GB - Ascot - Race 1

Thoroughbred

9 Runners

Group 1

Turf

Good to Firm (Good in places)

1100.5K

VIEW

Verdict

A mouth-watering renewal of the Queen Anne. MORE THUNDER made giant strides forward in his first season with William Haggas last year, and his second to Notable Speech in the Lockinge on his first try at 1m fully confirms he belongs at the highest level. The stiffer 1m should play perfectly to his strong-finishing style and it’s reasonable to believe he can reverse the Lockinge form with Notable Speech, who may not be ideally suited by a return to Ascot. Opera Ballo is a fascinating runner, too.

numberFire Picks

Horse Stats

#/Silk	Horse#/Horse	Power Rating	High Speed	Win %	Top 3%	Win Prob
5	Vastly improved for this yard last year, running out a ready winner of Group 2 Hungerford Stakes (7f) in August. Left poorly placed when fourth of 16 in Group 1 Foret on final start last year and reappeared with an excellent second to Notable Speech in Lockinge at Newbury. More to come at 1m. 1st Pick 5 More Thunder (Ire) Jockey: Tom Marquand Trainer: William Haggas J: Tom Marquand T: William Haggas	97	-	-	-	23%
Analysis Vastly improved for this yard last year, running out a ready winner of Group 2 Hungerford Stakes (7f) in August. Left poorly placed when fourth of 16 in Group 1 Foret on final start last year and reappeared with an excellent second to Notable Speech in Lockinge at Newbury. More to come at 1m.
6	Winner of the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket and Sussex Stakes at Goodwood as a 3-y-o. Proved as good as ever when gaining his fifth success at the top level in Lockinge Stakes at Newbury (1m) latest, displaying a striking turn of foot. The one to beat, even if the return to a stiffer track is a niggle. 2nd Pick 6 Notable Speech Jockey: William Buick Trainer: Charlie Appleby J: William Buick T: Charlie Appleby	100	-	-	-	42%
Analysis Winner of the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket and Sussex Stakes at Goodwood as a 3-y-o. Proved as good as ever when gaining his fifth success at the top level in Lockinge Stakes at Newbury (1m) latest, displaying a striking turn of foot. The one to beat, even if the return to a stiffer track is a niggle.
7	High-class colt who made it a remarkable 7 wins from 9 starts when landing Sandown Mile in convincing fashion under a well-judged front-running ride (1m) in April. Leading contender on that form but it's worth noting his 2 defeats have come on straight tracks. 3rd Pick 7 Opera Ballo (Ire) Jockey: Billy Loughnane Trainer: Charlie Appleby J: Billy Loughnane T: Charlie Appleby	99	-	-	-	25%
Analysis High-class colt who made it a remarkable 7 wins from 9 starts when landing Sandown Mile in convincing fashion under a well-judged front-running ride (1m) in April. Leading contender on that form but it's worth noting his 2 defeats have come on straight tracks.

Upcoming Races

Horse Racing Basic Terms

Paddock

The area where horses gather before the race to be saddled and paraded for the public.

Firm

A dry turf course, equal to a ‘fast’ dirt track.

Handicap

A race where a handicapper has assigned weights to be carried by all runners on the basis of their past racing efforts.