Frankie says relax!
When Frankie Dettori had that wretched day on Thursday he told reporters afterwards: “Shit happens doesn’t it. I can’t go back and do it again. There’s always tomorrow.” Well tomorrow duly arrived and the jockey duly delivered with a win on the brilliant Inspiral, who romped home in the Coronation Stakes. What the racing world will do when he decides to hang up his boots is anyone’s guess. A couple of journalists in this morning’s papers were suggesting that that could happen soon but let’s hope it doesn’t for a long time yet. The only sour note was John Gosden’s public dressing down for the rider (not even having to read between the lines much) on so many occasions in television interviews yesterday and today. That’s all for now but hope to see you tomorrow when we can all collect on Wordsworth after the last race (that’s the plan anyway) and trust you got on as the price has been dropping all day. Trainer Aidan O’Brien says this has been the plan for the horse all season and everything is in place for a big run.
Updated
Palace of Holyrood Handicap Stakes (6.10pm) result
1 Latin Lover (Hayley Turner) 5-1
2 Nymphadora (Harry Davies) 25-1
3 Peggy Sioux (Josephine Gordon) 33-1
4 Bond Chairman (G Lee) 40-1
27 ran
Also: 16-5 Fav Ladies Church
Non Runners: 4,17
Palace of Holyrood Handicap Stakes (6.10pm)
And they’re off ... Peggy Sioux leads on the nearside ... Spring Is Sprung is prominent ... Latin Lover gets up close home to lead and provide Hayley Turner with a winner!
Updated
Palace of Holyrood Handicap Stakes (6.10pm) betting
- Ladies Church 9/2
- Latin Lover 8/1
- Korker 9/1
- Lovesmelikearock 12/1
- Sterling Knight 12/1
- Tippy Toes 12/1
- Shamlaan 14/1
- Ruthin 16/1
- Lil Guff 22/1
- Nymphadora 22/1
- BAR 25/1
Palace of Holyrood Handicap Stakes (6.10pm) preview
Another big-field handicap and all eyes will be on Spring Is Sprung, the Queen’s third and final runner on the day, assuming that she has not managed to get a 25th Royal Ascot winner on the board earlier in the afternoon. Michael Bell’s gelding was a beaten favourite on the all-weather last time out in February and arrives here after a 134-day break, with just one piece of form in the book that gives him some kind of chance (a win at Windsor more than a year ago). It will be a surprise if he gets the royal colours over the line in front, and Sterling Knight could be a better bet at around 12-1. He has won three from five since a wind-op over the winter, including two turf handicaps, and looked like a horse who could continue to progress for some time yet when winning at this track last time. This is a drop back to five furlongs from six but he quickened into the lead well over a furlong out and the race has since produced three next-time-out winners.
Selection: STERLING KNIGHT
Updated
King Edward VII Stakes (5.35pm) result
1 Changingoftheguard (R L Moore) 11-10 Fav
2 Grand Alliance (D Tudhope) 10-1
3 Lysander (Tom Marquand) 15-2
6 ran
Also: 9-4 Ottoman Fleet 4th
King Edward VII Stakes (5.35pm)
And they’re off ... Changingoftheguard takes an early lead ... Dark Moon Rising is second with Ottoman Fleet just behind ... the leader is under pressure ... Ottoman Fleet goes well ... but Changingoftheguard kicks on again ... Grand Alliance is challenging and they go past together. Photo-finish! Grand Alliance went right across the track and that may be the difference between winning and losing ... and it is ... Changingoftheguard has held on.
