2023 Hardwicke Stakes Tips
Hukum is an experienced six-year-old with the sort of credentials to land a victory at Royal Ascot. This is the highest-rated horse in the field and the latest effort saw the runner claim a victory over one mile and two furlongs in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes, beating odds-on favourite Desert Crown into second place.
Previously to this, the horse won the Coronation Cup as part of the Epsom Derby Festival and now looks set to land another big victory, although there is plenty of competition and perhaps the chief adversary is Free Wind who could run a big race for John & Thady Gosden. The five-year-old has been afforded plenty of respect from the layers and carries three pounds less than the favourite.
Deauville Legend and Pyledriver have both been away from the track for some time. The former is a talented four-year-old who was a respectable fourth place out of twenty-two runners at Flemington when running in the Melbourne Cup although the charge was sent off as the favourite on that particular occasion.
Similarly, Pyledriver has not been seen in a race since obliging with a victory at Ascot back in July 2022. The runner was able to score at odds of 22/1 in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes and it will be interesting to see whether the runner can reverse the form that previously saw him finish second to Hukum in the 2022 Coronation Cup.
2022 Hardwicke Stakes Tips
Hurricane Lane is set to make his seasonal debut at the 2022 Royal Ascot meeting and it will be intriguing to see if the four-year-old can continue the excellent form which was apparent last season.
The horse has already achieved six wins during a relatively short career and Godolphin decided to send him to Longchamp last autumn where he competed favourably in the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe where Hurricane Lane finished in third place.
The runner was sent off as the 3/1 favourite and found shock winner Torquator Tasso and Tarnawa as the only horses who were too strong, with the horse previously triumphing in the Cazoo St Leger Stakes and it explains why the runner is heading the Royal Ascot betting for this clash.
This runner has bags of experience and that includes finishing third in the 2021 Derby, while the horse went on to win the Irish Derby. There was also a trip to Longchamp where the 17/10 favourite won the Grand Prix de Paris.
However, Bay Bridge is set to prove some stiff competition and the four-year-old has now racked up five consecutive wins in total. In the Coral Brigadier Gerard Stakes, the runner was able to oblige against favourite Mostahdaf and it was a convincing five-length win.