Royal Ascot Hot To Trot: Channon to hit back of the net

Mick Channon

It’s apt that as the World Cup kicks off, we focus on a footballer-cum-trainer Mick Channon, one of the England footballers in the 70s’ who had to live up to the exploits of the 1966 World Cup-winning team.

These days, Channon focuses more on four-legged entertainers, and Coronation Stakes entry Adorable fits into that bracket. She was more Terry Butcher than Paul Gascoigne when digging deep to win at Longchamp last time, but is progressing nicely and is worth noting if getting the go-ahead to run at Royal Ascot (connections have suggested she needs to get her toe in).

1000 Guineas flop Dan’s Dream also has an entry in the Coronation, as well as the two-furlong shorter Commonweatlh Cup. Other notable entries include Kinks and Jungle Inthebungle in the Norfolk, the latter having impressed when winning the Two-Year-Old Trophy at Beverley last time.

Roger Varian

Sri Putra provided Roger Varian with some very early Group 1 success in his training career, finishing third in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes in 2011, however despite going close since with the likes of Aljamaher (Golden Jubilee) and Belardo (Queen Anne), Varian is yet to add a Royal Ascot Group 1 to his CV. It shouldn’t be long, though, with the yard’s horses in especially good form heading into the week. His chances of a top-level win this week lie with a quartet of runners in the Coronation Stakes, headed by Alytn Orda. She won the Oh So Sharp Stakes at Newmarket in 2017 and ran well on her first two starts this year, in the Nell Gwyn Stakes and 1000 Guineas (three and a quarter lengths fifth to Billesdon Brook).

As the graph below shows, though, Varian does very well with horses aged four and older, and that age group could provide his best hopes once more.

Sharja Bridge looks a leading contender in the Royal Hunt Cup or the Wolferton Stakes, while the fellow Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum-owned pair of Barsanti and Defoe shouldn’t be underestimated if running in the Hardwicke Stakes.

Joseph O’Brien

Though it’s unlikely to happen this year (though not impossible), it probably won’t be that long before Joseph O’Brien is running as many horses as his dad at Royal Ascot. He’s got a long way to go to match Aidan’s total of 61 winners at the meeting, but Joseph will be hopeful that one this year’s team can get him off the mark.

No Needs Never doesn’t have the form to match the big boys in the Coventry, but he shaped well first time out at Cork and looks sure to improve, either there or in the Norfolk, a race in which Dom Carlos could run after a runaway win at the Curragh last time. Fellow course winner Latrobe and Navan winner Arthurian Fame would both be respected if stepped up in class for the King Edward VII Stakes.

The former Andre Fabre-trained Light Pillar shapes as if the longer trip will suit in the Ascot Stakes, however the most interesting runner of the week could be Downdraft who races in Australian ownership. He may have his sights on the Melbourne Cup at some point (a race Joseph O’Brien won last year), but would be of interest if turning up in the King George V handicap from a BHA mark of 96.