Cover Up
Cover Up only finished 13th in the King Charles III Stakes, but he ran way better than that. Held up through the early stages of the race, he was second last at the two-furlong pole, he was just beside the winner Mission Central. But, whereas Mission Central was delivered by Ryan Moore with his run on the stands side in clear sailing, Cover Up had to go with his run among horses. He picked up well, he was closing on the leaders inside the final furlong, but he ran into a cul de sac and James McDonald had to take a pull, and he just allowed him coast home after that. He probably wouldn't have beaten the winner, but he was going into the final throes of the race with momentum up, and he might have gone close. He was second fastest through the penultimate furlong, he was just faster than Mission Central through that furlong, and he was fifth fastest through the final furlong, despite being eased off fully 100 yards from home.
This was the Crisfords' horse's first run since he ran in the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan in February. He was fairly well beaten in that race, over six furlongs, but he is much more effective over five, as he proved when he won a good handicap over the King Charles course and distance at Ascot's King George meeting last July, and when he won a Group 2 race over the minimum trip at Meydan in January. He could still spring a surprise in one of the top five-furlong races later in the season. The Sapphire Stakes at The Curragh next month is an option for him, and he would be of big interest if he lined up in the Group 3 Coral Charge on Eclipse day at Sandown, on a five-furlong track at which his hold-up style of racing can be a positive.
Ascot, 16th June 2026
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