Royal Ascot tips: ‘He'll power home like the class act he is' – Templegate's bullish 11-2 NAP on day four
TEMPLEGATE takes on Friday's racing from Royal Ascot confident of bashing the bookies.
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ZAHRANN (5.35 Ascot, nap)
Zahrann is the man in the £250,000 King Edward VII Stakes. He looked like a machine when winning a Listed contest at Leopardstown last time despite being green on just his third run. He picked up strongly and powered home like a class act. Trainer Johnny Murtagh tasted lots of Ascot success as a jockey and has a potential superstar on his hands.
ETHICAL DIAMOND (3.40 Ascot, nb)
Pulled too hard when fourth in this Duke of Edinburgh Stakes last year. He has since improved over hurdles and Ryan Moore can settle him better to land the win.
Can add to Aidan O'Brien's brilliant tally with his two-year-olds this week. This daughter of Frankel looked really promising when finishing third on debut in a Naas Group 3. The yard's juveniles usually come on a bundle for their first outing.
2.30
SIGNORA can turn the tables on Green Sense from their clash at Naas last month.
That Group 3 was the tip's debut and she was very green and not asked too many questions.
With Royal Ascot winners on both sides of her pedigree, she's got the profile to take a big step forward second time out.
Green Sense herself had previously brushed aside the colts when winning at The Curragh on debut and is in the place picture.
Fitzella impressed when making all at Haydock after a close second at Ascot.
She beat Tahalel – who will improve for that run – comfortably and looks a player.
Venetian Sun justified favouritism at Carlisle when ridden out to score, and the form of that race stands up.
With improvement expected over this extra furlong, she won't be far away.
Gold Digger showed promise when winning at Yarmouth and Jamie Spencer suits her hold-up style.
3.05
BABOUCHE is on the loose in today's £725,000 Group 1 Commonwealth Cup (3.05).
She has looked speedy for Irish trainer Ger Lyons and was good enough to blow away Aidan O'Brien's Whistlejacket in last year's Phoenix Stakes.
Babouche warmed up with a smooth Group 3 success at Naas last time and can improve again under top rider Colin Keane who is desperate to reward his loyal gaffer with a big winner.
Shadow Of Light ran a cracker when third in the 2,000 Guineas. He showed loads of boot but didn't stay the mile. This should be an ideal trip.
Templegate's runner-by-runner guide to the Commonwealth Cup
AIN'T NOBODY 2
BODY blow. Royal Ascot winner last year and holding form well in Group races including when fifth in the Sandy Lane last time. He goes on any ground and likes it here but he looks a Mr Nobody in this.
ARABIE 1
BYE Bie. Dual French Group winner at two but not progressed. Blinkers didn't spark much at Chantilly. Has looked short of Group 1 class.
ARIZONA BLAZE 3
HOT Blaze. Group 3 winner and no disgrace when sixth at Haydock last time. Looks a pure speed horse and likely to force the pace again. Won't mind this ground and has a decent draw. Needs more to win but has a place shout.
BERKSHIRE WHISPER 2
SHIRE hell. Did well on the sand this winter over this trip. This is tougher on turf but he's tough and improving. Trainer's red-hot but this is much the stiffest opposition he's faced.
BIG MOJO 4
BIG player. Won Pavilion Stakes at Ascot and shaped well again in the Sandy Lane last time. He always gives his running and went close at the Breeders' Cup. Has speed, gears and heart – solid each-way contender with course form in the bank.
DIABLO ROJO 2
ROJO no. Neck second to Big Mojo in the Pavilion Stakes and showed decent pace there. He likes to come from just off a strong pace and should get that here. He'll be doing his best work late so will need some luck in running. Looks a bit short of this standard.
IDES OF MARCH 3
BEWARE Ides. Curragh Group 3 winner last summer and twice placed in Listed company this season. Didn't quite fire when held in a Newbury Listed contest last time but was fine with this trip. He's solid and doesn't mind quick ground. Faces smarter rivals here but won't be far away from the frame.
JONQUIL 4
JON the money. Beaten just a head in French 2,000 Guineas and landed the Greenham before that over seven furlongs. He's taking a fair drop back in trip here but trainer Andrew Balding reckons he has six-furlong speed. Fascinating contender making his sprinting debut.
