6 S A I N T XAV I E R (F R) (8 )

B g Saint des Saints (FR) - Princesse Lucie (FR) (Poliglote)

Owner: Mr Richard Hobson

Trainer: Richard Hobson, Little Rissington

Breeder: Mr Jean-Marc Godefroy

Sponsor: R H Bloodstock

Horse Age: 11 Weight: 10 2

Colours: ROYAL BLUE, LIGHT BLUE sleeves, ROYAL BLUE stars, LIGHT BLUE cap Form: 641500

Lilly Pinchin (3)

Official BHA Rating 123

HH Haydock winner in November and fifth behind two of these in the veterans final at Sandown; saddled slipped next time but he also needs to do a lot better than at Newbury last Saturday

Tongue Strap worn by No 3, 4, 5, 6. Sheepskin Cheek Pieces worn by No 1, 4, 6. 2022: ELEGANT ESCAPE (IRE) 10 11 10 Harry Cobden 4-1 (Colin Tizzard) 6 ran

BETTING FORECAST:

11-4 Larry (GB), 3-1 Ruthless Article (IRE), 4-1 Two For Gold (IRE), Wishing And Hoping (IRE), 7-1 Run To Milan (IRE), 10-1 Saint Xavier (FR)

Race Predictor

The safety and welfare of horses and jockeys is paramount throughout the year at Ascot. In recent years we have invested significantly to improve our facilities on and off the track to ensure we provide the very best care and attention for all participants.

Nowhere is this better demonstrated than in the changes made to the racing surface itself during the redevelopment in 2006. The key elements of the project were to camber the home and old paddock bends and to remove the road crossings over the track, replacing them with underpasses. This created a safer surface for the horses, as previously, some less experienced runners had occasionally shied at the differing surfaces

Further improvements to equine welfare provision were made as part of a £700,000 project to create an enhanced unsaddling area in 2016 Increased in size to accommodate large field races more comfortably, the Unsaddling Enclosure Lawn also has equine misting fans to aid with post-race cooling of horses

For Jump racing, we introduced the one-fit padded hurdles for the start of the 2018 season, becoming the first Grade 1 track to do so Vets generally find fewer superficial injuries with horses running over padded hurdles compared to the traditional birch hurdle.

At the start of the 2022/23 season,we switched from orange to white markings on our wood and vinyl padding of take-off boards, guard rails and top boards Research from Exeter University showed white provides increased contrast and visibility for horses, leading to improved jumping performance.

Four specifically qualified equine vets are on duty every raceday, dedicated to the welfare of all the horses. During each race, vets follow the runners by car and can respond to and attend a casualty generally within a minute – as fast as the paramedic teams responsible for human casualties.

Ascot’s two permanent veterinary boxes are supplemented with an X-Ray machine for the major meetings to assist with swift diagnosis before administration of treatment on site or any movement necessary to equine hospitals. There are two equine ambulances on course at all times and three ambulances for any incidents involving injuries to jockeys. The jockeys’ facilities at Ascot include a medical treatment room, rest rooms and a dedicated room for physiotherapy