Lambourn trainer Ed Walker is one of racing’s good guys but even he found it difficult to stay cheerful after his stable star Almaqam was collared on the line by Item in the big race of the week at York, the Juddmonte International Stakes. So near yet so far to win a Group 1 contest, all the more frustrating since Alamaqam comfortably beat the two short-priced horses in the race, Ombudsman and Constitution River.
I am hoping Walker’s disappointment will be short-lived because another of his leading lights, TEN BOB TONY, has a good chance of winning the Sky Bet City of York Stakes tomorrow (3 p.m.), even though stepping back in distance from a mile to seven furlongs may not be ideal.
Ten Bob Tony, a five-year-old gelding, is one of those horses whose chances regularly seem to fly under the radar, never more so than when he lifted another Grade 1, the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot at odds of 50-1.
Ten Bob Tony is the second highest rated horse in the field tomorrow, 3lbs behind the likely favourite Notable Speech, yet he is still relatively unfancied in the market. Back him 1 point each way at 8-1 with Coral, paying four places.
Walker will be hoping that the ground does not dry up too much between now and the off because his horse, despite winning on ‘good to firm’ at Royal Ascot, is better with cut. There are dangers aplenty including Paborus, who, like Ten Bob Tony, is best suited by soft ground, while Notable Speech and Zavateri will hope the terrain firms up before the race.