So close! #RoyalAscot
— Sky Sports Racing (@SkySportsRacing) June 17, 2022
Changingoftheguard wins the King Edward VII Stakes as a late drift costs Grand Alliance...pic.twitter.com/USwkUF78In
Updated
Placings remain unaltered after the 5pm race following the stewards’ inquiry
HEREIDA takes the Sandringham Stakes! pic.twitter.com/sJfAeujbHS
— Ascot Racecourse (@Ascot) June 17, 2022
King Edward VII Stakes (5.35pm) betting
- Changingoftheguard 7/4
- Ottoman Fleet 9/4
- Lysander 6/1
- Grand Alliance 12/1
- Savvy Victory 18/1
- Dark Moon Rising 20/1
- Full Oddschecker betting here
King Edward VII Stakes (5.35pm) preview
Just half a dozen runners for the historic “Ascot Derby”, with Changingoftheguard, who finished fifth of the 17 runners in the Derby itself at Epsom, heading the market at around 6-4. He’s an obvious and solid favourite, but the record of Derby runners in this race is fairly patchy, not least when the two races are less than two weeks apart, as is the case this year. Four horses have won after running in the Derby since 2003, but only one of 12 to try (Across The Stars in 2016) has done when running after less than a fortnight off. Changingoftheguard certainly looked like a tough battler in the Chester Vase in May, but he is up against some lightly-raced improvers that have been targeted at this meeting, and Ottoman Fleet in particular could be a tough opponent. He improved from a narrow defeat at Newbury on debut to win well at Newmarket in May, when he recorded a solid time in view of a stumble not long after the start.
Selection: OTTOMAN FLEET
Here’s the head on of the finish to the 5pm race which now involves a stewards’ inquiry
Will this result stand? Here's the head on... #RoyalAscot pic.twitter.com/nWL1QmUqd9
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 17, 2022
Updated
Sandringham Fillies Handicap (5pm) result
1 Heredia (S M Levey) 7-2 Fav
2 Zanbaq (Jim Crowley) 11-1
3 Crenelle (L Dettori) 5-1
4 Cigamia (James Doyle) 18-1
28 ran
Non Runner: 12
Stewards' Inquiry!
The stewards will be having a look at the finish to the 5pm race after the first two got very close near the line. The winner may not be thrown out but it seems certain the jockeys will be called in. Heredia is apparently a very short price to keep the race on the betting exchanges and it is likely that the interference when the first swerved across the second close home probably didn’t cost the runner-up the race. But we can’t second guess the stewards and the jockeys will be interviewed. Here’s the finish ... (and we’ll see the stewards’ inquiry on ITV I hope)
Another dramatic finish! #RoyalAscot
— Sky Sports Racing (@SkySportsRacing) June 17, 2022
Heredia wins the Sandringham Stakes but there's a stewards' enquiry as she drifts across towards Zanbaq in second...pic.twitter.com/hsuj9RLQX2
Updated
Sandringham Fillies Handicap (5pm)
And they’re off ... Golden Spice and Aunt Bethany are up with the leaders ... Lullaby is near the back ... Golden Mayflower goes for home with Fresh Hope challenging ... Heredia comes late to beat the lot and remain unbeaten. Looks like there might be another stewards’ inquiry here as the first two got very close near the line. Looks a certainly after seeing the head on of the finish.
Updated
Sandringham Fillies Handicap (5pm) betting
- Heredia 6/1
- Fresh Hope 13/2
- Crenelle 9/1
- Persist 12/1
- Washraa 14/1
- Zanbaq 14/1
- Discretion 18/1
- Kings Joy 18/1
- Gatecrasher Girl 18/1
- Espressoo 22/1
- BAR 25/1
Sandringham Fillies Handicap (5pm) preview
A daunting field of 28 runners for this handicap for three-year-old fillies on the straight mile and the toughest test of the day for the punters. Heredia, the favourite, is the only unbeaten runner in the field, and she was value for more when getting up to beat Espressoo by a head at York last time as Sean Levey had to bide his time before getting a run. There are no end of alternatives, however, including Persist, who was also better than the bare result when she won last time out; Zanbaq, who ran well at Listed level on just her second start; and Washraa, the ready winner of two handicaps already this season off marks of 78 and 81 and only 3lb higher here. One notable feature of this race in recent years, though, has been the success of the Charlie Fellowes/Hayley Turner combo, with two 33-1 winners in the last three years.
