Nap of the Day: Back Jack on Day 3 of Royal Ascot

Close but no cigar with my best bets for the opening two days of Royal Ascot 2025. Fingers crossed for more joy on Thursday.

The Nap of the Day goes in the penultimate race on the card and has already seen significant support since markets opened.

I'm excited to see JACKKNIFE in the Hampton Court Stakes - a Group 3 over 1m2f for three-year-olds - at Royal Ascot on Thursday.

Roger Varian's three-year-old son of 2000 Guineas winner Kameko caught my eye in a big way at Sandown last month, finishing third to a couple of useful rivals in the Heron Stakes over a mile.

That was a Listed event in name only. The winner, Opera Ballo, boasts a lofty rating of 110 after three wins from four starts, while the runner-up Bay City Roller, also rated 110, was a Group 2-winning juvenile last year, landing the Betfred Champagne Stakes at the St Leger Festival.

The selection was just under four lengths off the pace in Surrey, but his performance can be marked up considerably. He was slow out of the gates and denied a clear run around the two-furlong pole, before staying on strongly into the places.

Also, he's bred to want further - at least another two furlongs, which he gets in Berkshire. Jackknife is a half-brother to Defoe, who won the Hardwicke Stakes (1m4f) at Royal Ascot in 2019, having previously won the Coronation Cup (also 1m4f) at Epsom.

I think there's any amount of improvement to come from the Qatar Racing-owned colt, whose triumphant debut over subsequent winner The King's Falcon (rated 90) looks smart too, as he steps up in trip.

He'll need to take another step forward, for this is a competitive renewal. The French Derby third and fourth, Detain and Trinity College, are closely-matched and deserve their places at the head of the market. However, they're also relatively exposed in this field.

High Stock has a similar profile to the selection and is respected, while Tornado Alert can't be ruled out after fine efforts in the Betfred 2000 Guineas and Betfred Derby. The latter was just 12 days ago, mind.

Arabian Force is one I couldn't put anyone off having a saver on in this Extra Place Race, with four on offer. William Haggas' runner is highly-progressive and his form received a fair boost the other day. I won't be claiming that as a winner if he does the business, though. Promise.

Selected race(s). Applies to Each Way, Single & Multiple bets only. Antepost bets don’t apply. Min. runner rules apply. T&Cs Apply.

But Jackknife is the one I'm most enthused about - short and long-term. Roger Varian's had a great week so far, highlighted by the Royal Hunt Cup winner My Cloud, and he can return to the winners' enclosure after the Hampton Court.

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