That's it for today ...
On a day that Ryan Moore rode another treble, but will go home ruing the bad luck that cost him victory in the Gold Cup won by Graham Lee and Trip To Paris for Ed Dunlop, we leave you with the tireless Chris Cook’s for tomorrow’s racing. Tune in around 11.30am for all our build-up, news and previews.
Space Age wins for Charlie Appleby
It’s the Godolphin trainer’s first Royal Ascot winner and he has William Buick to thank for giving the horse a fine ride from a rotten draw out in the car park. “I was a boy amongst the men here last year,” says Appleby. “I learned a lot, but went away last year and said I wanted to target one of these handicaps. It was a fantastic ride from William, that’s why these guys are where they are.”
King George V Stakes
1 Space Age (W Buick) 9-1
2 Scottish (Jim Crowley) 7-1
3 Marma’s Boy (R Kingscote) 16-1
4 King Bolete (L Dettori) 9-2
17 ran
Also: 9-4 Fav Dissolution
Non Runners: 14,19
CSF: 71.46
Tricast: 1040.33
King George V Stakes
Space Age steals a march on the field to lead with three furlongs to go and holds on to win under William Buick. Space Age wins the King George V Stakes from Scottish and Marma’s Boy. Space Age wins the King George V Stakes under a great ride from a terrible draw in stall 20.
King George V Stakes (5.35) betting
- Dissolution 2-1
- King Bolete 13-2
- Scottish 9-1
- Taper Tantrum 10-1
- Space Age 12-1
- Yorkidding 14-1
- Marmas B0y 16-1
- Putting Green 16-1
20-1 bar
Updated
Ryan Moore gets his 8th winner at #RoyalAscot. He equals the post-war record set by Lester Piggott (1965, 1975) and Pat Eddery (1989).
— Channel 4 Racing (@Channel4Racing) June 18, 2015
Ryan Moore is nothing if not predictable
And not just because he’s ridden eight winners in the first three days of the Festival. For all his incredible success, the man is AP McCoy-esque in his ability to beat himself up.
Interviewer: “How would you describe the week so far?”
Ryan Moore: “I have to move on from the Gold Cup.”
King George V Handicap preview
With Time Test having won so impressively earlier in the day, take a keen interest in Dissolution, who was second to him at Newbury when last seen. Indeed, the top of this betting market is dominated by Newbury winners, Scottish and King Bolete both having scored at Berkshire’s other big track when last seen. Taper Tantrum was a good third in a Derby day handicap on his reappearance and can do better on this more conventional track.
Updated
Britannia Stakes (5.00) result
1 War Envoy (R L Moore) 10-1
2 Udododontu (Jason Hart) 14-1
3 Sacrificial (Andrea Atzeni) 28-1
4 Carry On Deryck (J P Spencer) 33-1
28 ran
Also: 6-1 Fav Sahaafy
Non Runners: 12,14
CSF: 131.45
Tricast: 3931.98
Britannia Stakes (5.00) 1m
That’s another winner for Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore, who also teamed up to win the opener with Waterloo Bridge.
Britannia Stakes (5.00) 1m
War Envoy wins for Ryan Moore, from Youdododontyou, who drifted under pressure to lose his winning chance. That’s eight winners this week for Ryan Moore, who equals the record of Pat Eddery and Lester Piggott with two full days to go.
Britannia Stakes (5.00) 1m
The 28 horses charge out of the stalls and split into two groups of similar size. On the stand side, Auspicious leads the gallop, with Bow And Arrow leading the group on the far side - they look to have the lead. Capel Path gets pulled up ...
Britannia Stakes (5.00) 1m
They’re loading the stalls for this cavalry charge. Good luck picking a winner of this one! The top horses in the betting are all drawn middle to high, for what it’s worth. It won’t be long now ...
Trip To Paris triumphs for ex-jump jockey Lee
Trip To Paris has caused a 12-1 upset in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot, beating two horses that would have provoked much more celebration among the Ladies’ day crowd. Ryan Moore, seeking a record-equalling eighth winner of the week, was second aboard Kingfisher after terrible trouble in running up the straight, while third place went to the previously unbeaten favourite, Forgotten Rules. Read Chris Cook’s full report here.
