15:00 Ascot

Saturday 29 July 2023

All13:1513:5014:2515:0015:4016:1516:5017:25

Moet & Chandon International Stakes (Heritage Handicap)

Off time: 15:01 | Winning time: 1m 29.8s

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Selected odds by:

(14)

Escobar^t²¹

Age: 9| Weight: 9-12| J: L Dettori| T: D O'Meara| OR: 107| CD

20/1

Plenty of good runs on the straight course here over the years, including a win in the Challenge Cup off this mark last autumn. Has yet to scale the same heights this year but no shock were a return to this venue to spark a revival. Frankie Dettori rides.

Form: 10-3440

(11)

Tacarib Bay^b¹⁰²

Age: 4| Weight: 9-8| J: S M Levey| T: R Hannon| OR: 103| D

28/1

Developed into a smart sort last year, including third in Balmoral Handicap over 1m here last October. Ran right up to form on Wolverhampton reappearance in March but not at best on turf later in the spring. A subsequent 102-day break needs to have revitalised him.

Form: 533-536

(6)

Biggles¹⁴^{(ex 3)}

Age: 6| Weight: 9-8| J: R L Moore| T: R M Beckett| OR: 100| BF| D

4/1

Second in the Victoria Cup over C&D on soft in May. First home on his side in the Buckingham Palace at the Royal meeting and back on the up with a 2-length defeat of Ropey Guest in the Bunbury Cup at Newmarket a fortnight ago. 2 lb well-in under his 3 lb penalty. Should go well.

Form: 12-3291

(17)

Rhythm Master^v³⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 9-7| J: P J McDonald| T: James Horton| OR: 102| D

40/1

Smart on his day and reappeared with a good second at Kempton in March but not seen again until finishing last of 29 in the Buckingham Palace at the Royal meeting. Hard to fancy after that.

Form: 1726-20

(10)

Bless Him^h¹⁴

Age: 9| Weight: 9-7| J: J P Spencer| T: D M Simcock| OR: 102| C| D

14/1

Had a hot spell last July, winning Bunbury Cup at Newmarket then second in this. Good fourth of 15 in this year's Bunbury Cup and should be in the shake-up in this race again.

Form: 12-6754

(13)

Montassib¹⁴

Age: 5| Weight: 9-7| J: W Buick| T: W J Haggas| OR: 102| D

12/1

Back to winning ways at Newmarket (7f, good) in May but has found life tougher in the Buckingham Palace here and Bunbury Cup at Newmarket since. Buick takes the ride again but others are more obvious.

Form: 2-04100

(12)

Vafortino¹⁵

Age: 5| Weight: 9-7| J: Ryan Sexton⁽³⁾| T: K P De Foy| OR: 102| CD

15/2

Landed Victoria Cup over C&D in 2022. Placed in this year's renewal of that race and better than the result (met trouble) when tenth in Buckingham Palace at the Royal meeting. Wasted no time showing he's still in top form when edged out by Northern Express at York a couple of weeks ago. Player.

Form: 1-32302

(20)

Northern Express¹⁵^{(ex 3)}

Age: 5| Weight: 9-7| J: P Mulrennan| T: M Dods| OR: 99| BF| D

12/1

Consistent sort who won the Thirsk Hunt Cup in May. Excellent placed efforts at York and in the Buckingham Palace over C&D before resuming winning ways back at York (edged out Vafortino) 15 days ago. Likely to give another good account.

Form: 6-51331

(4)

Fresh^t³⁵

Age: 6| Weight: 9-6| J: D Tudhope| T: J R Fanshawe| OR: 101| CD

10/1

Holds a very good record here, including a win in this race last year. Started 2023 with a couple of below-par efforts but back to his best when fifth of 27 in the Wokingham at the Royal meeting (6f, good to firm). Soft ground no problem. Yet another who can't be discounted.

Form: 100-505

(15)

Bopedro⁷

Age: 7| Weight: 9-5| J: Hollie Doyle| T: D O'Meara| OR: 100| D

11/1

Irish Cambridgeshire winner in 2021 who struck for this yard at Newmarket (1m) in April. Creditable sixth in the Buckingham Palace over C&D last month and bounced back from a lesser run at York when third at Newmarket last weekend.

Form: 762673

(16)

Spirit Of Light^t³⁵

Age: 6| Weight: 9-3| J: S D Bowen⁽⁵⁾| T: Ian Williams| OR: 98| D

33/1

Not seen to best effect in the Buckingham Palace and the Wokingham at the Royal meeting but still to score in this country and bit of a surprise if a first success were to arrive here.

Form: 230400

(23)

Safe Voyage⁷⁷

Age: 10| Weight: 9-2| J: Jason Hart| T: J & S Quinn| OR: 97| D

33/1

Not getting any younger and drew a blank in 2022 but still capable of useful form, finishing third in the Thirsk Hunt Cup and fifth of 22 in the Victoria Cup over C&D in May. Each-way shout.

Form: 204-035

(1)

Lir Speciale³⁷

Age: 4| Weight: 9-2| J: David Egan| T: R Varian| OR: 97| D

40/1

Progressive at 3 and picked up where he left off when a ready winner of 6-runner handicap at Kempton in May. Never a threat in the Buckingham Palace at the Royal meeting but he did race away from where the main action unfolded.

Form: 6131-10

(24)

Baradar^p1,t³⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 9-1| J: K Stott| T: G Boughey| OR: 96| D

16/1

Never figured in the Buckingham Palace at the Royal meeting on good to firm but he shaped well under much softer conditions in Lincoln at Doncaster and Victoria Cup over C&D prior to that. Has first-time cheekpieces added to his tongue tie. Big player with the ground likely to be in his favour.

