Alex Hammond blog: A triple crown contender in Auguste Rodin, Goshen at Ascot and more! | Racing News

Sky Sports Racing presenter Alex Hammond looks back at Auguste Rodin last Saturday and looks ahead to an excellent weekend at Ascot, live on Sky Sports Racing.

Before we focus on this weekend’s excellent jumping, let me tell you about something that happened to me on Saturday that doesn’t happen very often.

Horseracing is full of disappointments if you think about it. For those of us lucky enough to work in the industry, for punters, or casual racing fans you are constantly disappointed.

Say there are eight races on a card, how many winners do you find? Even on a successful day, there are disappointments. Now, I don’t want this to sound morose because I’m naturally of a sunny disposition but I’m also a realist. However, last weekend Auguste Rodin gave me the sort of thrill that doesn’t happen often.

In the immediate aftermath of his win in the Vertem Futurity Trophy, I suggested to my Sky Sports Racing colleague Jamie Lynch that this horse could win a British Triple Crown.

Nijinsky was the last horse to pull off this unusual feat back in 1970 and Camelot came close to achieving it with wins in the 2000 Guineas, Derby, before an agonisingly narrow defeat in the St. Leger in 2012.

Like Auguste Rodin, he was also trained by Aidan O’Brien, and I wonder if a Triple Crown bid is in the back of his mind as we go into winter quarters?

It’s an old-fashioned route for horses nowadays, so maybe Sky Bet’s 50/1 available for the colt to win the Guineas, Derby and Arc is more realistic.

Auguste Rodin excited me more than any two-year-old has in a long time with his exceptional win on unsuitable ground at Doncaster. The only disappointment from my perspective is, I wasn’t there to see him in the flesh.

He’s 5/1 favourite with Sky Bet to win the 2000 Guineas, 3/1 for the Derby and 14/1 with the same firm for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Exciting times.

All eyes on Goshen at Ascot

We must put that behind us for now though and focus on the winter game. I’m off to Ascot on Saturday and as a result, have had a close look through the card.

All eyes will be on the enigmatic Goshen as he makes his chasing debut in the Ascot Underwriting Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase.

Following Goshen has been a rollercoaster ride with some incredible highs and some crushing lows. He’s talented but quirky and it’s hard to forget how badly he hung right-handed at Lingfield’s Winter Millions meeting back in January.

However, fences might just focus his mind. His rider Jamie Moore has reported his schooling has gone well and thinks the track could be the ideal place to start him off over fences. He’s the class act and he should be the best horse in the line-up and is 6/5 with Sky Bet.

Anyharminasking is another market leader at Ascot and at the time of writing is 3/1 to win the second race, the Bateaux London Handicap Hurdle.

It’s been much mentioned that he’s the only horse to have beaten Constitution Hill thanks to his victory in an Irish point-to-point in April 2021 and that is a heavy burden to carry.

He’s looked impressive in winning two handicap hurdles in the north and may still be ahead of his mark. His trainer Jonjo O’Neill won this with Soaring Glory last year and I hope this lad can do the same.

Later in the afternoon, Mister Malarky could be each way value in the feature Bateaux London Gold Cup Handicap Chase. He’s 11/1 in an open race but he is in the process of having a Richard Bandey makeover and his two starts for the trainer have seen him show signs of his old sparkle.

He’s not badly handicapped, is still only a nine-year-old, and David Bass could suit him well. Regal Encore deserves an honorary mention as he has his fifth start in the race at the grand old age of 14.

He’s an old legend and won this in 2020. Leave Of Absence is the one I like in the GI Events Novices’ Hurdle. Chris Gordon is one of the most in-form trainers in the country currently, and this horse is an exciting recruit to hurdling.

Finally at Ascot, I’m keen to see how Bannow Bay Boy fares in the closing Molton Brown Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race.

I’ve put up Matata as a horse to follow in this column recently and that horse hacked up in a novices’ hurdle at Fakenham recently.

Bannow Bay Boy finished second to Matata in his Irish point, and makes his rules debut here for Tom Lacey. Away from Ascot the Bet 365 Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby is the highlight.

Bravemansgame met defeat, in fact he was absolutely hammered at Aintree, behind Ahoy Senor on his final start of last season and he’s back now having had a wind operation.

The two lock horns again on Saturday and are the market protagonists for this three-mile contest. It’s not just a match, Eldorado Allen and Secret Investor add spice to the field and Sam Brown and Paint The Dream complete the line-up.

It should be informative, and the Nicholls horses may just be more ready to rock ‘n roll here in a race he has won with See More Business, Silviniaco Conti and Cyrname in the past. He’s Sky Bet’s 6/4 favourite.

Have a great weekend and I hope you find plenty of winners, even if all your selections don’t come home in front!