The St James’s Palace Stakes is the opening day highlight at Royal Ascot, and this year’s renewal looks a fascinating affair. Bow Echo heads the market after a stunning 2000 Guineas victory, but there are some interesting profiles lurking further down the racing betting for those willing to look beyond the favourite.
Bow Echo (Evs)
The outstanding favourite and rightly so. Bow Echo arrives at Ascot unbeaten in four starts, with his 2000 Guineas victory on reappearance the performance of a horse operating well within himself.
George Boughey and Billy Loughnane have a serious horse on their hands, and at evens, the market is simply reflecting that reality. The question for punters is not whether he is good enough, but whether anything in the field can get close to him.
Gstaad (4/1)
The logical second favourite is Gstaad, who finished well beaten behind Bow Echo in the Guineas on his reappearance. That effort needs context, though. He is a Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner and showed last season that he is a high-class performer at this level.
Running on the back of a winter break in a Classic rarely brings out the best in an Aidan O’Brien horse in recent years, and there is a reasonable case that he comes on significantly for the run. If he recaptures his best juvenile form, he makes the race very interesting.
Puerto Rico (10/1)
O’Brien saddles a second runner in the race in Puerto Rico, a horse who was tried extensively as a juvenile across eight starts before hitting top gear at the end of last season. Three successive wins, including back-to-back Group 1s in France, marked him out as a genuine top-level performer.
He takes the French Guineas route before Ascot rather than heading to Newmarket, which suggests connections believe he is best freshened between big targets. French mile form translates well to the straight at Ascot, and those browsing the Ascot odds will find him an appealing each-way option at 10/1, arguably the most interesting alternative in the field.
Distant Storm (14/1)
Charlie Appleby’s Godolphin-owned contender faces a stiff task on Guineas form, having finished a very distant third at Newmarket, beaten 11 lengths by Bow Echo. He showed as a juvenile that seven furlongs suited him particularly well, winning the Tattersalls Stakes over that trip, and the step back up to a mile in the Classic may not have played to his strengths.
Whether Ascot’s straight mile brings out more is debatable, and it is hard to fancy him at 14/1 with more compelling each-way alternatives in the race.
Talk Of New York (20/1)
The second Appleby representative is an interesting profile at the price. Talk Of New York won over a mile on debut, ran a close third in a Listed race over eight furlongs at Meydan, and then returned with a win in a Conditions Stakes over seven furlongs at Newmarket’s Craven Meeting.
The variety of trips suggests he has options, and his Meydan effort in particular shows he has the class to be competitive at a decent level. At 20/1, he is one for each-way adventurers, though he will need to find significant improvement to trouble the principals.
The St James’s Palace Stakes looks a match between the unbeaten Bow Echo and a potentially rejuvenated Gstaad, with Puerto Rico the most interesting alternative for those happy to look a little deeper into the market.