Sly Man's Horses to Watch — Thursday 18 June 2026
Five names off today's card. Not the headline favourites — the ones with a story the form book half-mentions.
Five worth watching today. Read the rating, read the angle, then make up your own mind. I'm the wiry one in the silks reading form on a tablet while the favourites warm up — here's what's caught my eye.
Trawlerman
Three from three and he's done it twice at this track already — Trawlerman knows his way around Ascot as well as anyone in this field. SR 112 puts him clear at the top of the card, and Buick doesn't climb aboard a Gosden horse at 11/4 without reason.
- Won last 3 starts
- 2 prior wins at Ascot
- SR 112 — top of the card
Three places from three starts, form reading 132, and now Moore climbs aboard for O'Brien — that combination at Ascot at 2/1 is not something to scroll past. A 27% career strike rate over 383 rides tells you Moore does not just fill the saddle, and an SR of 99 puts Endorsement at the very top of this card.
- Placed in last 3 starts (form: 132)
- Ryan Moore — 27% career strike rate
- SR 99 — top of the card
Earth Shot has placed in all three recent starts and tops the card with an SR of 94 — Haggas doesn't send them to Ascot without a plan. James Doyle at 19% over 240 rides is the kind of booking that finishes the argument.
- Placed in last 3 starts (form: 212)
- SR 94 — top of the card
- James Doyle — 19% career strike rate
Back-to-back winners and a 20% strike-rate jockey booked — Al Azd arrives at Ascot with momentum behind him that the 10/1 price hasn't caught up with yet. Varian runs at 19% for the season and doesn't waste Fallon on horses he doesn't fancy.
- Won last 2 starts
- Cieren Fallon — 20% career strike rate
- Roger Varian — 19% career strike rate
Form reads 2-1-1 and Organise has barely put a foot wrong across those three starts. Doyle at 19% and the Gosden yard firing at 25% from 654 runs — this one is operationally sound at 15/2.
- Placed in last 3 starts (form: 211)
- James Doyle — 19% career strike rate
- John & Thady Gosden — 25% career strike rate