, that's the negatives out of the way. Let's try and get some positives on the board!
Yesterday siding with Truly Enchanting in the Queen Mary was always fraught with risk given the trainer's anomalously poor record in the race, but his record in the Norfolk is at least more respectable. The team are without a winner since Sioux Nation in 2017 but have at least scooped the pot three times. Ryan Moore in the saddle is always a plus in my book too, which regular readers I'm sure will have gathered by now!
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A further positive is that the price has drifted a touch since antepost because of the negatives mentioned beforehand and the lack of Ballydoyle domination thus far. I'm sure these external factors mean we are just getting more winners for this rocket, because the main positive I have for Whistlejacket and why he really should be winning here is the stunning performance he put in over five furlongs last time out at the Curragh on May 6.
This horse is all speed and being by No Nay Never, he blatantly has pace to burn. This race is always run at a rapid clip and we can be assured that he will have a strong pace to aim at should Moore elect to sit off the pace, or he'll have the zip to lead should that be the tactic employed. He is a full brother to the rapid Little Big Bear - a Windsor Castle winner - and although 5/4 is short enough, he has already put in a performance that is good enough to win this race most years. Of course there could be a freak lurking in here that we've seen nothing of yet, but it would be a longshot to assume so and as such I'm happy to row in behind the best team in the business.
There are dangers aplenty, of course, and I was taken by the improvement Richard Fahey's Loom showed when dropping to five furlongs at Ripon last time out, while Aesterius runs for a trainer who is a master with speedy two-year olds in Archie Watson and could well be another value each-way alternative. It's the favourite for me, however, and he is one of my better bets of the week.
