Cowell's Charge Should Relish Return To Ascot

 It is Shergar Cup day at Ascot today, and whilst I am not the biggest fan of the concept there can be no denying that there are some quality horses and jockeys on show. The horse that interests me goes in the opener, Secretinthepark, and his trainer Robert Cowell has won this race twice since 2010.

He was due to run in a weaker looking race last night, and I fancied him for that. However, I wasn't majorly surprised to see him skip that engagement in order to come to Ascot instead, as his last run here back in July was full of promise. That came off a mark of 93, and he has been dropped 2lbs since, after a tame effort at Goodwood over 6F. On his previous run here he was slowly away, and travelled well into the race. He was a bit short of room too just as the race began to hot up, so to finish as close as he did was quite an achievement. 

Aussie pilot Kerrin McEvoy rides today, and he is a quality operator, so there are no reservations on that front. He admittedly has yet to win at the minimum trip, but he shaped on his last visit to Ascot that it suits him well, and if he gets a strong pace to aim at today he should be bang there at the finish. 

Stevos' Selection: 12.55 Ascot  Secretinthepark (7/1).