SHADOW OF LIGHT 4
LIGHT fantastic. Dewhurst and Middle Park winner last year. Lost unbeaten record when third in the 2,000 Guineas but travelled powerfully and was just outstayed. The effort screamed six furlongs and Charlie Appleby has wasted no time. Very classy and a major threat despite yard's dire recent Royal record.
SOLDIER'S HEART 2
HEART not in it. Ripon Listed winner last year and fifth at Chantilly on return after long break. Clearly needed it and will strip fitter now. Capable at this level, but will need his very best form.
STRONG WARRIOR 2
WARR needs more. Unbeaten in first two and just edged out on handicap debut at Windsor. Lightly raced with a big engine he is clearly talented — but this is a huge step up in class.
WHISTLEJACKET 4
JACK in the box. Top juvenile last year and Group 1 winner in France over this trip. Been beaten by Babouche twice but still ran with credit. Clearly has Group 1 class and acts on all ground. Middle draw looks good and Ryan Moore in the saddle.
ARABIAN DUSK 3
DUSK may dawn. Duchess Of Cambridge winner and close second in the Sandy Lane at Haydock last time. Proven over six furlongs, handles all going and thrives in big fields. Tactically versatile so worth a place shout at long odds.
BABOUCHE 5
LAND a touche. Phoenix Stakes winner last season and looked right back to best when thrashing Whistlejacket in the Lacken. Quickens up smartly and stays well. Peaking at the right time and is a major player from what should be an ideal draw.
CARLA RIDGE 2
HIGH Ridge. Maiden winner at Naas and placed behind Babouche in Group 3 at Naas last time. Probably needs 7f and likely to find this test too sharp at this stage. Still learning but big task in this company.
LADY WITH THE LAMP 3
LAMP lit. Improving filly with Listed wins on turf and AW this season. Got up late to win at Chelmsford latest and finishes strongly. Yet to prove she's Group 1 class but arrives in form and trainer going well — outside each-way squeak.
LEOVANNI 3
VAN can motor. Won Queen Mary last year and finished full of running after traffic problems in fourth on return at Haydock. Might be peaking again just in time. Strong traveller and each-way shout if things open up.
RAYEVKA 3
RAY of light. French Listed winner last time, quickened smartly and pulled clear late over this trip. One of the least exposed in the field and could be dangerous if she gets cover and delivers late which won't be easy.
SAYIDAH DARIYAN 2
SAY no. Consistent filly who's been steadily climbing the ranks. with a Listed third last time. She lacks star quality but never runs a bad race. Likely to find a few of these too good.
SHISOSPICY 2
TOO Spicy. American raider who landed a hat-trick on quick ground at Churchill Downs. An unknown quantity and not ruled out for a place — although US horses often fail to stay this far.
SKY MAJESTY 2
SKY fall. Group 2 winner in France last season in the mud but only third on return at Chelmsford behind Sayidah Dariyan. Must bounce back sharply to get seriously involved here but this is just her fifth run.
TIME FOR SANDALS 3
SANDALS has boot. Narrowly beaten in a French Group 3 last time and improving with every run. Has speed, class and trainer Harry Eustace is in excellent form. Low draw not ideal but one of many in the field who could place at long odds.
3.40
ETHICAL DIAMOND was a close fourth in this race last year off just 2lb lower when pulling too hard.
He's since finished a strong fourth in the County Hurdle at Cheltenham and wears a hood for the first time on the Flat.
If that helps Ryan Moore to settle him, he clearly has the engine for a race like this.
The biggest threat may come from Stressfree, who was narrowly denied by Almosh'her at York before swooping late to win a good race at Haydock.
He's had a nudge up the weights but his 1m4f form is stacking up nicely.
Almosh'her himself has done little wrong, winning three of four starts.
Now with Wathnan Racing, he's drawn wide and has tended to race freely, which could test his progress under pressure.
French Duke is another key player. He was progressing well last season, winning at Goodwood and finishing second here in October. He remains unexposed.
Auld Toon Loon is flying for his new yard and was just denied at Chester last time. He stays 1m4f and is still on the upgrade.
4.20
FALAKEYAH can repay the faith of her connections who forked out £46,000 to supplement her for this race.
She caught the eye on her sole juvenile start on the sand but really came to the fore when making all in Listed company at Newmarket last time.
