All the talk revolves around Baaeed maintaining his perfect record on day one of Royal Ascot.
But the opening card is not just a one star show, with 2,000 Guineas hero Coroebus and the world's top sprinter Nature Strip chasing major prizes.
Baaeed is set to be one of the shortest-priced favourites ever at Ascot, joining Frankel (1-10f) and Black Caviar (1-6f) amongst others.
"I haven't sat on him since Newbury, but Michael Hills rides him in all his work and seems very happy with him," Baaeed's jockey Jim Crowley told the Racing Post.
On a programme with plenty of runners and quality too, Classic scorer Coroebus bids to establish himself as the best of his generation at a mile.
He already went a long way to proving that at HQ, while Nature Strip and Golden Pal go head-to-head in the fastest test of the afternoon, the King's Stand Stakes.
But such is the nature of the race, there may be a surprise winner lurking among them.
Runners and race-by-race tips for day one of Royal Ascot 2022
2.30 – Queen Anne Stakes (Group 1)
1 Accidental Agent
2 Baaeed
3 Chindit
4 Order Of Australia
5 Real World
6 Sir Busker
7 Lights On
VERDICT: It will be a huge shock if BAAEED loses his unbeaten record in the Royal Ascot opener. Already a winner at the highest level over course and distance, he resumed his run on seasonal reappearance in the Lockinge. Three of today's rivals Real World, Chindit and Sir Busker were readily left behind and it's hard to find any negatives in the favourite who will be priced accordingly.
3.05 – Coventry Stakes (Group 2)
1 Age of Kings
2 Blackbeard
3 Bradsell
4 Harry Time
5 Holguin
6 King's Crown
7 Lakota Blue
8 Late September
9 Paddy's Day
10 Persian Force
11 Remarkable Force
12 Rousing Encore
13 Royal Scotsman
14 Scholarship
15 Show Respect
16 Ti Sento
17 Waiting All Night
VERDICT: Persian Force has a good turn of foot and seems to see out six furlongs well on all the evidence so far. He lived up his tall reputation on debut and a 31-day break tees the Mehmas colt up nicely for this. His most recent run does not tell us too much, with just two rivals in opposition – and the percentage call is to pick one of the better value runners in the betting. Remarkable Force has looked a nice type on two starts so far and the time of his most recent run was taking. Blackbeard tries to give Aidan O'Brien a record-extending tenth win in the contest – and the colt's experience stands him in good stead. He made all last time though and could be vulnerable to a finisher though. Outsiders have exceeded expectations in recent years, so LATE SEPTEMBER gets the tentative vote. He finished well to thwart the leaders in his native America and although he must improve plenty to take a hand, the son of Munnings is drawn near some of the probable pacesetters, while the booking of Colin Keane catches the eye.
3.40 – King's Stand Stakes (Group 1)
1 Acklam Express
2 Arecibo
3 Equilateral
4 Existent
5 Golden Pal
6 Khaadem
7 King's Lynn
8 Lazuli
9 Logo Hunter
10 Man Of Promise
11 Mondammej
12 Nature Strip
13 Ponntos
14 Saint Lawrence
15 Tis Marvellous
16 Twilight Calls
17 Mooniesta
18 Winter Power
VERDICT: From draw 13, Golden Pal is likely to lead them, but he may not have it all his own way with a couple of speedy sorts in nearby stalls. He'll need to have the early advantage as this track probably just stretches him, for all he is much more the finished article than when last seen here. Trainer Wesley Ward is adamant he is better than what UK fans have seen of him and he's a fascinating contender. Nature Strip, one of Australia's big hopes for the meeting, tracked the leaders and made smooth headway to win last time out. The world's top-rated sprinter is 3lb higher than Golden Pal on the figures and has conditions to suit. He is the one they all have to beat. However the value is Charlie Appleby's MAN OF PROMISE. Third in the Al Quoz Sprint, that outing could have come quickly enough considering his record. At the top of his game fresh, the 80-day break looks ideal and he is right in the mix if resuming his upward curve.
4.20 – St James's Palace Stakes (Group 1)
1 Aikhal
2 Angel Blue
3 Bayside Boy
4 Berkshire Shadow
5 Checkandchallenge
6 Coroebus
7 Light Infantry
8 Lusail
9 Maljoom
10 Mighty Ulysees
11 My Prospero
12 New Energy
13 Wexford Native
VERDICT: This revolves around COROEBUS. The son of Dubawi took what looks a decent renewal of the 2,000 Guineas and the form has been advertised by runner-up and stablemate Native Trail. The selection travelled powerfully though the contest and is a high class miler who can land this before tackling the older horses later in the season. My Prospero has bags of talent and can chase him home, while Wexford Native has a bit to find on form but he represents last year's winning team.
5.00 – Ascot Stakes
1 Proschema
2 Rock Eagle
3 Coltrane
4 Arcadian Sunrise
5 Themaxwecan
6 Reshoun
7 Marshall Plan
8 Pied Piper
9 Who Dares Wins
10 Tribal Art
11 Protected Guest
12 Golden Flame
13 Bring On The Night
14 Going Gone
15 Surrey Gold
16 Scaramanga
17 Lydford
18 Make My Day
19 Just Hubert
20 Moon King
VERDICT: National Hunt trainers to the fore here with Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott after the first prize of £51,540. Bring On The Night heads the betting and is completely unexposed with just three starts for Andre Fabre under this code, for a yard which boasts a fine record in this. Backers know more about ARCADIAN SUNRISE though and he is a regular at the big meetings. An eye-catcher in the Chester Cup, this strong stayer should love the extra yardage and connections have talented claimer Harry Davies taking 5lb off his allotted weight.
5.35 – Wolferton Stakes
1 Cadillac
2 Dubai Future
3 Majestic Dawn
4 New Mandate
5 Star Safari
6 Certain Lad
7 Foxes Tales
8 Harrovian
9 Juan Elcano
10 Movin Time
11 Palavecino
12 Perotto
13 Regal Reality
14 Tasman Bay
15 West End Charmer
16 Aristia
VERDICT: Cadillac responded to the first-time blinkers to run out a cosy winner at Leopardstown recently. A penalty does make his task stiffer however and this is a much bigger field. Most of the runners are closely matched on the book and this race could have a number of outcomes. PEROTTO has been a great horse for connections and struck in the Britannia 12 months ago. Tough and consistent, he is the right type of runner to have on your side, along with Tasman Bay, far from the finished article in 2021 and he has bumped into some smart sorts along the way.
6.10 – Copper Horse Stakes
1 Alounak
2 Raymond Tusk
3 Stowell
4 Okita Soushi
5 Cleveland
6 Pita Pinta
7 Non-runner
8 Red Verdon
9 Quenelle D'Or
10 Not So Sleepy
11 Juan De Montalban
12 Alright Sunshine
13 Get Shirty
14 Platinumcard
15 Island Brave
16 Bandinelli
17 Danehill Kodiac
VERDICT: CLEVELAND can reward favourite backers in the finale. He posted an excellent performance winning the Chester Cup from off the pace, which can be tricky to do given the twists and turns of the track. The son of Camelot made stealthy headway up the straight and appeared to have a bit more in the locker. A 5lb rise is manageable and the stiffer nature of this venue should help counteract the drop in distance.
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