Nap of the Day: Have faith in Gabriel on Day 5 of Royal Ascot

It's been a fruitless Royal Ascot for Nap of the Day followers, but hopefully we can end the meeting on a high on Saturday.

I'm putting my faith in an appropriately-named colt in the penultimate race on the card.

Usually I'd steer clear of favourites in big-field handicaps at Royal Ascot, but that's not been a very successful approach this year. The Copper Horse, Royal Hunt Cup, King George V, Buckingham Palace and Duke Of Edinburgh all went to the SP favourite.

Also, it's impossible to deny the claims of SERAPH GABRIEL in the Golden Gates Stakes on Saturday.

Ralph Beckett's three-year-old son of Saxon Warrior boasts a progressive profile, and I believe he has plenty in hand off a mark of 95.

The Coral-Eclipse entrant was runner-up on handicap debut off four pounds lower in the Esher Cup at Sandown back in April, following a 202-day layoff. He was just touched off by John & Thady Gosden's Fifth Column, seventh in the Britannia Stakes on Thursday, and had the likes of Dividend (fourth in the Britannia) and Tilted Kilt (close second in the Betfred Silver Bowl at Haydock last month) in behind.

That's a really strong piece of form and for me the selection's performance deserves to be marked up, for he encountered a messy start whereby he was squeezed out and forced to take up a less-than-ideal position towards the back of the pack. Then, as they got racing down the home straight, he was denied a run on multiple occasions.

He finished very strongly when a gap eventually appeared, offering optimism about Saturday's step up to 1m2f. His breeding suggests the extra distance can unlock further improvement, as a half-brother to Sir Michael Stoute's Ville De Grace - a Group 3 winner at the distance.

I appreciate he didn't win, but a rise of four pounds looks very manageable all things considered. I'll be very surprised if that's the limit of his ability.

Joseph O'Brien's Glen To Glen is a danger if he runs (he's also been declared for the Ulster Derby at Down Royal), as are last-time-out winners Best Secret, Sallaal and El Burhan.

Ernst Blofield can't be ruled out for the red-hot John & Thady Gosden partnership, nor can Roosevelt for Aidan O'Brien, despite a massively underwhelming effort the last day.

However, none of the selection's 15 rivals have the same amount of scope as far as I'm concerned. He's likely a 100+ colt and I hope he'll take plenty of beating in this.

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