We’ve all been suffering from WRWS over the past week or so and Windsor Races Withdrawal Symptoms hit very hard. It was a bye-week for the track (a cry-week for the Windsor race-going faithful), so no race meeting was held on the Monday (8th) just gone. Thank the lord though, we haven’t got too much longer to wait, til the racecourse flings open its gates again. Just 18 or so hours at the time of writing. The equine action returns with a bang and another themed race meeting. This time it’s ‘Rum n Reggae’ night, so if the weather isn’t amazing at least the booze, boogieing and top-notch horse racing will keep those spirits high.
Windsor Races – Monday, July 1st Review
On Ladies Day Saturday (June 29th) at Windsor, trainers Denis Quinn and John Gallagher had both sent out winners for the first time asking at the track for the year. Suffolk handler, Chelsea Banham, followed suit two days later when claiming the Monday opener with her 3-year-colt, Law Of Average. Her first Windsor runner since 2022.
Law Of Average was encountering a surface firmer than good for the first time and he thrived on it. Despite taking a keen hold early, he made all and kept on well in the final furlong to claim a convincing 1 ¼ length success. Joey Haynes was in the saddle and a race of firsts, he was also celebrating his inaugural Windsor success for 2024.
We remained over the flying five furlongs for the second race on the card, but this time the spotlight fell on the youngest equine generation and a bunch of winless 2-year-olds. In a competitive market, Richard Hughes’ Invincible Crown, who had finished 3rd at Windsor two weeks earlier, went off the 11/4 jolly. The Inns Of Court colt was prominent throughout in the hands of Richard Kingscote and was ready to pounce, but found one too good in the shape of Stuart Williams’ Balzarini. Well done if you cheered him home at eye-boggling odds of 50/1.
The Beckett Brigade Bring It Home Again At Windsor
Ralph Beckett’s yard has been flying of late at Windsor and elsewhere and he continued to hit the sweet spot, much to the relief of favourite backers, in the third race on the card. Supporters of his 3-year-old filly, Seek And Destroy, had worried faces 3-furlongs out, after she lost the lead to the Royal runner, The King’s General. Seek And Destroy had done similar when finishing second at Chepstow at the end of May. However, she had learnt from previous errors and rallied well & in time in the hands of Hector Crouch to claim a first career success.
An old Windsor favourite was roared home to victory in the next race, which was the latest qualifier in the Fitzdares Sprint Series event. Rod Millman’s Amazonian Dream was making his fifth Windsor appearance this year and his twelfth at the track in total. The 5-year-old was partnered with Oisin Murphy, who had ridden him to his only previous 2024 success, at the track back in May. Despite a sluggish start, the 3-time British champion jockey had him poised to challenge a furlong from home, and he kept on well under a strong ride to clinch victory. We hope to see him again at Windsor sometime very soon.
A Double Delight For Windsor’s Oisin Murphy Fans
We were in handicap mode once again for race 5, with the spotlight remaining on the older types. This time however we stepped up in trip to 10 furlongs. George Boughey’s Composite went off the strong 11/8 favourite after good recent performances at Windsor and Newmarket. However those runs were over a mile and after pulling strongly at the start, he ran out of puff and finished only 3rd.
It was left to Andaleep and Wisper to battle it out for the win. The Kubler’s Andaleep had a good string of runs on good-to-firm going back in the summer of 2022 and it was he who kept on more gamely of the pair, to record his first turf triumph since July last year.
Eight-year-old Andaleep may have ruled the roost over his less mature competitors, but it was one of the youngest runners in the next race (the 6th) line-up who ended up stealing the show. The field ranged from 3-year-olds right up to 10-year-olds in the class 6 handicap over a mile. Ron Harris’ Weston Court led early and Oisin Murphy on top increased the tempo, hoping to burn off his rivals.
Six-year-old Rival wouldn’t give up that easy and actually went in front for a short period though. However, Weston Court is loving the taste of winning now after getting off the mark at the 14th time of asking at Bath last month, and he rallied to get his neck back in front on the line. A double for Oisin Murphy on the day.
Rhys Clutterbuck Claims His First In The Last
Following his victory in the penultimate race on the card, Oisin Murphy’s mount in the last, Hello Zabeel, headed to post the well-backed 5/4 favourite. Michael Blake’s 6-year-old was prominent and in the mix early on, but wilted under pressure a couple of furlongs out and eventually finished 6th. There was a grandstand finish to the contest, with several vying for contention. It was the 4-year-old daughter of Cracksman, Lahina Bay, who came home the strongest to secure a fourth career triumph. Rhys Clutterbuck has been on top of all those victories and it marked his first saddle success at Windsor this year.
Windsor Races – What’s Still To Come In 2024
Some of the remaining highlights this year are as follows:
December
15th – The Return of NH Racing
Windsor Races – Monday July 15th Preview
The top two riders in the Windsor Jockeys’ Championship go head-to-head once again this Monday evening. Rossa Ryan returns to action after missing a few Windsor meetings of late. He resides in second spot in the standings with 10 wins. Current leader, Oisin Murphy, who tops the table with 12 wins, has been a regular visitor to the track with 45 rides in total this year. That’s 9 higher than the next jockey on the most 2024 Windsor rides ladder (Tom Marquand with 36).
A couple of up-and-coming saddle stars to keep an eye out for at Windsor over forthcoming weeks, who are in the top-10 wins list at the track for 2024, are Edward Greatrex and Sean D Bowen. Both have 3 wins each under their belts but have only ridden 11 and 7 times at Windsor respectively this year. Of the two, only Sean D Bowen is in action this Monday. He is due to have one ride for Marco Botti (Silver Gunn, 20:20).
