Royal Ascot

Who Is The NAP Of The Day At Royal Ascot On Tuesday?

2 weeks ago

| BY Steve Mullington

There are seven top quality races for punters to get stuck into on Tuesday at Royal Ascot, but if I was pressed to name a banker it would have to be BOW ECHO (NAP) in the St James’s Palace Stakes at 4.20pm.

The George Boughey-trained three-year-old is currently a perfect four-from-four in his career thus far, the last of which was a dominant victory in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket.

Looking for Royal Ascot Day 1 tips? Check out our race-by-race preview

With the with French 2000 Guineas winner Rayif missing the trip over from France, it goes without doubt that Bow Echo holds a significant form advantage over his declared rivals.

His 2000 Guineas performance earned him an official rating of 126, which is significantly higher than almost all the winners of this race in the last ten years. Gstaad on 120 is his nearest rival on the official figures, but while his main rival had a tough race to land the Irish 2,000 Guineas, Boughey intentionally swerved that race to keep Bow Echo fresh for this Royal engagement.

Both trainer and jockey (Billy Loughnane) have been vocal in the racing press as to Bow Echo’s chances. Boughey told reporters that the colt looks “electric” and physically stronger than he did during his Newmarket Classic victory, while Loughnane describes him as an “absolute superstar” and a “dream to ride” with a “devastating turn of foot”.

Unsurprisingly, many of my industry colleagues are also in agreement with me when it comes to Bow Echo being the NAP of the day on Tuesday – although admittedly he is a short price in the sports betting odds for the race.

ITV Racing presenter Matt Chapman has also selected Bow Echo as his Day 1 tip, noting his massive class edge.

The data and number crunchers at the Halifax-based horse racing firm Timeform, have publicly stated “can’t oppose” in their St James’s Palace Stakes preview, rating his 2000 Guineas victory as one of the finest modern one mile performances of the century.

Racing TV experts Martin Dixon and Nick Lightfoot highlighted Bow Echo as the clear “horse to beat,” on one of their Royal Ascot preview shows, noting that his current form sets a standard his rivals simply have not reached.

Sam Boswell from Sky Racing notes that Bow Echo’s temperament is his greatest asset, calling him a point-and-shoot horse.

Bow Echo is due to go off favourite given his superiority over Gstaad at Newmarket and I personally believe he will totally justify that favouritism.

Lucky Stable is a free-to-play racing game available every day during Royal Ascot. You can find it in the Lucky Stable lobby.

Just enter the Royal Ascot game and select “Reveal Stable” to draw five horses at random. You win a share of the jackpot prize if three (3) or more of their drawn horses win their respective races.