Horses To Follow: Seven runners caught Tom Collins' eye at Royal Ascot

Want to know which Royal Ascot performers you should put in your tracker for next time? Our horse racing writer has found a sparkling septet that will make amends soon.

Persian Force

Coventry Stakes, Tuesday

Royal Ascot 2022 started with a bang for leading rider Hollie Doyle, who guided impressive York debut winner Bradsell to success in the Group 2 Coventry Stakes for trainer Archie Watson. Take nothing away from his performance - he was faultless throughout - but it’s worth noting that he might have benefited from the course bias on day one. 

Bradsell, who broke from stall two, raced down the favoured middle of the track and seemed to just have Royal Scotsman for company as the pair broke clear. However, Persian Force had other ideas as he produced a wicked late burst to split the pair for second. The Richard Hannon-trained colt was the sole runner drawn in a double-figure stall to make any kind of inroads in the final two furlongs.

Rossa Ryan’s mount beat the horses he raced around by a considerable margin - it was two-and-a-quarter-lengths back to fourth-home Blackbeard - and had to negotiate a stalling rival just as the pace quickened. He hit the line extremely well and shaped like the best horse in the race.

Maljoom

St James’s Palace Stakes, Tuesday

If you watched Royal Ascot on Tuesday, you won’t be surprised by the inclusion of Maljoom in this article. 

William Haggas’ three-year-old entered the Group 1 St James’s Palace with an unblemished record, yet was largely unconsidered in the market due to questions about the strength of his German 2,000 Guineas form. However, he proved those theorists wrong with an eyecatching late burst after he suffered trouble-in-running as the field turned for home.

Although he finished just fourth, it’s possible that he was the best horse in the race - and by a considerable margin. Jockey Cieren Fallon struggled to extricate his willing partner from a pocket until just over a furlong out and by that point he was five lengths behind Newmarket 2,000 Guineas winner Coroebus, who had the run of the race. 

A power-packed finish saw him lose out by just three-quarters-of-a-length, and the emotion shown by Fallon after the line proved that might have been one that got away.

Sinjaari

Royal Hunt Cup, Wednesday

Four well-backed favourites - Dramatised (5/2), Eldar Eldarov (5/2), Saffron Beach (5/2) and Little Big Bear (6/5) - got the job done on Wednesday, which provided some respite for wounded punters. But it’s a beaten horse that I want to keep on the right side of in the imminent future.

Make sure you pencil down the name, Sinjaari. Given the supposed bias to towards the middle/far-side of the straight course at Royal Ascot over the first two days, those drawn high in the big-field handicaps were set a tough task. Stall 17 didn’t stop Dark Shift in the Britannia, but he made his challenge just two horse-widths off the best strip on the track and clearly wasn’t inconvenienced.

Sinjaari, on the other hand, had no chance from gate 33. The Harry and Roger Charlton-trained six-year-old raced near the stands’ side rail and had to be switched onto an unfavoured part of the track to avoid back-peddling rivals. Nevertheless, he absolutely flashed home in the final furlong of the mile contest and posted the fastest closing sectional time in the field. He is well treated off a mark of 106.

Crispy Cat

Norfolk Stakes, Thursday

We might have celebrated a different Norfolk winner had Paul Hanagan not allowed eventual victor The Ridler to drift markedly left in the closing stages. I’m not convinced that’s the case, but Crispy Cat’s connections would argue otherwise. 

Take Hanagan’s poor horsemanship out of the equation and Crispy Cat would have, at worst, finished second. The Michael O’Callaghan-trained colt, who finished runner-up in the Listed National Stakes at Sandown on his previous outing, surged between runners and looked to be swallowing up his rivals, only to be checked at a crucial stage by the errant winner. 

This son of Ardad continues to improve and has a number of high-profile entries over the next couple of months, including in the Group 2 Railway Stakes this weekend. 

Whoputfiftyinyou

Britannia Stakes, Thursday

It’s not always a horse’s finishing effort that you need to watch to pinpoint future winners. Strong stayers never fail to catch the eye, but sharp mid-race moves shouldn’t be underestimated and Whoputfiftyinyou produced a noteworthy sectional between the three-furlong and two-furlong pole in the Britannia Stakes on Thursday.

Clive Cox’s previously unbeaten colt posted a furlong-split in 11.46 seconds - the only horse under 11.5s in the 30-runner field - and he did it without any help down the middle of the track. He briefly looked like claiming the esteemed prize, only to flatten out in the closing furlong and finish a creditable fourth.

A mile looks to be his ideal trip and a slightly more efficient ride (Adam Kirby had little choice given the position he found himself in at halfway) will see him to better effect. He could be a Group horse.

Washraa

Sandringham Stakes, Friday

Having to wait for a run is one thing, almost being brought down is another. Washraa, who was seeking a hat-trick of wins after victories at Wolverhampton and Nottingham, cruised through the opening five furlongs in the Sandringham and looked set to make a run at the leaders when she was angled left by Andrea Atzeni with three furlongs to go.

Unfortunately, the horse she was following, Golden Mayflower, drifted off a straight line under a power-packed ride from Silvestre De Sousa, right into the path of Washraa, who clipped heels and almost came to a shuddering halt. Luckily, her admirable agility and balance saved what would have otherwise been a horrible incident.

Washraa unsurprisingly didn’t contend the finish after that in-race drama, however, she still stuck on for never-nearer eighth and has to be given another chance off her mark of 84.

Tippy Toes

Palace Of Holyroodhouse Stakes, Friday

Much like Washraa, sometimes you just don’t get the rub of the green. Tippy Toes was travelling noticeably well down the centre of the track in Friday’s curtain-closer, only to be repeatedly stopped in the run from two-furlongs out to the furlong marker. 

Rider Joe Fanning could have been more aggressive and pushed through the gap, though it was tight, but instead he took the brunt of significant interference and Tippy Toes soon found herself trailing the field at a crucial stage of the race.

She finished with a full tank of gas back in 14th and may go under-the-radar moving forward. I’m convinced that she is a winner in waiting and I will back her next time.