Ten to Follow 17.07.2019
This week includes:
Point scoring action from Newmarket, York, Chester and Ascot
A rematch between Royal Ascot rivals Advertise and Ten Sovereigns in the Group 1 Darley July Cup
Three victorious unique picks for one Ten to Follow player!
Most of the point scoring action in the last week took place at Newmarket during their Moët & Chandon July Festival. The action started on Thursday with the Group 3 Bahrain Trophy Stakes where Spanish Mission stayed on strongly under Jamie Spencer to take the race by four lengths. Next up was the Group 2 July Stakes which provided Aidan O'Brien with his first winner of the July Festival courtesy of Royal Lytham who just held on to win the contest by a short head. Congratulations to Keith Randall and David Thompson who were the only players to pick the winning horse and secure 30 Ten to Follow points.
The Group 2 Princess of Wales's Stakes was the next point scoring opportunity and the race saw former Investec Derby winner Masar go off as odds-on favourite. However, it was Communique and Silvestre De Sousa who came out on top, staying on well to beat Mirage Dancer into second place. Masar was disappointing on the day, and the horse has since been retired to start a new life at stud. Well done to Judy Atkinson who was the only player to have the winner, Communique in her team and score 30 points.
The final chance to score on the Thursday came in the form of the Listed Sir Henry Cecil Stakes. This race provided another unexpected result as Duke Of Hazzard won for trainer Paul Cole and jockey P J McDonald. However, this horse wasn't selected by any players, and so no points were scored.
Friday's Ten to Follow action was split between Newmarket and York. York's Group 3 Summer Stakes was won by the Ed Walker trained Royal Intervention who held on well to deny Shades Of Blue the win. The Group 2 Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes at Newmarket provided racegoers with their first flying dismount of the July Festival as Frankie Dettori got home in front on Raffle Prize. The feature race of the day was the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes and saw Veracious gain a breakthrough Group 1 success under jockey Oisin Murphy for trainer Sir Michael Stoute. However, once again none of these winning horses were selected by any Ten to Follow players, and so no points were scored.
Saturday saw point scoring action unfold across four different racecourses. The Listed City Plate Stakes at Chester saw Beauty Filly put in an impressive performance to overcome a troubled passage and win the contest in the style of a Group horse. Well done again to Judy Atkinson who was the only player to pick the William Haggas trained horse and score 20 points.
The Group 2 Summer Mile Stakes at Ascot saw Beat The Bank put in a typically gusty performance to get home in front. However, sadly for all connections and fans of the King Power Racing horse he picked up an injury in the final few strides of the race and, after being assessed by racecourse vets he had to be put down.
York's Listed City Walls Stakes saw the Tim Easterby trained Copper Knight justify favouritism to get home in front. For the third time in one Ten to Follow update well done to Judy Atkinson who was once again the only player to pick the winning horse and score 20 points! The Group 3 Silver Cup Stakes contest at York saw Red Verdon finally get his head in front again to continue the good day for trainer Ed Walker.
The last of the action was back at Newmarket, starting with the Group 2 Superlative Stakes which was won by Mystery Power who stayed on well under pressure in the final furlong to win by a length.
The final race was the Group 1 Darley July Cup which, as a Ten to Follow bonus race provided players with the opportunity to score an additional 20 points. The race saw Commonwealth Cup winner Advertise line up against rival Ten Sovereigns for the third time this season, and it was the latter who managed to get home in front, putting in a decisive performance to blow his rivals away and confirm himself as one of the top sprinters around. This was a popular win for Ten to Follow players as 92 teams secured 55 points from the victory.
It is still very close at the top of the leader board with four teams tied for the lead and fifth place just 25 points behind. The full standings can be found here.
Position Name Score
1 Paul Timms (4) 380
1 Alan Wellsteed (10) 380
1 Alan Wellsteed (1) 380
1 Graham Hoskin (1) 380
6 Tony Ling (1) 330
8 Trevor Shaw (2) 325
8 Ben Cook (2) 325