Day five of Royal Ascot arrives with Kevin Blake rolling out three Saturday bets: Satono Reve in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes, Colori Forever in the Jersey Stakes, and Binhareer in the Wokingham Stakes.
Day five at Royal Ascot is here, and Kevin Blake is aiming to finish the week with a flourish. After a run in this column that has included winners at 11-1 (30p Rule 4), 5-1, 9-2 and 2-1, he’s put three more selections forward for Saturday’s card.
The Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (15:40) is the headline sprint. Blake called it potentially the strongest sprint race run in Europe all year. pointing to the fact it has drawn contenders from all around the world. He also argued there’s “an abundance of evidence” that the depth of top-class sprinters is lower than in other major continents—suggesting the home team can hold off the international challenge.
His main pick is SATONO REVE, trained by Noriyuki Hori. Blake said the seven-year-old was the selection in this column for this race last year and looked set to collect until being outdone by Lazzat in the closing stages. This year. Blake says Satono Reve has looked “as good as ever. ” finishing second most recently to Ka Ying Rising. which he described as “one of the greatest sprinters of all time.” He also highlighted the draw and conditions. saying both suit the horse and that Saturday’s contest offers a chance for Satono Reve to become the first-ever Japanese-trained winner at Royal Ascot.
In the Jersey Stakes (16:20), Blake leaned toward a race he described as very competitive but open. His value bet is Marco Botti-trained COLORI FOREVER.
Blake says the son of Bated Breath has improved sharply this year—winning two of his three starts and officially improving by 19lb. His most recent victory came in a competitive handicap over this course and distance in May. when he came from last-to-first and won easily by 2¼ lengths. Blake believes Colori Forever has the right running style for the Jersey Stakes and is drawn in the right part of the track. adding that he looks underestimated by the market and is likely to come from off the pace to run a big race.
The final race Blake singled out is the Wokingham Stakes (17:00), where he expects William Haggas to be in the frame again with BINHAREER.
Blake described BINHAREER as a four-year-old with an ideal profile for the race: lightly raced and with potential to be a Group-class sprinter. He said the horse has come alive since being dropped to 6f just under a year ago. winning twice on his way to showing 25lb of improvement. For his seasonal return. Blake referenced a sprint handicap at York in May. where BINHAREER came from further off the pace than most of the main protagonists and from a different part of the track. flashing home to finish a neck second to Dark Thirty. Blake said the horse then went up 5lb for that defeat. but earned it. and he expects the course and distance to suit well enough for another bold effort from what he described as a favoured draw.
For fans following the week across the track, Royal Ascot runs Tuesday 16th June to Saturday 20th June, with every race live on Sky Sports Racing (Sky 415 | Virgin 519).
Royal Ascot Kevin Blake Satono Reve Colori Forever Binhareer Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes Jersey Stakes Wokingham Stakes