She raced keenly over 1m2f there but simply wasn't for catching and the drop back in trip here could suit.
She skipped both the English and French Oaks with this challenge in mind.
Zarigana is the obvious threat.
A granddaughter of the mighty Zarkava, she was awarded the French 1,000 Guineas by the stewards after interference and went down narrowly in the Boussac last year.
She's won four of her last five and her upward curve may not have peaked yet.
Exactly, third in that same French Guineas, brings toughness and consistency.
She's never run a bad race and could easily be in the mix again for Ballydoyle.
Although she's not the choice of Ryan Moore who is on January.
She was second in the Fillies' Mile last season and looked rusty in the Irish Guineas on comeback. She should leave that form behind here.
Kon Tiki is unexposed and unbeaten in three, with a Listed win at York the latest step forward.
William Buick gets the leg up for the first time for Jane Chapple-Hyam who doesn't chase rainbows.
Chantilly Lace wasn't disgraced when fifth in the 1,000 Guineas and is open to more.
Cercene has shown consistency without winning, while Duty First looks better over 7f and may struggle to stay.
Cathedral has plenty to prove after a tame reappearance and, like Simmering, looks well short of this standard.
5.00
SILVER GHOST can spook the bookies for trainer Emma Lavelle.
She bolted up in seven-furlong handicaps on good ground at Newmarket and Goodwood, travelling strongly and looking classy.
The handicapper reacted with an 8lb hike but that may not be enough to put the brakes on.
The step up to a mile looks ideal for this fast-improving type.
The King has an each-way chance with Purple Rainbow who needed the run on comeback here in April and Warren Fentiman is good value for his 5lb claim.
Miss Nightfall met trouble in running when second to the tip at Goodwood and also shapes as if this stiff mile will suit.
Sea Poetry looks potentially overpriced given her HQ win last season reads well and she hasn't been disgraced behind good sorts this term.
Sandringham Stakes trends
Stick with horses that finished in the first three last time. Tabiti, Serving With Style, Mojave River, Sweet Chariot, Amangani, Nancy J, Trad Jazz, Cartwheel, Purple Rainbow and Bassadanza.
Oolong Poobong, Saariselka, Dash Of Azure, Cajole, Sea Poetry, Annsar, Dancing Teapot, Alfareqa, Ryke, Arabian Leopard and Eazy On The Eye are too low in the official ratings.
Bountiful has been off for too long and can be crossed out.
A win this season is a plus so Betty Clover, Serving With Style, Miss Nightfall and Never Let Go can go.
That leaves Silver Ghost, Supermodel and Zgharta.
SUPERMODEL looks good for William Haggas who has a strong record in handicaps like this.
The other two are backable at each-way prices and are well drawn so have every chance of making the frame.
Tabiti could outclass these if handling a big-field handicap.
She won a Group 3 before finishing midfield in the Fillies' Mile and returns in first-time blinkers on handicap debut.
Irish raider Dancing Teapot looks the type to improve plenty now handicapping in cheekpieces.
Never Let Go was unlucky not to win a Listed race last time – this stiff mile might be right up her alley.
Dash Of Azure was impressive at Kempton on comeback and won't be far away for Ralph Beckett.
5.35
ZAHRANN is a colt who still doesn't know how good he is.
He missed the kick and was green as grass in a Leopardstown Listed race last time yet still burned past all of them to win going away.
That was just his third run and the way he did it – powering clear despite inexperience – screamed Group 1 potential.
If he grows up a bit, they might not see which way he went.
The unbeaten Amiloc is the obvious danger. He comes here with a perfect record after four wins including at Listed level.
He stayed on strongly at Goodwood and will be even more dangerous if settling better.
Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore team up with Puppet Master who's improving with every run.
He won the Lingfield Derby Trial last time after shaping well in the Ballysax. He's a threat.
Don't rule out Convergent, who finished third in the Chester Vase. He was behind Lambourn and Lazy Griff – the Derby first and second.
That's rock-solid form and he's still learning his craft.
Wimbledon Hawkeye has turned up for every dance. He was second in the Craven, fifth in the Guineas, third in the Dante.
He's gritty, reliable and should stay the trip with cheekpieces added. He has every chance of making the frame.