Britannia Stakes (5.00) betting
- Portage 7-1
- Mutarakez 8-1
- Sahaafy 8-1
- Capel Path 10-1
- War Envoy 10-1
- Udododontu 14-1
- Resonant 14-1
20-1 bar
Britania Stakes (5.00) preview
A rerun of yesterday’s Royal Hunt Cup, except that this one is restricted to three-year-olds. Those drawn towards the far side (lower numbers) came out on top in the Hunt Cup but was that because the ground is better there or because that’s where the stronger early pace was on that occasion? Setting aside what you think, what conclusion will the jockeys reach? That last one is a key question: would you want to back a horse drawn high if its rider is planning to switch right across the track in the first furlong?
Mutarakez is favourite, having won twice already this year, though the form of his latest win may not be that strong. Capel Path has been beaten twice this year but is thought likely to appreciate the extra furlong here, which is why he’s short in the betting. He should relish the fast surface. Sahaafy and Amazour have solid handicap form, while Emirates Airline could easily get involved if the first-time hood helps him to settle.
Trip To Paris was supplemented for this race
His owners, the La Grange Partnership, stumped up £35,000 to get the Chester Cup winner into the Gold Cup as a late entry and it was money well spent. He’s just won them £229,854.15. Don’t forget the 15p, it’s very important.
The horse did have a bit of luck, as Ryan Moore and Kingfisher had a horrible run up the home straight in which they were kept well penned in by Maxime Guyon and Bathyrhon. Will his trainer Ed Dunlop take him to Australia for the Melbourne Cup. “He’ll probably be badly handicapped now, “ he says. “It’s something to consider.”
Gold Cup (4.20) result
1 Trip To Paris (G Lee) 12-1
2 Kingfisher (R L Moore) 5-1
3 Forgotten Rules (P J Smullen) 5-2 Fav
12 ran
Also: 14-1 Simenon 4th
Non Runners: 2,5
Tote: win 13.60 places 3.40 2.60 1.60
Tote Exacta: 109.10
CSF: 71.22
Tricast: 205.65
Updated
Gold Cup post mortem
Trip To Paris won fairly easily up the inside, while Ryan Moore had no luck whatsoever on Kingfisher, having every door slammed in his face whenever he went for a gap. “He gave me a great ride and conserved his energy throughout,” says Graham Lee, who previously won the Grand National on Amberleigh House, before becoming a Flat jockey.
Gold Cup (4.20) 2m 4f
Trip To Paris takes up the running moments after Forgotten Rules had hit the front with about a furlong to go and wins the Gold Cup under a fine ride by Graham Lee. Trip To Paris wins the Royal Ascot Gold Cup.
Gold Cup (4.20) 2m 4f
Forever Now continues to lead, followed by Vent De Force and Forgotten Rules in third. Forever Now continues to make all, but Forgotten Rules eases forward with three furlongs to go ...
Gold Cup (4.20) 2m 4f
Fifteen lengths separate first and last, with Forever Now leading them along at a fairly sedate pace. Vent De Force is a length behind the leader, with Forgotten Rules on his outside in third, alongside Havana Beat. There are seven furlongs to go ...
Gold Cup (4.20) 2m 4f
Forever Now takes up the running, from Havana Beat and Vent De Force through the first couple of furlongs. Forever now, leads from Vent De Force, followed by Havana Beat and Forgotten Rules. They’ve a circuit to go.
Gold Cup (4.20) 2m 4f
They’re loading up the stalls. Just one more to go in and they’ll be off ...
Gold Cup (4.20) 2m 4f
The stayers are on their way down to the start for their two-and-a-half mile marathon and all seem to be on their best behaviour. Anyone fancy Ryan Moore to make it eight wins for the Festival on Kingfisher?
Dermot Weld speaks ...
