Ladbrokes Bunbury Cup Race Preview

It's not hard to see why Zinedine Zidane's equine namesake, Zidane, is favourite for the Ladbrokes Bunbury Cup on the final day of the three-day July meeting this Friday but, like the footballer did, this Zidane might have to settle for second best when it really matters, because Easy Air, a 10/1 chance with VCbet, is much the most likely winner in my opinion. Leading up to, during and subsequent to the Royal Ascot meeting, James Fanshawe's stable has been in cracking form, and Zidane is just the type that the Newmarket-based handler places to great advantage. The four-year-old is lightly-raced and therefore unexposed and while he has yet to race beyond six furlongs, he shapes as though the extra furlong in this valuable handicap will be well within his stamina range. However, on the other side of the coin, the races he has been contesting thus far have been nowhere near as competitive as this cavalry charge and although he is open to improvement, the top price of 6/1 on offer (as short as 4/1 in a place) looks way too short about a horse that has a fair bit to prove at this level, and off a mark 10lb higher than for his last win, which was in a Class 4 handicap. In contrast, Easy Air, who held a 2000 Guineas entry at the start of the season, has yet to race against his elders but proved his ability to mix it with the upper echelon handicappers when finishing second in the best handicap confined to three-year-olds to have taken place so far this season, the Britannia Stakes over a mile at Royal Ascot. The Ed Dunlop-trained colt, a half-brother to stablemate Court Masterpiece, ran a cracking race in that ultra-competitive 30-runner event. He didn't have much daylight when mounting a challenge two furlongs out but stayed on in eyecatching style when getting the breaks and came home two lengths second to Sir Gerard, who looks a Group-class horse in the making. Although he is dropping back a furlong, there is invariably a break-neck pace on offer in this race and with the ground certain to be riding on the fast side, the son of Zafonic will have plenty going for him come Friday. He's had just the five starts to date and the only time he has disappointed was when encountering an easy surface.All in all, Easy Air has unlimited scope for further improvement and it would be no surprise if he were to develop into a Pattern-class performer in the not too distant future. As such, there is a good chance that he will prove good enough to win this off a mark of 94. Partners In Jazz was not winning out of turn when driven out to beat Marching Band and eighteen other rivals by upwards of a length and a quarter in the totesport Victoria Cup at Ascot in May. There were a plethora of hard luck stories being published relating to those back in the ruck in the aftermath of that race but David Barron's charge was ultimately a worthy winner. The grey was an unlucky-in-running fourth in this race last year and, raised just 5lb by the handicapper for his Victoria Cup heroics, the five-year-old looks absolutely certain to be on the premises in this event for the second year in succession. One of the hard luck stories in question from the seven furlong race in question was that of Notability, who did encounter more than his fair share of traffic problems en route to finishing a creditable sixth. However, he was well beaten in the Buckingham Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot subsequently and it's becoming crystal clear that this horse doesn't like fast ground one iota. Akona Matata ran a stormer to finish third behind Cesare in the Royal Hunt Cup and shapes as though dropping back to this trip will be ideal. Given the strength of the Hunt Cup, Clive Brittain's charge comes into this race with a solid chance on the book. The fourth horse home in that contest, Hinterland, who was two and a half lengths adrift of Akona Matata, franked the form when landing a prestigious handicap at Sandown over the weekend. Lightly-raced for his years, this four-year-old son of Seeking The Gold clearly has a big handicap in him but I just cannot envisage him being up to conceding 8lb to a potential Group-class performer like Easy Air. Verdict - 1pt Easy Air @ 10/1 (VCbet)