Rosallion is ready to roar to QEII glory
ON A cracking day of Group One action, the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (3:25pm) shapes as another deep renewal, with 16 top-class milers lining up.
The contest likely hinges on current favourite Field Of Gold, unseen since his disappointing run in the Group One Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood.
Talked up as a generational miler beforehand, that effort was a far cry from the brilliance he showed when blowing apart the Irish 2000 Guineas and St James’s Palace Stakes here at the Royal meeting.
Reported lame that day and absent since, he’s a risky proposition at current odds, though if back to his best, he’s the one they all must beat.
No horse has endured more near misses this season than ROSALLION.
The Richard Hannon team must wonder how their star miler isn’t a triple Group One winner, beaten a nose, a neck, and a short head on three separate occasions in 2025.
For me, his recent Prix du Moulin run was his best yet – just denied by Sahlan when rattling home from an almost impossible position.
Hopefully, slightly more prominent tactics can deliver the overdue reward for connections.
I’ll be siding with him in the World Pool Win market, available via tote.co.uk and at on-course Tote betting points.
A World Pool Quinella (picking the first two finishers in any order) also offers the chance of a big return for small stakes.
Alongside Rosallion, I’ll include the fast improving NEVER SO BRAVE, who’s surged through the grades this season, capped by victory in the Group One City Of York Stakes.
He handles Ascot well and is tactically versatile, so he’s worth including in a Quinella.
Another who thrives on the straight track here is DOCKLANDS, who has never been out of the top three on his seven runs at the Berkshire venue.
His run in the Prix Jacques le Marois was encouraging enough with this in mind, and he completes the Quinella.
POINTERS SATURDAY
Rosallion (Win) 3.25pm Ascot
Rosallion, Never So Brave, Docklands (Quinella) 3.25pm Ascot