The 2020 Flat Ten to Follow competition is almost here and it won’t be long until Day 1 at Royal Ascot. With more bonus races to play for this season, targeting those extra points will be a major part of the picking process for stables.
However, valuable handicap races can throw up quality winners at big prices which can add lots of points to your tally. Below we highlight five horses well worth bearing in mind for many of the heritage contests throughout the season.
Desert Icon
Trainer: William Haggas
A couple of horses on this short list potentially serve two purposes. The first to pick up a handicap or two (or three!), the second to perhaps graduate into Group class in the process. Desert Icon is a strong and handsome son of Sea The Stars who has shown lots of ability to date. His frame suggests he’ll be better as a four-year-old and an official rating of 96 is readily exploitable if the horse has trained on as hoped. Trips of 1m4f+ are likely to be where he excels, but he’s not devoid of pace so ten furlongs wouldn’t be an inconvenience either. Horses of this mould have loads of options and Desert Icon fits the bill of just the type to progress really well from three to four.