In a pre-recorded interview done in his home, the trainer of Forgotten Rules repeatedly stresses that the favourite needs a little bit of give in the ground to run at its best. He’s unlikely to get that today, but will he be good enough anyway? He’s never set foot on ground this hard and fast before.
Gold Cup (4.20) betting
- Forgotten Rules 5-2
- Mizzou 11-2
- Kingfisher 6-1
- Trip To Paris 12-1
- Simenon 12-1
- Vent De Force 9-1
- Tac De Boistron 14-1
16-1 bar.
Updated
Gold Cup (4.20) preview
No previous winners line up and this has a feeling of a race that may produce a star but does not yet feature one. The ground is key. If Forgotten Rules can cope with it, he is by far the most likely winner and his Irish connections are hoping that the 5mm put down artificially last night will be enough.
Tac De Boistron would be a standout on form if the going were soft but he is not expected to run anywhere near his best on this surface. Mizzou, however, produced a career best on similarly quick ground here last month. Vent De Force, runner-up that day, has since followed up at Sandown, making all under Richard Hughes, and may possibly attempt something similar. Bathyrhon represents a good French trainer with a low profile and his chance is probably a bit better than odds of 11-1 suggest.
Updated
David Wachman trained the winner there ...
“She keeps stepping up,” he says. “A better gallop would have suited us, but Ryan gave her a good ride, so happy days. The trick to this place is ‘Don’t bring too many’. Pick your best ones and bring them along.”
That was a superb ride from Moore, who went for a gap about a furlong and a ahlf out, only to get bumped by Pleascach. He promptly barged Pamona out of the way, creating a domino effect that ruined any slim chance Joseph O’Brien had on Wedding Vow. For all that, Moore was clearly on the best horse, so his rivals can have no real legitimate complaints.
Updated
The winning jockey speaks
“It was very steadily run,” says Ryan Moore, celebrating his seventh winner of the Festival with all the joie de vivre of a man who’s just discovered his dog has died. “We were coming nicely and I thought I was going to win nicely, but about a furlong-and-a-half out, I got a bump and it was harder than it should have been.”
Ribblesdale Stakes (3.40) result
1 Curvy (R L Moore) 9-2
2 Pleascach (K J Manning) Evens Fav
3 Pamona (Andrea Atzeni) 8-1
10 ran
Also: 33-1 Entertainment 4th
CSF: 9.02
Tricast: 34.37
Updated
Ribblesdale Stakes (3.40) 1m 4f
Entertainment kicks on with three furlongs to go, Pleascach gets in front, but is collared on his outside by Curvy, who’d emerged from a barging match with Pamona. Curvy and Ryan Moore win the Ribblesdale.
Ribblesdale Stakes (3.40) 1m 4f
Entertainment is joined on the outside by Zamoura on the outside as the field sets off. Entertainment and James Doyle take them along, followed by Zamoura and Frankie Dettori and there’s seven furlongs to go. Pamona is out wide in third, with Curvy behind her ...
Ribblesdale Stakes (3.40) 1m 4f
They’re loading the stalls for the Ribblesdale. Pamona is last in - they’ll be away in seconds ...
Ladies' Day Fashion Stakes
Form and analysis from the Guardian fashion desk
Fashion’s love for things that look like other things - crisp packets that are actually handbags, plastic bags that are actually leather - has reached Ascot, and the heads of attendees. See a child’s toy turned into a hat! This is ‘aren’t I clever?’ arched eyebrow fashion at its best, embracing the 80s revival (very JW Anderson) but in a more ‘I Love The Eighties!’ Channel Five documentary way but also nods to the actual event she’s at (ponies! horses! geddit?!). Jeremy Scott - the designer who made a whole collection based on other eighties toy box favourite, Barbie - would approve and the pony’s mane of purple curls also needs to addressed. It has a touch of the Bonnie Tyler about it and suggests a soft rock eighties revival in fashion is only a matter of time.
