NAP of the Day: 4/1? They’re Friendly odds indeed

I was never happy with Enfjaar in the Wolferton Stakes on Tuesday. He was too keen, too far back and too wide. He finished the race well, but ultimately was never in contention. Frustrating.

I'm hoping the NAP of the Day for Royal Ascot on Wednesday fares better. Much better.

John & Thady Gosden are responsible for the last two winners of the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes. On Wednesday, they can complete the hat-trick courtesy of FRIENDLY SOUL.

The five-year-old daughter of Kingman is evidently a difficult mare to train, but her ability is without question.

She ran just once as a two-year-old, back in December 2023, winning a fillies' maiden at Kempton before taking Listed honours at Newmarket on reappearance at three, beating a certain Kalpana by over a length. It doesn't need explaining what she's gone on to do.

A disappointing effort in the Musidora at York just 10 days later can be forgiven due to the rapid turnaround. She never travelled and hung right throughout the contest. Put a line through it.

Two months later, she bolted up in a Group 3 over the Duke Of Cambridge's course and distance, beating the 102-rated Doom by three widening lengths.

That was followed by Group 2 glory at Deauville a month later, before she went in at the highest level in the Prix de l'Opera Longines at Longchamp in October.

She beat stablemate Running Lion, the 2024 Duke Of Cambridge winner, in Paris, by just shy of a length. A career-best, and as far as I'm concerned the standout piece of form in Wednesday's field of 15.

Horse Racing Odds

Friendly Soul wasn't seen again until last month, missing a whole season due to injury, when pulled-up in a Listed affair at Haydock.

That doesn't tell the full story. To my eye, she was travelling like a dream before stumbling in a hole just over two furlongs out, which led to the abandonment of several remaining races on the card.

You can just put a line through that. As soon as Oisin Murphy felt something wasn't right underneath, he sensibly eased her right off.

It was too early to say if she'd have gone on and won the race, but for my money she was going as well as anything - and given everything we know about the mare, I'm confident she'd have beaten the 90-rated Dreamasar.

If that'd transpired, she wouldn't be as big as 4/1 for the Duke Of Cambridge. Half that, perhaps? That's my guess, anyway.

So as far as I'm concerned she rates a cracking bet to give the Gosdens their fifth win in the race in seven seasons.

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