Nightwalker bombed at Epsom but that wasn't his track – and it showed.
He finished well in the Dante and now gets blinkers on a proper galloping course. That should bring improvement.
Galveston cost 'The Lads' at Ballydoyle a cool £2m and showed more when winning at Naas last month. This longer trip should suit him.
It's early days for Opportunity who was behind Amiloc at Goodwood after being hampered. He could close the eight-length gap between them today.
6.10
REALIGN can strike on handicap debut from what looks a lenient opening mark of 93.
William Haggas' colt oozed class at Salisbury last month, hammering his rivals on comeback.
That was over six furlongs but he's got more than enough pace for this drop to the minimum.
Stormy Impact looks dangerous after rattling home to win the Epsom 3YO Dash in some style.
She's up 5lb but has a blistering turn of foot and this stiffer track might suit even better.
Ruby's Profit was a good third in that race when forcing the pace and is back from the same handicap mark with a chance.
He was beaten by Redorange at Chester last month who made the most of a good draw.
He's 9lb higher now so will have to pull out more.
Hammer The Hammer made it three wins on the spin at Chester with lots left in the locker.
He's another who has been racing over further but he likes to blast off from the front so this stiff five furlongs should be fine.
Jorge Alvares warrants respect after a decent effort at The Curragh 16 days ago. He looks fairly handicapped for Ger Lyons.
Maw Lam drops down from Listed and Group company with a 7lb claimer on board to make his mark workable.
Templegate's tips
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Early one Friday, Colclough's wife, Annie, sits at a table at the back of Welsh General Store with her four daughters: Fen, from her first marriage; Morgane; and the twins, Brogane and Freya. It is a riotous morning of storytelling, punctuated by light dabbing of eye, for a husband and father who died in 2006, aged 52. Through chemotherapy and disgusting broccoli smoothies, he survived with a brain tumour for almost four years when six months was expected. The invincible man who could drop a breeze block on his foot and hardly wince, carrying on building a wall, was cut down. Colclough was outsize, a bon viveur. A second row whose calves were described as footballs, so big they would rub together and wear holes in his socks, and who sat on a bench at Freya's parents' evening and broke it. Even if he were on the delicate seating at the back of the shop now, he would not have been telling the stories. Colclough left that to others — and everyone has a yarn about Maurice Colclough. It inspires a question: is the man also the myth?His wanderlust took him to France, where he was Marquis de Colclough, running cruises as Holiday Charente and keeping a bar in Soyaux called Liverpool. Angoumoisins such as Fabrice Landreau, the France hooker who spent time at Bristol and Neath, worshipped Colclough. He remains a prince in those parts. He also played for Swansea and conducted business in South Africa, returning his family to Wales after a car-jacking. 'He directed the hijackers,' Brogane says. 'He was actually really funny. 'Would you like my watch?' ' 'I arrived in this country with a rucksack over my shoulder and £25 in my pocket,' Colclough said in 1982, a rare example of him as narrator. Story time. The legend of Colclough's arrival is that he was kicked off a train, having paid the wrong fare, and hitchhiked with a man who happened to be the coach of Angoulême. Brogane retells this. 'Oh, I didn't know that,' Annie says. This is how two hours in Blaenavon unfold: a torrent of five sources providing collective memories, or individual offerings and details pieced together. Here is a flavour of some greatest Colclough hits. He toured the Soviet Union and sold jeans to the KGB. He performed perorations inspired by Churchill, Kipling and Shakespeare as captain. He swam naked across the Liffey in Dublin to waiting policemen. He locked out a team-mate on a window ledge in Canada. He beat Fen's South African rugby friends in arm-wrestling and so they had to do the family's gardening. He frequented a French all-you-can-eat seafood restaurant with such abandon that they had to change policy. A recent Rugby Journal essay recounted some of the tales. 'A couple of things in there we didn't know,' Freya says. Now for the most famous tale, of which variations exist. Colclough, in a post-match function, downed what appeared to be a bottle of aftershave. Colin Smart, the England prop matching his consumption, did so too, but Colclough, a prankster, had switched his liquid. Smart had not. Cue stomach pump. 'He'd gone in before, he'd tipped it out, he'd put white wine in,' Brogane says. 'What Dad said he thought would happen is he'd basically put it in and then spit it out.' At Brogane's wedding last year, every guest had a bottle of aftershave with limoncello in it. 