Black and white seems to be a bit of a theme at this year’s Ascot. These girls know how to do it - with a slash of red lipstick, a smile, bright white dresses and a suite of hats that all complement each other just so. There’s something a bit dance troupe about them, which makes sense when you know they have been breaking into song and entertaining the crowds throughout Ascot. All very fine and dandy but its these kind of outfits that the spillage-inclined know to avoid. Those white dresses must be a devil to keep clean. Stay away from the grass, girls.
Ribblesdale Stakes (3.40) betting
- Pleascach 11-10
- Curvy 9-2
- Pamona 8-1
- Gretchenm 17-2
- Pandora 12-1
- Wedding Vow 14-1
20-1 bar
Ribblesdale Stakes (3.40) preview
This mile and a half race for three-year-old fillies is basically a poor man’s Oaks. The even-money favourite is Pleascach, from the Jim Bolger yard that could do with some cheering up after Round Two flopped so badly in the Coventry. This filly had already looked comfortable at a mile and a quarter so to step back in trip to a mile and win a Classic, as she did at The Curragh last month, was remarkable.
If she can do better again at this distance, she’ll be very hard to beat but that contest must have taken plenty out of her. Pamona was third in an Oaks trial last time and should be better over this extra distance but Curvy is a more plausible threat, seeking her fourth win of the year. She’s a half-sister to the horse that won this race a decade ago and turned over a Derby candidate when last seen.
The winning jockey speaks
“I didn’t have to do much,” says Frankie Dettori. “Very good horse, I was getting such a pull out of him I was able to put him on the outside and enjoy all these lovely people,” he adds, waving to the crowds in the grandstand.
Tercentenary Stakes (3.05) result
1 Time Test (L Dettori) 15-8 Fav
2 Peacock (R Hughes) 5-1
3 Mustadeem (P Hanagan) 20-1
11 ran
Also: 11-2 Disegno 4th
Non Runners: 2, 7, 12
CSF: 10.28
Tricast: 143.71
Updated
Tercentenary Stakes (3.05) 1m 2f
In the home straight, Time Test gets the squeeze from Frankie Dettori to shoot clear of Peacock and win by about three lengths for Frankie Dettori. Time Test wins the Tercentenary at his leisure.
Tercentenary Stakes (3.05) 1m 2f
They exit the stalls with Mustadeem making the running, with Peacock on his tail. Mustadeem is shadowed by Peacock with the field well spread out ...
Tercentenary Stakes (3.05) 1m 2f
The horses make their way down to the start, with Richard Hughes on board Peacock, in the colours of the Queen. This is his last Royal Ascot as a jockey, as he’s hanging up his saddle and whip come season’s end to begin life as a trainer. He’s a very nice man, so good luck to him.
Tercentenary Stakes (3.05) betting
- Time Test 15-8
- Peacock 5-1
- Disegno 6-1
- Bocca Bacieta 13-2
- Nafaqa 12-1
- Cape Clear Island 12-1
16-1 bar
View the Tercentenary Stakes betting here
The winning trainer speaks
“He’s always a very fast horse at home, always very good in his work,” says Aidan O’Brien. “We had a hood on him the last day at Tipperary and Joseph [O’Brien’s son] said to leave the hood off him next time out.”
Having said earlier in the week that his children are taking a more active role in training the charges at Ballydoyle, O’Brien is asked by Channel 4’s Clare Balding if the 22-year-old jockey is now officially his assistant trainer. By way of response, he laughs. “No, I’m just following him,” he says.
Tercentenary Stakes (3.05) preview
Here’s a big chance of a winner for The Queen, whose Peacock has been beaten by just one horse this year. Since that one horse was Golden Horn, the Derby winner, it looks as though Peacock may be a serious talent, having got within a length and a half of him in April. But standing in Peacock’s way is Time Test, a well backed and impressive winner at Newbury last month. Before that, he had apparently been working well against Al Kazeem, who won a Group One the same month, and Time Test may eventually belong at that level.