Thanks Be, an easy winner three years ago, had a very similar profile to their runner Fresh Hope, their runner today, and she posted a very useful time when successful at Doncaster last month. That race has already produced a subsequent winner from down the field and Fresh Hope’s narrow winning margin means she is just 4lb higher here.
Selection: FRESH HOPE
Here are John Gosden’s comments -- see what you think
"You discuss it, you deal with it, you move on"
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) June 17, 2022
What a difference a day makes for John Gosden#ITVRacing | #RoyalAscot pic.twitter.com/5JxCrUVDMa
That was my reading too. John Gosden, Inspiral’s trainer, said “important not to go round with your lip on the floor” after a bad day. May have been referring to the jockey there too!
John Gosden has just doubled down on Frankie there - called him out for Saga defeat too on @itvracing !
— James (@jamesaknight) June 17, 2022
Coronation Stakes (4.20pm) result
1 Inspiral (L Dettori) 15-8 Fav
2 Spendarella (W Buick) 9-1
3 Discoveries (S Foley) 11-1
12 ran
Also: 10-1 Tenebrism 4th
Updated
Coronation Stakes (4.20pm)
And they’re off ... Cachet got a good break and leads early with Spendarella just behind ... Inspiral towards the back ... Cachet goes for home ... Inspiral trying to get there and goes through the gap for an easy win under Frankie Dettori, his first winner of what has been an awful week so far.
Updated
Inspiral, who drifted badly this morning, is now down to 2-1 for the Coronation Stakes. This could be Frankie Dettori’s first winner at the meeting.
Updated
Coronation Stakes (4.20pm) betting
- Inspiral 5/2
- Catchet 13/2
- Discoveries 17/2
- Mangoustine 17/2
- Sandrine 11/1
- Spendarella 11/1
- Prosperous Voyage 12/1
- Grande Dame 14/1
- Pizza Bianca 22/1
- Honey Girl 125/1
- Rolling The Dice 200/1
- Full Oddschecker betting
Updated
Coronation Stakes (4.20pm) preview
Time to renew acquaintance again with Inspiral, last season’s outstanding juvenile filly, as she returns to action 252 days after a very convincing success in the Fillies’ Mile at Newmarket. John Gosden’s filly was the winter favourite for the 1,000 Guineas, and indeed headed the market almost until the moment when her trained ruled her out of the Classic, having decided that she wouldn’t be ready to give her best. Gosden is a master of his craft and clearly feels that Inspiral is now ready to launch her three-year-old campaign, but it only takes one opponent to have improved past her since early October 2021 for favourite-backers to be tearing up their tickets.
Cachet, the 1,000 Guineas winner, and Mangoustine, who narrowly beat Cachet in the French equivalent, both potentially fit that profile, and personally I wouldn’t rule out Ralph Beckett’s Prosperous Voyage, who could be the value bet in today’s field. She is always underestimated in the market, probably because she still has just a single win to her name, in a maiden at Epsom last summer. She has put up several big runs in top company, however, most recently when finishing a neck behind Cachet in the Guineas, and appeals physically as the type to continue improving as the season goes on.
Selection: PROSPEROUS VOYAGE
Updated
Duke of Edinburgh Stakes (3.40pm) result
1 Candleford (Tom Marquand) 11-2
2 Ajero (David Egan) 17-2
3 Contact (B A Curtis) 15-2
4 Brilliant Light (D Tudhope) 20-1
18 ran
Also: 4-1 Jt Fav Just Fine, Trawlerman
Non Runner: 1
Duke of Edinburgh Stakes (3.40pm)
And they’re off ... Longbourn leads the field ... Just Fine is in midfield ... Ajero is in second and they are clear of State Of Bliss ... Kelly’s Dino is in fourth ... Contact trying to make ground ... Ajero takes the lead but here comes Candleford to storm home and win easy - on his seasonal debut too!
