Another Crimson Advocate? Royal Ascot pointers guaranteed as two juvenile races at Gulfstream Park offer starting spot

Royal Ascot clues will be on offer at Gulfstream Park on Saturday night, with the winners of two juvenile races earning a starting spot in one of the six two-year-old contests at the big meeting next month.

Trainer George Weaver landed both of the Royal Palm races last year and successful filly Crimson Advocate followed up in the Queen Mary.

Weaver saddles two debutantes in the fillies’ race (9.49), with Edward Gonzalez, who rode Crimson Advocate to victory last year, partnering Good Long Cry. He also runs Bunratty Manor.

The trainer-and-jockey combination team up with Governor Sam, a recent $275,000 (£219, 560/€255,180) purchase, in the colts’ race (10.52). Both contests are worth $120,000 (£95,790/€111,350).

Weaver told Daily Racing Form: “They’ve done enough in the morning that we think they have a shot. Because of what happened last year we thought we should start here.”

Wesley Ward was set to saddle a debut winner in both races but scratched Raise The Bar in favour of going straight to Ascot.

He is represented by fellow Keeneland scorer Perfect Shances, who was outworked by Raise The Bar back at Keeneland towards the end of last month.

Ward said: “The course at Keeneland is a lot deeper than the one at Gulfstream. She’s got incredible speed and I’m banking they’re just going to bounce over the course down there and that she will take to it much better.”

Perfect Shances’s rivals include first-time-out winner The Queens MG for Saffie Joseph Jnr and debutantes Bullet and My Emmy trained by Mark Casse, who won the Queen Anne Stakes with Tepin in 2016. Casse runs three newcomers in the colts’ race – Makeit To Cheyenne, Classy War and Garden Of War.

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