Wokingham Stakes Betting Tips
The last heritage handicap of the week, though not the last handicap overall, is the Wokingham Stakes over the straight six furlongs.
One of the top betting handicaps of the whole Flat season, the Wokingham along with the Stewards’ Cup and the Ayr Gold Cup is one of the top six-furlong handicap races and as such it’s terribly difficult to win. That competitiveness also makes it tough for punters.
The Wokingham is worth £175,000 overall, £90k of that going to the winner, and we have a full field of 28 running this time as we look to predict what new name will be on the trophy after the back-to-back successes for Rohaan.
These are the six we like best against the field:
Main Contenders
Apollo One
Apollo One could end up being the value in this race, though there is something in particular we have to figure out.
He is speedy, but when he has come with a sustained burst of speed to finish and well and sometimes win, it has tended to come at flat tracks (Kempton) or even going downhill (Epsom).
He wasn’t quite as good, though still ran well, at Newmarket on the Rowley Mile and it may be that Ascot won’t bring out the very best in him.
Kape Moss
David Loughnane has got his son, the very talented young claimer Billy, on board Kape Moss for the first time and the four-year-old filly is quick enough to make a big impact here.
In her last two runs she’s been beaten just over a length in Listed company, but her handicap mark hasn’t been affected too badly after being raised just 1lb for her latest effort.
Overall, she’s gone up a huge 17lbs since the autumn which tells us that she is a very progressive filly, though we’ll need today’s run to know whether or not the handicapper has finally caught up with her.
Khanjar
This race has been the plan for a while for William Haggas’ Khanjar and all he really needs now is some luck in running.
He made a slow start on his reappearance this year but was much better last time. With a profile like his, we need to step back and look at it overall. Doing this, we see a lightly-raced four-year-old who began life running to marks of around 70-85, then to 95 and 100.
He reached 100 early last September and what we know with horses of this age and stage is that he’ll be better and stronger now. So, running here off 97 means there’s no doubt he’s very well as long as he puts it all together on the day.
Orazio
The majority of bets on the Wokingham this week have gone the way of Orazio for the Roy family, Charlie Hills and William Buick.
Another progressive four-year-old, Orazio is in blinding form and his trainer is very good with sprinters. There is limited evidence of his ability on quick ground, which is just enough to put is off him given his short price.
Probe
Probe was beaten just a length by Orazio at Newmarket in the spring and now has a 6lb turnaround. On the basic maths that seems OK, but Orazio has improved more than 6lbs in that time so while this horse appears to be very solid as a place proposition, we couldn’t be confident that he’d beat the younger horse.
Tanmawwy
With all the attention on Orazio, many will overlook Charlie Hills’ other runner Tanmawwy who gets the assistance of top Australian jockey James McDonald.
Though well behind Probe at Newmarket in May, he was the 15/8 favourite that day so clearly much was expected of him. He’s been freshened up since then and so it would be no surprise if he were to be at the required level.
Summary
There are countless potential situations with the ability to throw up any number of winners, however the smart call is KHANJAR.
He was improving nicely last season after his gelding operation and in the end went off a short 9/2 favourite for the Ayr Gold Cup. It didn’t work out that time, but after an inauspicious start to 2023 he was much better in his prep at Hamilton and is now ready to put it all together.
It’s hard not see the chance that Orazio has but he’s a little short in the market now, while Apollo One has plenty of pace and should make his presence felt too.