Updated
Duke of Edinburgh Stakes (3.40pm) betting
- Trawlerman 5/1f
- Just Fine 11/2
- Contact 13/2
- Mashroor 7/1
- Candleford 7/1
- Ajero 9/1
- Cemhaan 14/1
- Moktasaab 18/1
- Stay Well 18/1
- Sir Rumi 18/1
- BAR 20/1
- Full Oddschecker betting
Duke of Edinburgh Stakes (3.40pm) preview
Reach For The Moon, in yesterday’s Hampton Court Stakes, was definitely the Queen’s best chance of a winner this week, but her colours have popped up in a few handicaps over the years and Just Fine, who put up a career-best to finish third at York last time on his four-year-old debut, goes to post with a solid chance in this race, which is named after the monarch’s late husband.
He was a clear favourite on Thursday afternoon, though, and has now drifted to joint-favourite with Trawlerman, perhaps as punters start to look beyond the colours and notice several opponents going into the race with a very similar – if not better – chance on the book. These include Trawlerman, Candleford, and Contact, and the latter appeals as a much better bet at the likely odds. He travelled like a horse who was a fair way in front of his mark when winning his second race in a row at Haydock in late May, and has been handed a fairly modest 6lb rise in the weights on the back of that performance.
Selection: CONTACT
Perfect Power now 4-1 from 8’s for the July Cup at Newmarket with Betfair.
Perfect Power loves #RoyalAscot!
— Sky Sports Racing (@SkySportsRacing) June 17, 2022
The Commonwealth Cup goes to @RichardFahey and @CSoumillon...pic.twitter.com/2BJU3QjLVV
Updated
Commonwealth Cup (3.05pm) result
1 Perfect Power (C Soumillon) 7-2 Jt Fav
2 Flaming Rib (James Doyle) 14-1
3 Flotus (S De Sousa) 40-1
20 ran
Also: 7-2 Jt Fav El Caballo, 40-1 Cadamosto 4th
Commonwealth Cup (3.05pm)
And they’re off ... Perfect Power a little behind but Flotus and Tiber Flow are showing speed ... Gis A Sub takes the lead ... Flotus grabs top spot but Perfect Power comes late to win. The second winner of the week for trainer Richard Fahey, who is very emotional and was in tears in the post-race TV interviews.
Updated
Commonwealth Cup (3.05pm) preview
This ultra-competitive handicap has taken a big jump in the running order, not least with an eye on the big money swirling around in the Hong Kong-based World Pool, which has become a major revenue earner for Ascot. The time switch ensures that the race will go off before midnight in Asia, and the punters in Hong Kong will find this difficult to resist. Quite a few of the runners are making their debut in a handicap, including Post Impressionist, the likely favourite, and second pick Secret State, both of whom are also trying this mile-and-a-half trip for the first time.
That pair are due to be ridden by Danny Tudhope and William Buick, who start the day with three and two winners this week, so it could be prove to have been a key race when the jockeys’ prize is totted up at the end of the meeting. Newfoundland, who ran over 13 furlongs (or a mile and five) at Navan last time, is also prominent in the betting for the Aidan O’Brien/Ryan Moore combo, while Israris more exposed in handicaps – he’s run in two already – but looked to have considerable room for improvement when winning at Newbury last time. A 6lb rise is bearable and he looks like the way to go.
Selection: ISRAR
Updated
Meditate maintained her unbeaten record with a clear-cut victory in the Albany Stakes. Previously successful on her Curragh debut and in a Group Three at Naas, the daughter of No Nay Never was a 5-2 chance to complete her hat-trick in the hands of the Ryan Moore. Always travelling strongly, Aidan O’Brien’s filly picked up quickly once asked to go about her business and was ultimately well on top as she passed the post a length and three-quarters clear of 2-1 favourite Mawj. The winner is 12-1 from 16-1 for the 1,000 Guineas with Betfair after that victory.
