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Hardwicke Stakes 2016: Exosphere looks out of this world

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Posted in: Royal Ascot Tips

Timeform preview the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes, set to take place on the final day of Royal Ascot 2016, and recommend an ante-post bet.

Click here to back Exosphere at 7/2 for the Hardwicke Stakes

The Queen loves horse racing and it was clear from the pictures beamed around the globe that the victory of Estimate in the 2013 Ascot Gold Cup gave her great pleasure. As a result, trainers across the country will have her horses trained to the minute for the Royal meeting. However, as things stand with the early entries, the shortest-priced of her four horses at this year’s meeting is Dartmouth in the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes. Trained by Sir Michael Stoute, Dartmouth chases a hat-trick after wins in the rerouted John Porter Stakes at Chelmsford and the Huxley Stakes at Chester last time, however there are two stablemates with higher Timeform ratings in the race – Cannock Chase and Exosphere.


Cannock Chase looked a Group 1 winner in the making during a truncated 3-y-o campaign, though had to go abroad in the autumn last year to prove the point, winning the Canadian International at Woodbine. Under a 7-lb penalty for that success, he showed improved form to make a successful reappearance in the Huxley Stakes at Chester. However, with the form of that race franked by the runner-up Western Hymn finishing second to the high class Time Test in the Brigadier Gerard, he could feasibly head for the Group 1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes next, so is hard to confidently recommend as a bet for this race.


Exosphere, on the other hand, has only one entry at Royal Ascot: this race. He was an emphatic winner of the Group 2 Jockey Club Stakes at Newmarket on his return, by four lengths from Simple Verse, and looked suited by the step up to this trip. He would carry no penalty for that victory and is rated 1 lb above Cannock Chase, with the promise of more improvement to come. Though he is the general 7/2 favourite, he is the best bet for the race at this stage. Stoute has often run multiple runners in this race, but were Exosphere’s stablemates to defect, his price could become very short indeed, especially when we consider that Stoute has won four of the last six renewals of the race.


Highland Reel is rated similarly and would be a big danger were he to take his chance. The globe-trotting Ballydoyle runner was below form in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup in Hong Kong last time but is hugely respected on his previous 2015 wins which included the Gordon Stakes at Goodwood, Secretariat Stakes at Arlington and Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin. However, he is not a confirmed runner at this stage (also has a Princes of Wales’s Stakes entry), nor is stablemate Order of St George, who tops the ratings but is more likely to go for the Ascot Gold Cup for which he is the warm favourite.


The Grey Gatsby, last year’s Prince of Wales’s Stakes runner-up (short headed by Free Eagle, looked unlucky), missed his intended return in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh last month and – despite having a good chance on ratings – is opposable over this trip. He disappointed in the 2014 Grand Prix de Paris, his sole start over this kind of distance, and wouldn’t relish the rain that is forecast either.


Several other contenders, such as Intilaaq, Erupt and Eagle Top, are all rated much better than their latest start, espeically the latter who won the King Edward VII Stakes at this meeting in 2014 and was second in this race last season. They should not be discounted too quickly, however two bigger dangers could lurk in the Royal Blue of Godolphin. The lightly-raced Elite Army has clearly had his problems, but he showed improved form when winning a listed race at Ascot last time and the 2014 King George V Stakes winner is still open to improvement. Another with something to find on the figures, but capable of taking another leap forward, is Scottish, who was second in the 2015 King George V Stakes. A new recruit to Charlie Appleby, Scottish chased too strong a pace in the Brigadier Gerard last time out and a more patient ride and this longer trip should suit.


Click here to back Exosphere at 7/2 for the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot 2016


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