Six #RoyalAscot winners so far for Ryan Moore and not quite halfway through meeting. Record (L Piggott/P Eddery) is 8 (tho set in 4-day era)
— Greg Wood (@Greg_Wood_) June 18, 2015
Norfolk Stakes post mortem
Well, that was a turn-up for the books. Richard Hannon was odds-on to win with one of his two runners, but Aidan O’Brien has rained on his parade with yet another perfectly prepared outsider. An Aiden O’Brien trained mount ridden by Ryan Moore that was available at 20-1 this morning - one suspects it wasn’t entirely friendless in the market. Log Out Island and King of Rooks made all the running early doors, but Ryan Moore got Waterloo Bridge up to win fairly comfortably in the end. That’s his sixth winner of the meeting ... out of 13 races.
Norfolk Stakes (2.30) result
1 Waterloo Bridge (R L Moore) 12-1
2 Log Out Island (W Buick) 13-8
3 King Of Rooks (L Dettori) 11-8 Fav
10 ran
Also: 33-1 Riflescope 4th
Non Runners: 2,12
Tote: win 11.10 places 2.30 1.10 1.10
Tote Exacta: 38.70
CSF: 31.80
Tricast: 47.53
Updated
Norfolk Stakes (2.30) 5f
Waterloo Bridge wins for Ryan Moore, riding for Aidan O’Brien.
On the 200th anniversary of the battle of Waterloo, Waterloo Bridge runs in the first race at Royal Ascot. Coincidence bet of all time!
— chris cook (@claimsfive) June 18, 2015
Norfolk Stakes (2.30) 5f
They burst out of the stalls and Ajaya completely misses the break and loses three lengths immediately. Log Out Island leads for the first quarter mile, with King of Rooks in hot pursuit ...
Norfolk Stakes (2.30) 5f
They’re going behind the stalls for the first. Frankie Dettori was late down to the start, having taken his mount, King of Rooks, for another spin around the parade ring, because the two-year-old was up on its toes and looking a bit nervous after the jockey got the leg up. They’ll be away very shortly ...
The Queen's Hat as caused quite a stir
This from the William Hill PR Department: The Queen’s Hat colour caused controversy among bookmakers on Ladies’ Day at Royal Ascot and one bookmaker William Hill decided to pay out on four colours after the official description was announced as pistachio, which wasn’t in the betting list.
“Her Majesty has royally stitched us up by selecting pistachio – it’s so obscure we’re going to have to pay out on four colours!” said William Hill spokesman Jon Ivan-Duke. “After a stewards’ enquiry we’ve decided to pay out on white, blue, green and turquoise.”
It was the third day in a row that the bookmakers lost on The Queen’s Hat colour.
Tomorrow’ Royal Ascot Hat Betting from William Hill
Queen’s Hat Colour – Friday 19th June: 5-2 Yellow, 5-1 White, 6-1 Pink, 7-1 Cream,7-1 Green, 7-1 Grey/Silver, 10-1 Blue, 12-1 Brown, 14-1 Purple, 16-1 Peach, 16-1 Turquoise, 20-1 Orange, 25-1 Red, 50-1 Black
Norfolk Stakes (2.30) betting
- King Of Rooks 11-8
- Log Out Island 15-8
- Waterloo Bridge 16-1
- Shanghai Glory 20-1
- Jazz Legend 20-1
- Ajaya 20-1
33-1 bar
Norfolk Stakes (2.30) preview
Unless you can come up with a surprisingly good case for a 20-1 outsider, this looks like a match between Richard Hannon’s pair, King Of Rooks and Log Out Island. And wouldn’t you be sick if you were Richard Hughes, Hannon’s stable jockey, who has ridden both horses in all their combined four races so far, but will watch this from the weighing room because both have been sold to owners who retain their own riders.
Log Out Island was a convincing winner over this course and distance on his only start, whereas King Of Rooks was beaten on his debut but has since improved enormously. His latest outing would count as the strongest piece of form in the race, as he won by five lengths from Buratino, who then landed the Coventry here on Tuesday. King Of Rooks has proved more and even money will do for me but you might take the view that Log Out Island has much more scope for progress with just one run behind him. He’s an 11-4 shot.