O’Brien said: “She’d put in a lovely run first time and again second time, and everything went really lovely for her today. She looks to have all the attributes, she’s a big physical specimen, mature and with a lovely mind. She looks like a miler and will head for the Fillies’ Mile with one run in between.”
Updated
Albany Stakes (2.30pm) result
1 Meditate (R L Moore) 5-2
2 Mawj (Ray Dawson) 2-1 Fav
3 Ivory Madonna (Hollie Doyle) 66-1
16 ran
Also: 8-1 Queen Olly 4th
Non Runner: 15
Withdrawn: No 3 Believing (22-1) not under orders. Rule 4 does not
apply.
Updated
Albany Stakes (2.30pm)
Believing has been withdrawn for this race .... And they’re off ... Meditate leads early on ... Beautiful Eyes and Queen Olly up there ... Meditate comes to take it up but Mawj is fighting hard with Queen Olly ... Mediatate wins for Ryan Moore and trainer Aidan O’Brien. That’s the yard’s second two-year-old winner of the week.
Meditate leads them all the way to the line in the Albany Stakes
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) June 17, 2022
It's a 4th win of the week for Ryan Moore and yet another for Aiden O'Brien#ITVRacing | #RoyalAscot pic.twitter.com/cLcUTVAsqM
Updated
The royal procession has passed by and so, of course, is also the time when I mention the Serpentine gallery exhibition by artist Mark Wallinger I saw back in 1994 when one of his installations, called ‘Royal Ascot’, consisted of a series of video monitors on top of wheeled flight cases, each isolating the royal carriage’s leisurely progress down the track on the Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (respectively, as it was then) of the meeting with the added TV commentary.
The point Wallinger was making is that the difference from day to day was barely discernible but what has been different this week has been the absence of the Queen. There were no cheers for Prince Charles and Camilla on the first days, a fact that was commented on, but there were plenty of them for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Ed Chamberlin on ITV Racing said: “Ascot and the sport of horse racing need [the Cambridges] to engage.”
Updated
Albany Stakes (2.30pm) betting
- Mawj 15/8
- Meditate 3/1
- Queen Olly 17/2
- Fully Wet 9/1
- Cathy Come Home 14/1
- Lady Bullet 16/1
- Believing 20/1
- Sydneyarms Chelsea 22/1
- Beautiful Eyes 33/1
- Shes Hot 40/1
- BAR 40/1
- Full betting at Oddschecker
Albany Stakes (2.30pm) preview
The top eight runners in the betting here are all unbeaten in either one or two starts, but the one for money over the last 24 hours has been Saeed bin Suroor’s Mawj, a 100-30 shot on Thursday morning but now solid at around 2-1. She replaced Aidan O’Brien’s Meditate at the top of the market – she’s unbeaten in two but out to 4-1 from 5-2. Suroor, a former champion trainer and also the leading trainer at the Royal meeting four times between 1996 and 2004, has taken a bit of a back seat in the Godolphin operation since Charlie Appleby’s star started its rapid ascent towards Derby and championship-winning level, but he got back on the board here after a four-year blank when Real World took the Hunt Cup in 2021 and Mawj showed more than enough in a sparkling debut at Newmarket in mid-May to make her worthy of support here, although Queen Olly, Fully Wet and Powerdress are just a few of the once-raced winners that could give her a race.
Selection: MAWJ
Updated
Horses at Royal Ascot are getting looked after during this mini-heatwave
With temperatures exceeding 30ºC today at #RoyalAscot, @hayleyjanemoore takes a look at the misting fans on course used to cool the horses down 👏 pic.twitter.com/N0Bo3kzRIZ
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 17, 2022
It gets worse for Mr Dettori. The stewards had to put off their inquiry until today but the rider has been slapped with a ban.
