Aalto
Aalto
11th-Jul-2026
It’s a fairly small field for the Bunbury Cup, it’s not a good each-way race, but Aalto has plenty in his favour.
For starters, he goes well at the track, over this course and distance, and he has probably been trained for the race again by Ian Williams. He won the race in 2024 off a mark of 88, and he went close to following up last year off a mark of 92, just thwarted at 40/1 by the favourite More Thunder.
More Thunder is obviously top-class, he won the Group 2 Hungerford Stakes on his next run last year, then ran a big race from a wide draw in the Prix de la Foret. This season, he has finished second in the Lockinge Stakes and the Queen Anne, both Group 1 races, and he is favourite for the Group 2 Summer Mile today at Ascot. He is rated 23lb higher than he was when he beat Aalto last year by a nose.
Aalto is rated 5lb lower.
He hasn’t won since then. Indeed, he hasn’t won since he won this race in 2024, but this has surely been his target since this day 12 months ago, and Ian Williams has few peers when it comes to targeting a horse for a big handicap.
The Zelzal gelding ran really well too last time over today’s course and distance when he kept on well from the rear to take second place behind Dark Tornado, when he had Superposition behind him in third. That should bring him forward nicely for today, and a 2lb hike is more than fair. His record on the July course reads 1922, and William Buick is obviously a great booking.
AALTO WON (ADV 7/2, SP 4/1)
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