If you believe in follow the market
signals then there is only one horse you would want to back on
Thursday 19th June in the Ascot Gold Cup, and that is
Leading Light, last year’s impressive Aidan O’Brien-trained St
Leger winner, writes Elliot Slater.
The racing
betting market has been all about the 2013 classic winner who saw
off the classy Oaks winner Talent to score on Town Moor last
September, having previously won over two miles at last year’s
Royal Ascot fixture showing bags of stamina and a willing attitude to
win on quick ground. Those attributes may very well stand him in good
stead over the marathon two-and-a-half-mile trip of the showcase race
at the wonderful five-day fixture that starts on June 17.
Prior to his seasonal reappearance at
Navan last month Leading Light was available at up to 4/1 in the
ante-post racing betting for the Gold Cup, but those odds quickly
disappeared as the son of Montjeu delivered a commanding performance
to easily account for previous Irish St Leger winner Royal Diamond by
three lengths.
With the vibes coming out of Ballydoyle
suggesting their stayer is doing everything right in his preparation
for the big day, punters have well and truly latched on to Leading
Light who has been forced down through all rates and is now a rock
solid 13/8 market leader (with Bet365) to give O’Brien his five
success in the race in the last eight years; four of those wins came
with the mighty Yeats who landed the premier stayers’ contest four
years in a row between 2006 – 2009.
If he does justify his lofty market
position Leading Light will be seen by many as the potential villain
of the piece if he lowers the colours of The Queen’s beloved filly
Estimate, who brought the house down at Royal Ascot last year when
giving her owner-breeder her first success in the race after more
than half a century of trying to land the prize. Estimate has only
had one run since then and that proved disappointing when she filled
just seventh place behind Royal Diamond in the Group 3 Qipco British
Champions Long Distance Cup in October.
A minor setback and being somewhat
slower than usual to come to hand has caused the royal filly to be
absent from racing so far this season, and while master trainer Sir
Michael Stoute has admitted recently to feeling the pressure to have
her ready to defend her crown reports suggest the five-year-old is
working nicely again and should give a good account of herself.
Another popular horse who features
prominently in the racing betting for the coveted Ascot Gold Cup is
former England football legend Michael Owen’s home-bred Brown
Panther, really impressive when slamming a field of useful stayers in
the Group 3 Henry II Stakes at Sandown in May, whilst Marco Botti’s
Tac De Boistron, winner of the Group 3 Sagaro Stakes at Ascot in
April and a good runner-up since at York in the Yorkshire Cup, is
another serious contender in what promises to be a tremendous
contest.