Frankie Dettori has been given a two-day ban for overuse of the whip when riding Stradivarius in yesterday's Gold Cup pic.twitter.com/5xxdeOprld
— Racing Post (@RacingPost) June 17, 2022
Here’s today’s running order (and Greg Wood’s tips):
2.30pm Albany Stakes - MAWJ
3.05pm Commonwealth Cup - GO BEARS GO
3.40pm Duke of Edinburgh Stakes - CONTACT
4.20pm Coronation Stakes - PROSPEROUS VOYAGE (nb)
5.00pm Sandringham Stakes - FRESH HOPE (nap)
5.35pm King Edward VII Stakes - OTTOMAN FLEET
6.10pm Palace of Holyroodhouse Stakes - STERLING KNIGHT
There are famous examples of Prime Ministers who were actively involved in horse racing, not least Winston Churchill who owned some decent horses. The current incumbent at No 10 has shown no interest in the Sport of Kings, but his wife obviously enjoys a day at the races and has arrived at Ascot today.
Frankie Dettori is the definition of mercurial. When he’s up he’s noisy and can’t seem to stop riding winners but when he’s down he can get very moody and that affects his confidence. Yesterday - when he made the same mistake as last year on Stradivarius in the Gold Cup and had the horse too far back and finishing second on two horses for the Queen - was not his best day. Frankie’s reaction: “Shit happens doesn’t it.” But was there an overreaction? Brough Scott in the Times reported racing presenter Luke Harvey’s observation that the jockey looked “a broken man” while Jack Keene in the Sun asked “have we witnessed the beginning of the end of Frankie Dettori’s legendary career?” and stated: “We have reached the point where those around him are openly criticising his performances on the biggest stage.”
That was a reference to the implied criticism levelled at the jockey after the Gold Cup by John Gosden, Stradivarius’s trainer. ITV’s Rishi Persad weighed in this morning on the Opening Show preview programme saying comments about him, including Gosden’s presumably, were “disrespectful”. It would be just like the Italian to come bouncing back on his favourite track. The bookies can’t give his mount away in the big race today with Inspiral drifting to 7-2 from 9-4 in the Coronation Stakes. It’s a key day for the Italian who horsebet reminded me this morning was 7-2 to be top jockey at the start of the week and is now 100-1.
"I thought it was a little a bit disrespectful to someone who's achieved what he has in the game. @FrankieDettori is one of the all-time greats"
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) June 17, 2022
The fallout to Day Three rolls on#ITVRacing | #RoyalAscot | #TheOpeningShow pic.twitter.com/mhJg7aXKZj
Updated
Royal Procession (2pm)
1st Carriage
The Duke of Cambridge
The Duchess of Cambridge
The Hon. Arthur Vestey
The Hon. Mrs. Vestey
2nd Carriage
Mr. Peter Phillips
Ms Lindsay Wallace
The Duke of Bedford
The Duchess of Bedford
3rd Carriage
The Visount Brookeborough
The Viscountess Brookeborough
Mr. Darby Dennis
Mrs. Darby Dennis
4th Carriage
Mr. Richard Osgood
Mrs. Richard Osgood
Mr. Nico de Boinville
Mrs. Nico de Boinville
Non-runners
Don’t put these on your betting slips. They are not turning up.
2.30pm Albany Stakes (Group 3)
15 Powderdress (Self Cert – Tied Up)
3.40pm Duke Of Edinburgh Handicap
1 Ever Present (Self Cert – Bruised Foot)
5.00pm Sandringham Handicap
Midheaven (Vet’s Cert – Coughing)
6.10pm Palace Of Holyroodhouse Handicap
Vertiginous (Self Cert – Temperature)
Updated
Ascot clerk of the course Chris Stickels has just tolds Sky Sports Racing: “I think now we are not going to get the thunderstorms until after racing [on Saturday].” It must be odds-on that Trueshan, who missed the Gold Cup on Thursday owing to the fast ground, will not line up in the Queen Alexandra Stakes, the final race of the meeting tomorrow at 6.10pm. Pro punter Matt Williams put Wordsworth up as his best bet of the meeting earlier in the week and Aidan O’Brien’s runner looks well worth backing at the 100-3o on offer currently with William Hill.