Can Beckett Bridge The Gosden Gap?
Over in the Windsor Trainer’s Championship race, the Gosdens remain on top with 7 wins, but Ralph Beckett is closing the gap, just two wins behind in the second spot. John & Thady Gosden have a sole Windsor runner this week, in the shape of Roi De France (18:50). The Beckett team also head to the track single-handed, with Bold Impact (17:45).
All the handlers in the current top-10 trainers list at Windsor have runners this Monday evening. Of those, Charlie Hills and Karl Burke, are worth keeping an eye on, whenever they have entries at the track. Both have had 3 wins at Windsor in 2024 from only a single-figure amount of runners.
Karl Burke has the more impressive record of the two, especially as he trains out of Yorkshire. Charlie Hills hails from just down the road at Lambourn. 50% of Karl Burke’s runners have won this year at Windsor, and 83% of his total track runners have finished in the top half of race finishers, therefore the majority give you a good run for your money at least. The Yorkshire handler has two runners this Monday evening, Storm Call (17:15) and Beyond Borders (19:20).
Windsor’s Race-By-Race Preview
17:15
I backed Storm Call when she recorded her maiden career victory at the track back in May and as mentioned, Karl Burke runners always tend to run well here. However, she continues to run green which is a slight concern and my preference is for The Dragon King here. The Clive Cox runner produced a commanding performance at Doncaster last time out and is open to further improvement.
17:45
Of those runners who have raced previously, Ralph Beckett’s Bold Impact looks the stand-out pick. Despite starting slowly on debut, the 2-year-old colt still finished 3rd. He was only 3 lengths behind the winner that day, Ancient Truth, who was the impressive winner of the Group 2 Superlative Stakes at Newmarket on Saturday. Several in the field are making their first racecourse appearance and Aparajeo may go well with those debutants. He is another son of Invincible Army (whose progeny have been going well at Windsor) like The Dragon King in the opener.
Under Siege’s Rivals Could Be Under The Cosh
18:20
I’m a huge Steven Seagal fan, but that’s not the only reason my selection is Under Siege for this novice stakes contest. The Andrew Balding 3-year-old finished a well-beaten second in a class 2 event at York in May last time out, but he did take a very keen hold. He should come on for that run and could be too good for his class 5 opposition here. Shamran should be there or thereabouts. Harry Charlton’s runners always seem to produce solid displays at Windsor and his Kingman/Galileo breeding stands out.
18:50
It will be hard for those punters who backed Roi De France at odds-on three weeks ago here to put their faith in the Gosden colt again, but I’m always one to give second chances. It’s third chances though if you also backed him on his Lingfield debut last year, but he was a 14/1 shot when finishing second that day.
Oisin Murphy takes the reins on Roi De France, as he did at Windsor last month. I’m sure the 3-time champion jockey will be fully aware of how to handle the Bjorn Nielsen-owned this time. Fingers crossed !!!! Amphius looks likely to give him the toughest test, following his second-place finish at Doncaster in May.
Fitzdares Windsor Sprint Series Qualifying Continues
19:20
It’s the 8th qualifying contest of the Sprint Series. We’ve got two more of them after this, before the Series Finale on August 12th. Simon & Ed Crisford’s Mezzo Soprano looks an eye-catching sort. She won all three of her races during her 3-year-old campaign last year and was a close second on her inaugural 2024 run in a class 3 event at Thirsk. Will Buick, who rode her twice to victory during 2023, is back on board here. Beyond Borders may be one to make the frame. If you hadn’t guessed already, I love a Karl Burke runner, and he finished well when 3rd here at Windsor in a higher-class contest last month.
19:50
The booking of Oisin Murphy on Hughie Morrison’s Lunatick is an intriguing one. Oisin Murphy (once) and Tom Marquand (three times) rode him last year and he performed well in their experienced hands. He’s not finished out of the frame over a mile in class 4 or lower contests on turf. Of those looking for an each-way type at bigger odds, Rogue Encore could go well. The Peter Chapple-Hyam colt is running on turf for the first time after finishing 2nd, 3rd and 5th in races on the All-Weather. He has the reliable Danny Tudhope in the saddle.
Fast Steps Returns For Another Shot At Glory
20:20
Kubler’s God Of Fire is likely to go off as a fairly warm favourite for this handicap for older types after performing and winning well this year. I prefer to side with an old Windsor favourite in the shape of Fast Steps. The Rod Millman runner returns for an eighth appearance at the Berkshire track. I also expect another former course and distance winner, Marco Botti’s Silver Gunn, to be in the mix. Impressive apprentice, Sean D Bowen, takes the reins and 3lbs off the 6-year-old grey’s back.
20:50
Wootton’s Jewel continues to show improvement and I expect more of the same from the Michael Bell 3-year-old. He broke his career duck when winning a similar event here at Windsor three weeks ago. Hector Crouch takes the ride once again. His main danger looks to be Due To Henry who found trouble in running at Yarmouth earlier this month, but still finished a respectable 4th.
Like every Windsor meeting, all races will be screened live on Sky Sports Racing. Good Luck All !!! Let us know your Windsor selections by clicking on ‘Comments’ under the main article title at the top of the piece.
Preview: Windsor Races – Monday July 1st
Windsor Races Preview – Saturday, June 29th
Windsor Races Preview – Monday, June 24th
What Awaits The Ballydoyle Brigade On Royal Ascot Day 4?
Royal Ascot Ladies’ Day – All The Facts And Figures
Royal Ascot Preview – Day 1 Stats & Trends
Windsor Races Preview – Monday, June 17th
Image Credit: Deposit Photos
