Royal Ascot is one of international sport’s most anticipated and iconic events and with perfect weather forecast this week, this year’s meeting promises to be as spectacular as ever.
With no Hong Kong midweek meeting this week, the World Pool will operate on Royal Ascot and with eight Group 1 races highlighting 35 races over five days from Tuesday, there is much to look forward to.
The first day features three G1 contests starting with the Queen Anne Stakes, which is run over 1600m at 9.30pm and is carded as S1-1.
Charlie Appleby is seeking his first victory in the famous race and goes in double-handed with Modern Games and Native Trail.
Modern Games has had eight starts at Group 1 over a mile, winning five times and placed second on the other three occasions. He sat behind the pace when a dominant winner of the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury, letting down impressively in the last furlong.
This race shapes perfectly again for William Buick and Modern Games with Mustaabeq, who set the pace at Newbury, again likely to create good tempo. Modern Games is my win selection.
Inspiral resumes here having won the G1 Coronation Stakes at the Royal meeting and beating the older males in the G1 Jacques le Marois at Deauville as a three-year-old filly last year. Frankie Dettori is the most successful rider in the history of the race with the first of his record seven wins coming in 1990 and Inspiral is a place chance.
Chindit was on speed in the Lockinge and fought on gamely to finish second. He ran well here last year to take fourth behind Baaeed and Real World. Chindit is very consistent at the top level and is a place chance. Light Infantry made good ground late in the Lockinge and is also a place chance at long odds.
The second of the Group 1 races is King’s Stand Stakes, which is run over 1000m at 10.40pm and is carded as S1-3.
Highfield Princess is the highest-rated horse (119) entered and rattled off three G1 sprint wins in three different countries last year taking the Nunthorpe Stakes (GB), Prix Maurice de Gheest (France) and Flying Five Stakes (Ireland). Highfield Princess looked in good form when resuming under a 5lb penalty at York on 17 May when headed late by Azure Blue and is a place chance.
Australian-trained sprinters have a good record in this race, winning it five times starting with Choisir in 2003 and Nature Strip the most recent last year.
Coolangatta is a very fast filly who beat a quality field in the Lightning Stakes on 18 February at Flemington. James McDonald takes the ride and will have Coolangatta in contention deep into the race. She is my win selection if she can run through the line as the ground rises towards the winning post.
The other Australian representative is Cannonball to be ridden by Brett Prebble. Cannonball was placed at G1 level at his last start and is a place chance.
Karl Burke’s three-year-old filly Dramatised was a Royal Ascot winner last year and was second in the Breeder’s Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Keeneland. Dramatised made a winning reappearance at Haydock in the G2 Temple Stakes beating older horses on 27 May and she is also a leading chance.
The third of opening-day G1 features is the St James’s Palace Stakes, which is run is over 1600m at 11.20pm and is carded as S1-4.
Chaldean won four races in a row as a two-year-old and was a brilliant winner of the 2000 Guineas on 6 May taking the lead a furlong out and coming away for a dominant win over Hi Royal. Chaldean is my selection to win the race.
His main danger is Paddington who is unbeaten in three runs this year. At his last start, he was slow to leave the gates but Ryan Moore quickly had him outside the leader before coming away for an easy win in the Irish 2000 Guineas beating stablemate Cairo with Hi Royal third. Victory for Paddington would give Aidan O’Brien a ninth win in the race.
Others with place chances include Brian Meehan’s colt Isaac Shelby, who was second in the French 2000 Guineas at his last start and Charlie Hills’ emerging talent Cicero’s Gift, who has been impressive in winning his three races to date and is stepping to a Group race for the first time.
Wednesday’s focus will surround the G1 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes, which is run over 2005m at 11.20pm and is carded as S2-4.
This is an incredibly open race with a large number of the field having an international rating between 121 and 123.
Adayar won the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2392m) in 2021 at Ascot and made a winning return this year at Newmarket on 7 May at G3 level, easily beating Anmaat, who then won the G1 Prix D’Ispahan in France. Adayar is my win selection for William Buick and Charlie Appleby.
Bay Bridge was second in this race last year and is very consistent and was Baaeed’s conqueror when winning the Champion Stakes over this course and distance last October, where he also beat Adayar and My Prospero.
Bay Bridge resumed with a fighting second to Luxembourg in the Tattersall’s Gold Cup at the Curragh on 28 May. Luxembourg led and fought strongly to the line to hold off Bay Bridge with a big gap to the rest of the field. Both Bay Bridge and Luxembourg have strong claims here.
Run over almost 3991m, the G1 Gold Cup is one of Ascot’s most revered races. It is run on Thursday at 11.20pm and is carded as S1-4.
Coltrane and Trueshan were evenly matched in feature distance races last year with Coltrane winning the Doncaster Cup Stakes by a head and Trueshan then turning the tables with an even narrower margin between the two in the Long Distance Cup on Champions Day in October.
When they resumed in the Sagaro Stakes (3190m) at Ascot on 3 May, it was Coltrane who scored a decisive victory from Wise Eagle with Trueshan back in fourth place. Coltrane is my win and place selection for Andrew Balding and Oisin Murphy, with Trueshan a place chance.
Eldar Eldarov was the St Leger Stakes winner last year and looked in good form when resuming in the Yorkshire Cup Stakes on 19 May where he was second to Giavellotto, with Broome in third place. Eldar Eldarov is a young stayer going further out in distance again but I make him a place chance.
There are several other horses here with winning claims including 2021 winner Subjectivist, who missed all of last year through injury but ran well in the Dubai Gold Cup in March and is a place chance at good odds.
Master trainer Aidan O’Brien has won this race eight times and the chances of his three runners Broome, Changingoftheguard and Emily Dickinson should all be respected.
Courage Mon Ami is an intriguing runner as an unbeaten four-year-old from only three career starts. It would be an incredible training feat by John and Thady Gosden if such an inexperienced young horse could win the race and give Frankie another incredible highlight at Royal Ascot in his farewell year of riding.
Thursday’s programme also features the G3 Hampton Court Stakes, which is carded as S1-6 and run at 12.35am. Three Hong Kong-owned horses will contest this race for three-year-olds – Canberra Legend and Bright Legend, who are raced by Bon Ho, and Waipiro, who carries the colours of Siu Pak Kwan.
I look forward to travelling to London later this week to support Hong Kong’s reigning Champion Sprinter Wellington in his quest to win the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot on Saturday (24 June).
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