The blazing temperatures have resulted in Ascot adjusting their dress code and gentlemen can remove their hats and jackets ... but not until the Royal Procession has floated past at 2pm!
Update: The Dress Code for your Enclosure still applies for entry to Royal Ascot today. Following the Royal Procession, hats and jackets will be permitted to be removed due to the high temperatures expected
— Ascot Racecourse (@Ascot) June 17, 2022
Queen to miss Ascot again
The Queen has three runners today - her trainers were put on Platinum Jubilee year alert for this meeting well in advance - but she is again not going to be here, according to reports. The Daily Mail’s royal correspondent must have had a sneak look at the Royal Procession list as she is “expecting some glamour in the carriage procession”. The betting with olbg.com was 2-1 for the Queen to attend on Friday. Presumably the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have now gone odds-on.
The Queen won’t be attending #RoyalAscot again today - but I’m expecting some glamour in the carriage procession 🐎 @Ascot
— Rebecca English (@RE_DailyMail) June 17, 2022
Going news
... er, there isn’t any. It’s hot, hot, hot everywhere, as the front-page of the Racing Post reflects, and it’s Groundhog Day where the ground is concerned. The going at Royal Ascot is Good to Firm (again).
GoingStick readings at 8am:
Stands side: 8.7
Centre: 8.5
Far side: 8.8
Round: 7.8
The far side (the higher the number the quicker the ground) is slightly quicker but there’s not much in it. Clerk of the course Chris Stickels has had a quiet week (so far).
Here is today's Going update from Clerk of the Course, Chris Stickels. pic.twitter.com/ptM8BC7RQG
— Ascot Racecourse (@Ascot) June 17, 2022
Preamble
Good morning from Ascot, ahead of what promises to be one of the hottest days at the Royal meeting for many years – so much so, in fact, that the famous dress code has been relaxed, and racegoers will be allowed to remove jackets, ties and hats in all enclosures this afternoon (once the Royal procession has made its way down the course, at any rate).
The first – and only other – time that Ascot felt the need to resort to such extreme measures was 2017, when the rule on jackets was relaxed on the hottest day at the meeting for 20 years. This year’s relaxation goes further still, with temperatures at the track forecast to peak at around 31C in mid-afternoon.
The British Horseracing Authority’s precautionary measures to ensure the welfare of both human and equine competitors will be in place, with extra cooled water and ice available, areas of shade available before and after horses race and earlier access to stables to allow trainers to travel horses early and avoid the worst of the heat.
There are several big fields on today’s card, with 28 runners in the handicaps at 5.00 and 6.10 and 20 declared for the Group One Commonwealth Cup at 3.05. That could well be one of the best races all week, with runners from four countries – Britain, Ireland, France and the USA – and most of the field going to post with at least one piece of form that gives them a chance.
Elsewhere on the card, the field for the Coronation Stakes includes the 1,000 Guineas winners from Britain (Cachet) and France (Mangoustine) but neither is likely to start favourite as Inspiral, last year’s best juvenile filly, is finally ready to make her three-year-old debut.
The Queen, meanwhile, has three more chances to land her 25th Royal winner in her Platinum Jubilee year, with Just Fine, in the Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes at 3.40, by far the best of them according to the bookies. Sir Michael Stoute’s gelding is vying for favouritism at around 5-1, while Discretion, in the Sandringham Stakes at 5.00 and Spring Is Sprung, in the Palace of Holyroodhouse Handicap at 6.10, are priced up in double figures at 16-1 and 22-1 respectively. Victory for any of her three runners would be a “hats off” moment – or it would, if they hadn’t all been removed already.
The action will be under way with the Albany Stakes at 2.30, and you can follow it all here on the blog as the mercury rises and another thrilling day at the Royal meeting unfolds.