'I actually think the one where he shot the bullet through the roof is better,' Brogane adds. That was on tour when a policeman came to quell rugby rowdiness and Colclough, thinking the safety was on, aimed at the ceiling. Maurice met Annie at Cardiff Arms Park and settled in south Wales. Both were entrepreneurial. He bought a trawler called the Picton Sea Eagle with plans to turn it into a floating restaurant. When in South Africa, he was involved in slot machines. 'I remember taking him to Cyril Ramaphosa's house,' Fen says. 'For business.' A week before this interview, Ramaphosa was at the White House as president of South Africa. In her father's image, Morgane opened Welsh General Store on St David's Day this year. It used to be a bookshop with 10,000 books — she points to the sagging roof — and, seeking a change from London, she bought it in an online auction. Annie ('the veg deliverer'), Fen and Morgane live nearby. Brogane has travelled from London, Freya from Manchester, to recollect. The quintet hammer home the sense of adventure he instilled. 'Excess is best' was his motto, giving one's all but having fun. 'Life was about risk,' Freya says. When Colclough had a boat that needed to sail from Spain to South Africa, via Brazil, he enlisted a 17-year-old Fen. 'That was my choice, but I would never have made it had he not brought me up,' she says. 'I did sail with him across Biscay, so we did sail on the boat together. He bought a boat off a Russian spy, basically, and it still had all the spy stuff on it.' That included a 'spy pen' that exploded. The travelling companion fainted, and Colclough carried on sailing solo with a damaged finger. Theirs was an active childhood, with rugby as part of it. Twenty years ago the family featured in The Times as Morgane and the twins played sevens for Llandovery College (Maurice was in Vienna, having been told the wrong week). At a memorial match in France after his death, Morgane was asked to begin proceedings. 'It says she did a drop-kick in that article,' Freya says. 'She did not do a drop-kick.' Morgane adds: 'They had to restart the match. It went about two metres.' For Colclough, it was all a game, a fraction of life. The sisters chortle at his love of sports day, once sending a camera crew when he was unavailable, and training the twins for the three-legged race so well that they were almost banned. 'The head teacher was like, 'Sorry girls, you can't compete together in the three-legged race, it's not fair,' ' Brogane says. 'Dad has never gone to see a head teacher before. Ever. He turned up in the school. He must have been in the office for 30 seconds. He came out, he's like, 'It's fine.' ' No one gets in the way of a Colclough and sports day. Such activities were far more important to Colclough than publicity. 'Head boy' Billy was captain on A Question of Sport and until recently chairman of World Rugby. Colclough was a player first and last, and the family agree that he would have known no trivia. 'He didn't have any real interest in celebrity,' Brogane says. Fen adds: 'Other people are more interested in rugby than he is. He would never watch it.' Freya tells another story: 'We went camping and fishing on his motorbike and I was on the back and we turned up at this camping site, just the two of us. We were just signing in and the man that was signing us in was like, 'Oh, Maurice Colclough, there used to be a famous rugby player called Maurice Colclough.' Dad said nothing and I was like, 'That's him!' ' At the start of this interview, Annie had laughed and said: 'Sorry, can I just ask? What is the reason for this?' It was to hear memories not from the Lion's mouth, but from the cubs. 'It's sad, obviously, to think that he died at 52, but I swear to God, that man lived 12 times more in those 52 years than so many other people do,' Brogane says. Now Annie: 'I'm just trying to think what he would have thought. He did philosophy, and he could be quite philosophical. Trying to imagine him, what he'd be doing now, and that's quite painful to think about. But then I don't know if he would actually enjoy being older.' Unanimously, they believe the seriousness of professional rugby would have been anathema to him. Those who recall him are still excited when they find out they are in the company of one of Maurice Colclough's daughters. 'One of our regulars found out and he's just brought in a Lions book today that he had,' Morgane says. 'He put notes where Dad's name was.' Rugby, again, as the gateway to the man. His approach to life continues fivefold through the women on a street in Blaenavon. 'I think about it more and more now — there is so much of Dad in all of us,' Brogane says. 'I feel like I've got that tin-of-beans-on-someone's-head energy.' Oh yes, the beans on the head. Well, that's a story for another time.
