17:00 Royal Ascot: Heddwyn can bring perfect peace to punters
Published:First run in 1973, the Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes is a relatively recent addition to the Royal Ascot race card but offers punters plenty a top quality race.
Around 20 horses will line up for this Class 2 handicap raced over one mile and four furlongs and you can expect to find plenty of value with the favourite Modun available at 7/2.
This isn’t a great race for favourites with the last winning favourite coming way back in 1999, but Modun is one of two strong chances for Sir Michael Stoute and the favourite has to be repsected.
Ryan Moore will take the ride on Modun and with two wins in his three career starts he obviously carries plenty of quality, but preference goes with Stoute’s other chance, Blissful Moment.
Keiren Fallon will take the ride on Blissful Moment and it will be the first time the two have formed a partnership, but Blissful Moment finished second in a Class 3 at Ascot last time out and won a three-year-old handicap on his final start last season.
He’d prefer the give in the ground to his stablemate Modun and Fallon has a real chance on the 8/1 shot.
But preference is with Marcus Tregoning’s four-year-old Heddwyn who impressed on the dirt at Kempton earlier in the month, and while he was raised 5lbs for that, he can run a huge race at a big price.
His form hasn’t been strengthened by Green Destiny’s defeat in the Wolferton Stakes on Friday, but Heddwyn looks as if he’ll adapt top the soft ground better than the horse he finished two lengths behind at Leicester and he has every chance.
The Barry Hills-trained/Richard Hills-ridden Sharaayeen looks a big danger and this is reflected in his Royal Ascot odds of 7/1.