Queen's hat betting
The official line from the palace is that it’s “pistacchio”, but if you backed “mint green” or just “green” , only a bookie with a heart of stone would refuse to pay out.
A rare smile from Ryan Moore
You get the feeling that even though there’s six of them and they’re all armed, these policemen were filled with trepidation before asking the Festival’s leading jockey to pose for this selfie.
Brilliant! #RoyalAscot pic.twitter.com/alsqaRIfZi
— Channel 4 Racing (@Channel4Racing) June 18, 2015
Librisa Breeze is off colour
Someone at Jeremy Noseda’s stable has a sense of humour. Their Librisa Breeze is a non-runner in today’s 3.05; the reason given for the absence of the grey horse is that he’s “off colour”.
The great Guardian Sport tipping competition shambles
Our man Chris Cook organises a tipping competition for Guardian Sport (and G2 features writer Stephen Moss) each Cheltenham and Royal Ascot festival. It’s £5 to enter (£10 if you’re on the racing desk) and the rules are identical to the tipping competition we run for our readers below, except the one competition spreads over four days of the Festival from Tuesday to Friday inclusive. This week there are 17 entrants and the clubhouse leader after two days (12 races) is on an absolutely risible +3, which is astoundingly bad.
“It has not been a great day for winning tips,” wrote Chris with considerable understatement in his daily update after each day’s racing. “Indeed the 17 of us collectively managed to miss half of today’s winners at Royal Ascot, the claims of Osaila (13-2), GM Hopkins (8-1) and Amazing Maria (25-1!) passing us by completely.”
Ryan Moore looked slightly startled when stopped by a group of armed police when coming off the track. All they wanted was a group selfie.
— Richard Hoiles (@RichardHoiles) June 18, 2015
Channel 4 report viewing figures are good to firm
Channel 4 Racing has good news to report regarding their viewing figures for day two at Royal Ascot. Wednesday’s programme averaged 569,000, up from 526,000 last year and the largest audience for day two since Channel 4 obtained the rights to Royal Ascot at the end of 2012. The peak audience on Wednesday was 897,000 for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes, which the broadcaster said was up from 742,000 last year.
Wednesday’s show also achieved the biggest share of those aged 16 to 34 since Channel 4 started covering Royal Ascot, the broadcaster said, though that share remains no higher than 6%.
With rights negotiations due to take place later this year, Channel 4 Racing will be glad of some good news against a backdrop of generally declining audience figures. Tuesday’s audience was down 5% on the equivalent day last year, although the programme reached a greater share of the available audience.
Meanwhile, speculation persists on the question of Clare Balding’s place on the Channel 4 Racing team. Balding was the face of the programme when it had a makeover for 2013 but cut her participation this year to just the Cheltenham Festival and this week at Ascot.
Those close to the programme remain tight-lipped on the subject but the feeling is that Balding would be welcomed as part of the Royal Ascot team next year if she wanted to cover it again. Whether that will be possible as she prepares for the Olympics in August 2016 is another question.
Down with this sort of thing! Careful now!
Polish singer Pola Pospieszalska and her model chum Victoria Eisermann, who are animal rights activists , have pitched up outside Ascot racecourse to protest against what they see as the cruel treatment of racehorses. One suspects they may have difficulty getting into the Royal Enclosure.
The clerk of the course speaks ....
“We started watering at around 6pm last night and finished around 5am this morning,” said Chris Stickels. “We put 5mm on the whole track. I think it has removed the firm places and the going is now good-to-firm (watered).
“There’s a chance we will water again tonight. I want to see how it rides today and how drying it gets this afternoon. Then it looks like there might be the odd shower possible on Saturday, so if we do water again tonight, it is likely to be the last time we do so.
“There isn’t quite such a strong headwind out on the track today, it’s come round from the north a bit but it’s fairly breezy still.”
On the 200th anniversary of the battle of Waterloo, Waterloo Bridge runs in the first race at Royal Ascot. Coincidence bet of all time!