Form: 081-360

(25)

Orbaan^t²¹

Age: 8| Weight: 9-1| J: Jim Crowley| T: D O'Meara| OR: 96| CD

33/1

Came good at this time last year with wins in Golden Mile at Goodwood and classified stakes over this C&D (both good to firm). In-and-out form this year, though, and will need to be back on his A-game to play a leading role.

Form: 5-70409

(27)

Ropey Guest^v¹⁴

Age: 6| Weight: 9-0| J: T P Queally| T: G G Margarson| OR: 95| D

22/1

Capitalised on a reduced mark when seeing of Nizaaka at Goodwood (7f) in May. Well held in the Buckingham Palace at Royal meeting but bounced right back to form when chasing home Biggles in the Bunbury Cup at Newmarket a fortnight ago. Races off the same mark here.

Form: 54-0102

(18)

Star Of Orion⁷^{(ex 3)}

Age: 5| Weight: 9-0| J: Rossa Ryan| T: R M Beckett| OR: 92| D

14/1

Went close in this race in 2021. That came on the back of a win at Newmarket just 7 days before and he landed that same Newmarket handicap last weekend. No surprise were he to follow that with another good run in this.

Form: 96-2261

(5)

Spangled Mac^t³⁵

Age: 4| Weight: 8-13| J: N Callan| T: G Boughey| OR: 94| D

22/1

Made tremendous strides in his first season racing and his 2 efforts in the space of 48 hours at Royal Ascot last month suggest there could be a big handicap in him this time round. Going softer than good an unknown.

Form: 72-7948

(7)

Popmaster¹⁴^{(ex 3)}

Age: 5| Weight: 8-13| J: Oisin Murphy| T: E Walker| OR: 91| C

18/1

Went without a win in 2022 but back in top form this year, building on his 7f Newbury second when scoring over 6f here 15 days ago. Easy to forgive his run in the Bunbury Cup at Newmarket just 24 hrs later. Well treated under a 3 lb penalty.

Form: 900210

(19)

Fools Rush In^p⁸

Age: 5| Weight: 8-9| J: William Pyle⁽⁷⁾| T: J S Goldie| OR: 90| D

50/1

Has yet to really fire this year, finishing sixth of 13 in Scottish Stewards' Cup at Hamilton 8 days ago. Others are much more obvious.

Form: 077006

(21)

Ramazan²¹^{(ex 3)}

Age: 3| Weight: 8-9| J: R Kingscote| T: R A Fahey| OR: 94| D

9/1

Third best on his side in the Britannia at the Royal meeting (1m, good to firm) and resumed winning ways in calmer waters over 7f at Haydock since. 3-y-o who could have more to offer and respected under his 3 lb penalty.

Form: 523-391

(26)

Hickory^v1⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 8-6| J: Saffie Osborne| T: J R Fanshawe| OR: 87| BF| D

50/1

Back on the up when second at Redcar (7f, good to firm) last month but he needs to shrug off a disappointing run on soft ground at Doncaster last weekend. Visored first time.

Form: 11-4420

(2)

Mitrosonfire⁷

Age: 5| Weight: 8-6| J: Greg Cheyne| T: W Muir & C Grassick| OR: 87| C| D

50/1

Former course scorer but drawn a blank in 9 starts since his 7f Newmarket win last summer and unlikely he'll be resuming winning ways in a race of this nature.

Form: 234-743

(9)

Mister Bluebird¹⁵

Age: 5| Weight: 8-5| J: George Rooke| T: H Main| OR: 86| BF| C| D

66/1

Latest win at Goodwood in June. Creditable efforts in defeat at Newbury and Newmarket since but the handicapper looks to have him about right.

Form: 0-23165

(22)

Zu Run¹⁴

Age: 3| Weight: 8-2| J: J Quinn| T: A M Balding| OR: 88| D

66/1

Progressed with each outing as a juvenile, winning over 7f at Chelmsford. Best effort in handicaps this year when fourth of 9 over C&D (soft) a fortnight ago but will need to step up a good deal on that form to get seriously competitive in this from 2 lb out of the weights.

Form: 512-974

Non-Runners

(3)

Nizaaka³⁶

Weight: 8-9| Age: 5

T: Jane Chapple-Hyam J: Non Runner

(8)

Top Secret³¹

Weight: 8-5| Age: 6

T: W Muir & C Grassick J: Georgia Dobie

Forecasts

Biggles (4/1), Vafortino (15/2), Ramazan (9/1), Fresh (10/1), Bopedro (11/1), Northern Express (12/1), Montassib (12/1), Star Of Orion (14/1), Bless Him (14/1), Baradar (16/1), Popmaster (18/1), Escobar (20/1), Spangled Mac (22/1), Ropey Guest (22/1), Tacarib Bay (28/1), Orbaan (33/1), Safe Voyage (33/1), Spirit Of Light (33/1), Top Secret (33/1), Rhythm Master (40/1), Lir Speciale (40/1), Hickory (50/1), Fools Rush In (50/1), Mitrosonfire (50/1), Nizaaka (50/1), Mister Bluebird (66/1), Zu Run (66/1)

BARADAR can easily be forgiven his run in the Buckingham Palace on account of the ground. His efforts in the Lincoln and Victoria Cup prior to that suggest he can win one of these top-end handicaps and he gets the nod with the recent rain very much in his favour. Vafortino has already landed one big pot over this C&D and looks sets for a bold bid on the back of his recent York near miss. Bunbury Cup hero Biggles and last year's second Bless Him complete the shortlist.