Coral Racing Ambassador, Hugo Palmer, previews his eleven runners on Saturday, including Box To Box in the John Smith's Cup at York.

13:45 Ascot – Prince Of Zenda

I was very happy with how Prince Of Zenda ran at Newcastle last time, and I thought that was an excellent effort on his first start over the minimum trip. Apart from his run at Lingfield in the spring, he’s actually been a very consistent this horse, and even that day at Lingfield he was beaten that far, so he’s a reliable horse, and I’d certainly be hopeful that he can still win races off this sort of mark.

I wouldn’t want the ground to dry out too much for him, so we will just be on weather watch, but I think the stiff 5f at Ascot will be perfect for him, so I’m hoping he can run a big race.

14:50 Newmarket – Watcha Matey

Watcha Matey ran really well at Ascot last time, and he hasn’t missed a beat at home since, so I’m really happy with him going into this. He’s won on both the July course and the Rowley Mile, so we know he likes Newmarket, and we actually thought about running him on Thursday, but I just I thought the quicker ground that’s likely over the weekend would suit him better, and it is a slightly more valuable race.

It’s a competitive race, but it’s not as competitive as the Britannia was, so I think he’s a capable of running very well once again.

15:10 York – Box To Box

He’s got a rotten draw here Box To Box, and I’d say he wouldn’t want any more rain to fall at York, so we are just in the lap of the gods a bit with him. He will need another career-best here, but he is making a bit of a habit of that of late, and he’s just been running consistently well all year. Of course, as a result you don’t get much respite from the handicapper, but we have Conor Planas taking off a very valuable 3lb, and he’s been riding very well for us this season.

We might have to ride him a bit different here from his draw, so we’ll probably be a bit more patient than usual on him, but it’s a £200,000 race, so I’m sure there’ll be plenty of pace on, and hopefully we can get him switched off and relaxed and he can deliver his challenge from there.

15:25 Newmarket – Seagulls Eleven

Seagulls Eleven is a horse we’ve been really excited about for a long time, and although it’s a step up in grade for him, it’s a step up in grade for all of them apart from the Wathnan horse, so he’s entitled to take his chance. He’s a big horse Seagulls Eleven, and I think he’ll develop and improve as time goes on, so I’d say he’s not just a two-year-old for the here and now.

He’s in great shape at the moment, and his work has been very good, so I’d be hopeful that he can hold his own in this company, but whatever happens here, he’s certainly a horse we can look forward to the future with. 

16:07 Ascot – L’Astronome

We’ve been waiting for soft ground for some time now for L’Astronome, so I’m hoping we get it at Ascot this weekend. I think it’s currently good to soft there, so we could do with them catching the rain, and he’s another we’ll be on weather watch with. We won’t risk him if the rain doesn’t arrive, but I really would love to run him as I think the race will suit him well, and he’s got a good wide draw which is what you want in these big fields on the round track at Ascot.

He’s been in good order at home for a while now, and I think providing the ground is soft, then he’d have a really good chance in this race, so I’ll just be praying to the weather gods for him.

16:15 York – The Flying Seagull

I think we’ll run The Flying Seagull at Chester on Friday evening, so I’d say there’s a good chance he won’t run at York on Saturday. If he wins at Chester, then he definitely won’t run here, but if he ran a good race in defeat and came out of it absolutely fine on Saturday morning, then we might have a little think about turning him out quickly. It is a valuable race at York, so we’ll just wait and see what happens with him at Chester on Friday night before making any final decisions.

16:42 Ascot – Cheshire Dancer

Cheshire Dancer is in as the insurance policy against the ground going the wrong way for L’Astronome and Prince Of Zenda, because she’d definitely prefer the ground to be on the quicker side. We did everything we could to get her in the Sandringham at Royal Ascot, but we just didn’t quite manage it. This is the same course and distance though, and even though it’s not quite as prestigious a race, it still looks a very competitive contest.

She’s a winner on turf, and she ran well on the grass on her reappearance, so I don’t have any worries about that, and she’s also a very consistent filly, so if conditions are to her liking, then I’m sure she’ll run her race.

16:55 Chester – Herecomesthebear

Herecomesthebear is a horse who keeps growing and changing, and I actually think he’s going to develop into quite a nice horse, but he’s just not quite there yet. He’ll be there to do his best at Chester this weekend, but I just suspect there’ll be a few stronger than him and he’ll need a bit more time.

I hope he’ll run a race full of promise, but I’d say later in the summer when he’s had more time to grow and strengthen up is when we might see better from him.

17:10 Newmarket – Wonder Kid

He’s been a revelation since we gelded him, and also, I think the step up in trip has really helped him, so he’s finally starting to fulfil the potential we thought he had as a two-year-old. We genuinely thought he’d be capable of winning a maiden at two, but he was just a bit too weak for it when the chips were down last year.

He stays really nicely, and he’s done so well of late, so I don’t think we’ve got to the bottom of this horse yet, and while it is a competitive race, I think he goes there with a really obvious chance.

17:30 Chester – Swordstick

Swordstick just looks like he stays further and further every time we run him, so we are going up in trip again with him here. He stayed on really well despite being hampered last time over a stiff mile and a half at Newcastle, so I don’t think 1m 6f will be an issue for him here, and he’s shown he handles Chester when rattling home here over shorter earlier in the season.

He hits the ground quite hard, and he’s got big feet, so although he’s ran well on top of the ground, I think the cut in the ground this weekend will really suit him, so I can see him running a big race.

18:35 Chester – Balon d’Or

Balon d’Or lost his way at the end of last year and into this year, so we just decided it was time to give him a break. He had an awful lot of racing last year, and he was actually our first two-year-old runner of the season, so he was pretty much in training without a break for 18 months, and we just felt he’d really benefit from some time off.

He returns here after that break, but he’s come back into training really well, and we know he’s another horse who handles Chester. He’s got plenty of speed Balon d’Or, so from a handy draw, I can see him bouncing back to form this weekend.

Hugo Palmer, Coral Racing Club Trainer