— chris cook (@claimsfive) June 18, 2015
Greg Wood hits us with his GoingStick
There are quite a few non-runners on the card today, despite the fact that the going is back to good-to-firm after overnight watering. The GoingStick readings could be of interest too. As was the case yesterday, the figure for the stands side is slightly faster than that on the opposite side of the track, showing at 9.0 as opposed to 8.9. Yesterday the equivalent figures at 8.15 were 9.3 and 9.2. The centre of the track, though, has shifted more significantly, from 9.1 yesterday to 8.5, which is a little more variance across the track than might be considered ideal.
Today's non-runners
2:30: No2 Aragon Knight No12 Zebstar
3.05: No2 Master Apprentice, No7 Librisa Breeze, No12 Restorer
4.20: No5 Kalann
5.00: No12 Dancetrack, No14 Azraff
5.35: No14 Quest For Wonder
Important news ...
Favourite Forgotten Rules has been confirmed as a runner in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot by trainer Dermot Weld
— Racing Post (@RacingPost) June 18, 2015
William Hill Royal Ascot tipping competition
You could win a £50 bet from William Hill by proving your tipping prowess on today’s races. All you have to do is give us your selections for all of today’s races at Ascot.
As ever, our champion will be the tipster who returns the best profit to notional level stakes of £1 at starting price. Non-runners count as losers.
Please post all your tips in a single posting, using the comment facility below, before the first race at 2.30pm. There are six races at Ascot today and you must post a single selection for each race.
Our usual terms and conditions, which you can read here, will apply, except that this will be a strictly one-day thing. If we get a tie after all the races have been run, the winner will be the one who posted their tips earliest out of those with the highest score.
If you don’t win today, don’t despair. We are running an identical competition tomorrow.
Congratulations to factormax, one of three people to pick Amazing Maria yesterday and the winner, under out tiebreak rules, by dint of having posted before the other two.
Top Day Two Scores
factormax +20 at 11.56am
15244 +20 at 12.22pm
DrClaw +20 at 1.16pm
Ormrod76 +18
jakebuckfast +12.50
ID6858027 +10.50
brownalebelly +10.50
teaplanter +9
Click here for all the day’s racecards, form, stats and results.
And post your tips or racing-related comments below.
Top jockeys after Day One
Ryan Moore 5
William Buick 1
Maxime Guyon 1
Martin Harley 1
Jim Crowley 1
James Doyle 1
Pat Smullen 1
Frankie Dettori 1
Top trainers after day two
Aidan O’Brien 2 wins
Robert Cowell 1
Freddy Head 1
Mark Johnston 1
Willie Mullins 1
John Gosden 1
Richard Hannon 1
Charles Hills 1
Wesley Ward 1
David O’Meara 1
Dermot Weld 1
King George V Stakes (5.35) preview
If Time Test has won earlier in the day, take a keen interest in Dissolution, who was second to him at Newbury when last seen. Indeed, the top of this betting market is dominated by Newbury winners, Scottish and King Bolete both having scored at Berkshire’s other big track when last seen. Taper Tantrum was a good third in a Derby day handicap on his reappearance and can do better on this more conventional track.
Britannia Handicap (5.00) preview
A rerun of yesterday’s Royal Hunt Cup, except that this one is restricted to three-year-olds. Those drawn towards the far side (lower numbers) came out on top in the Hunt Cup but was that because the ground is better there or because that’s where the stronger early pace was on that occasion? Setting aside what you think, what conclusion will the jockeys reach? That last one is a key question because would you want to back a horse drawn high if its rider is planning to switch right across the track in the first furlong? Mutarakez is favourite, having won twice already this year, though the form of his latest win may not be that strong. Capel Path has been beaten twice this year but is thought likely to appreciate the extra furlong here, which is why he’s short in the betting. He should relish the fast surface. Sahaafy and Amazour have solid handicap form, while Emirates Airline could easily get involved if the first-time hood helps him to settle.
Updated
Gold Cup (4.20) preview
No previous winners line up and this has a feeling of a race that may produce a star but does not yet feature one. The ground is key. If Forgotten Rules can cope with it, he is by far the most likely winner and his Irish connections are hoping that the 5mm put down artificially last night will be enough.
