Triple Time pays off in Tote Ten to Follow for the few who put the hours in

With seven 25-point bonus races up for grabs, Royal Ascot was always going to play a significant part in establishing the pecking order in the Tote Ten to Follow Flat competition and the new table reflects that, with the first five horses on the list all scorers at last week's Berkshire jamboree.

However, only a small band of players had the foresight to include these performers - Triple Time, Mostahdaf, Courage Mon Ami, Shaquille and Age Of Kings - when the competition opened at the start of this month.

Triple Time, who collected 92.50 points in the opening Queen Anne Stakes thanks to win and place dividends of £42.50, was selected by just 0.4 per cent of players, who must have thumbed through plenty of form pages to inform their choice.

Mostahdaf, who looks likely to play a significant part in all the season's top middle-distance events after his Prince of Wales's Stakes 69.10-point success, figures in just 0.5 per cent of teams.

The rapid improvement of Courage Mon Ami, who landed the Gold Cup on only his fourth start for 63.20 points, caught most players by surprise as he was selected by just 1.4 per cent of teams, while Commonwealth Cup conqueror Shaquille had a little more support with 4.3 per cent who gained 62.30 points.

Unsurprisingly, Jersey Stakes winner Age Of Kings, who had beaten just one home on his previous star in the Irish 2,000 Guineas, was picked by only 0.1 per cent of players, who collect 58.10 points thanks to Tote win and place returns of 43.10.

There were rather greater cheers for popular scorers Paddington, who had 29.9 per cent of players on the edge of their seats as he landed 54.50 points in the St James's Palace Stakes, while Tahiyra, the second most popular pick in the competition after Savethelastdance, gave 55.4 per cent of stables no reason to sweat as she collected 52.67 points with ease in the Coronation Stakes.

That pair, plus Shaquille, Auguste Rodin, Soul Sister and Blue Rose Cen form a powerful nucleus of the stable of the team of The Plant 12, who leads the way in pursuit of the competition's £24,672 first prize.

LATEST STANDINGS

LEADING HORSES
1 Triple Time 0.4% user pick 92.50 points
2 Mostahdaf 0.5% 69.10
3 Courage Mon Ami 1.4% 63.20
4 Shaquille 4.3% 62.30
5 Age Of Kings 0.1% 58.10
6 Auguste Rodin 34.8% 57.55
7 Paddington 29.9% 54.50
8 Soul Sister 25.9%54.44
9 Tahiyra 55.4% 52.67
10 Bradsell 0.4% 46.30

LEADING TEAMS
1 The Plant 12 327.46
2 Kazak Nomads (Jim2) 308.67
3 q3 307.86
4 Antrim 11 306.84
5 jungleland 302.37
6 Medway Valley Stud 298.06
7 IPC Dream Team 295.37
8 Robert Winchcole55 16 294.86
9 Kelly's Heroes 2 292.57
10 Bgwinners 17 291.97

LEADER'S STABLE
Shaquille 62.30
Auguste Rodin 57.55
Paddington 54.50
Soul Sister 54.44
Tahiyra 52.67
Blue Rose Cen 31.30
Chaldean 13.30
Big Rock 1.40
Modern Games 0

Read next:

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What's on this week: Auguste Rodin bids for Derby double and Northumberland Plate is the big betting race

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