What a Wow at Ascot!

THE WOW SIGNAL duly obliged in the Coventry Stakes on Tuesday in most convincing fashion, with JUNGLE CAT getting closer this time having won at Goodwood in the meantime in a race from which the second and fourth have already come out and won. The form is absolutely splitting at the seams with winners and DOC CHARM is now aimed at the July Stakes.

Diverting slightly from the Scottish scene, I note that CURSORY GLANCE won the opener at Ascot today after winning on debut in a Class 5 maiden at Kempton. Some useful animals appear in maidens on the all-weather, particularly at Kempton and to a lesser extent at Lingfield, and a number of decent animals have progressed to turf Group company after appearing on the all-weather. There's a bias in some quarters against the all-weather, damned monotonously as 'dross' by one particular regular on The Racing Forum, but top trainers now regularly use the Polytrack to introduce their animals to racing. I suspect the bias against 'the artificial' might be something that is prevalent enough to affect the market and it's worth looking for decent animals moving from artificial surface to turf.

I'll be tweeting brief reports form Ayr tomorrow via @Scotracing including paddock selections. It looks a pretty decent card as a support to Royal Ascot with very good prize money, the £40,000 Listed Land O' Burns Stakes being the feature, a race which may well be within the compass of the Andrew Balding trained SWAN SONG. Earlier on the card look out for ARGAKI who hit form at around this time last season, looks well enough weighted and hails from a stable doing 'very nicely, thank you' of late.

Report for that meeting should be up early next week. I shall then be venturing to totally different territory to take in a meeting at Lysa Nad Labem in the Czech Republic on Saturday July 5th, a meeting which as far as I can gather takes in  flat races, trotters, pony races, steeplechases and a race over 'wicker obstacles' which I presume are something like hurdles. Should be a very interesting place to visit and I looking forward  to posting a report on return from our jaunt taking in Prague, Vienna and Budapest. Slightly galling that the schedule just misses the Magyar Derby, but hopefully I can get a look at Budapest's Kincsem Park even though there's no meeting when we are in the city.