King's Stand Stakes 2017: Blessing shows Signs of potential

The King's Stand appeals from a betting perspective at this stage, because it has a dodgy favourite in the shape of 4/1-shot Acapulco. Simply put, she just doesn’t have the form on the board to make her anything like that price.

She was impressive in the Queen Mary as a two-year-old, but couldn’t make the most of her over-generous two-year-old allowance in the Nunthorpe that year, and acknowledging that she’s lightly raced, she hasn’t kicked on from that. She joined Aidan O’Brien over the winter and is in foal (which can have a positive effect) to Galileo, but her reappearance win in a listed race at the Curragh still leaves her with plenty to find and she owes her position in the betting to her reputation and connections.

The other two fillies just behind her in the betting are harder to knock, Marsha who defied a Group 1 penalty to make a winning reappearance in the Palace House Stakes at Newmarket, and Lady Aurelia, who has a similar profile to Acapulco, except that she’s a year younger, and achieved a lot more on the clock when winning her Queen Mary in devastating fashion. She did not have her optimum conditions when failing to reproduce that form later in the season and it wouldn’t be a surprise if she proves she’s still capable of that sort of form after making a winning reappearance back home in the States in April.

Priceless bounced back from a disappointing effort behind Marsha to land the Temple Stakes at Haydock last time, but will probably need to take another significant step forward to figure here, and the horse to take from that Haydock race is perhaps the runner-up, Goldream. He lost plenty of ground when rearing at the start that day and did extremely well in the circumstances to be beaten just half a length. He certainly showed enough to suggest all of his ability remains intact and would appear to hold sound claims as he bids to follow up his victory in this race two years ago.

All that said, Signs of Blessing could be the one to side with at the current odds. He’s been something of a slow-burner, like a lot of sprinters that make it to the top table, but he made the breakthrough at Group 1 level last year, when he also showed his ability to handle Ascot when a very close third in the Diamond Jubilee and a good fourth in the Champion's Sprint.

It’s his reappearance effort though that makes him of most interest, suggesting he is better than ever as a six-year-old. Back at five furlongs and conceding weight all round in the Prix de Saint-Georges at Deauville, including 11 lb to last year’s King’s Stand winner Profitable, he showed far too much speed for all his rivals, burning them off and not for catching as he came home a clear two-length winner.

The time of that race indicates he’s full value for the improved effort, comparing very well with another C&D event on the day, while it was also the quickest time over that C&D for almost three years. It’s plausible that he’s the fastest horse around in Europe, and he looks sure to take plenty of catching over what may prove to be his optimum conditions.

Recommended Bet

Signs of Blessing to win the King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot at 7/1