Tac De Boistron would be a standout on form if the going were soft but he is not expected to run anywhere near his best on this surface. Mizzou, however, produced a career best on similarly quick ground here last month. Vent De Force, runner-up that day, has since followed up at Sandown, making all under Richard Hughes, and may possibly attempt something similar. Bathyrhon represents a good French trainer with a low profile and his chance is probably a bit better than odds of 11-1 suggest.
Ribblesdale Stakes (3.40) preview
This mile and a half race for three-year-old fillies is basically a poor man’s Oaks. The even-money favourite is Pleascach, from the Jim Bolger yard that could do with some cheering up after Round Two flopped so badly in the Coventry. This filly had already looked comfortable at a mile and a quarter so to step back in trip to a mile and win a Classic, as she did at The Curragh last month, was remarkable.
If she can do better again at this distance, she’ll be very hard to beat but that contest must have taken plenty out of her. Pamona was third in an Oaks trial last time and should be better over this extra distance but Curvy is a more plausible threat, seeking her fourth win of the year. She’s a half-sister to the horse that won this race a decade ago and turned over a Derby candidate when last seen.
Tercentenary Stakes (3.05) preview
Here’s a big chance of a winner for The Queen, whose Peacock has been beaten by just one horse this year. Since that one horse was Golden Horn, the Derby winner, it looks as though Peacock may be a serious talent, having got within a length and a half of him in April. But standing in Peacock’s way is Time Test, a well backed and impressive winner at Newbury last month. Before that, he had apparently been working well against Al Kazeem, who won a Group One the same month, and Time Test may eventually belong at that level.
Norfolk Stakes (2.30) preview
Unless you can come up with a surprisingly good case for a 20-1 outsider, this looks like a match between Richard Hannon’s pair, King Of Rooks and Log Out Island. And wouldn’t you be sick if you were Richard Hughes, Hannon’s stable jockey, who has ridden both horses in all their combined four races so far, but will watch this from the weighing room because both have been sold to owners who retain their own riders.
Log Out Island was a convincing winner over this course and distance on his only start, whereas King Of Rooks was beaten on his debut but has since improved enormously. His latest outing would count as the strongest piece of form in the race, as he won by five lengths from Buratino, who then landed the Coventry here on Tuesday. King Of Rooks has proved more and even money will do for me but you might take the view that Log Out Island has much more scope for progress with just one run behind him. He’s an 11-4 shot.
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Royal Ascot Ladies' Day preview
It feels as though every racecourse with a winning post has a Ladies’ Day these days, and why not? The concept has removed the need for a marketing department at most tracks, since you need only to rebrand a humdrum fixture outside December or January as Ladies’ Day, announce a “best dressed” competition and like magic, it automatically seems to put at least 50 per cent on the gate.
But Ascot’s is the original and still the best, dating back to the pre-War times and beyond when, bizarre thought it seems now, the four-day Royal meeting was the only fixture at Ascot all year. And while the weather for the fashionistas biggest day of the week can sometimes suggest that God is a republican, today we seem to be guaranteed a scorcher.
The only person with any cause to complain about that is Dermot Weld, who took the main race here yesterday with Free Eagle and hopes to complete a double in the Gold Cup, the feature event of the entire meeting, with Forgotten Rules.
Unbeaten Derby winners – like Golden Horn, who took the Epsom Classic earlier this month – are not unusual, but unbeaten Gold Cup winners are as scarce as non-vintage champagne in a No1 Car Park picnic hamper. To get one of each in the same year would be quite something, but the fast ground – which remains so despite the application of about 5mm of water last night – remains a concern for Weld, since his runner has not been easy to train and has never set foot on anything this quick.
The official going is now back to good-to-firm (from good-to-firm, firm in places) but the way the weather is looking, it will be lightning-fast by the time of the race at 4.20. Forgotten Rules may go on it, but if he does not want to fully let himself down when Pat Smullen asks him for a finishing kick, it is unlikely that class alone will be enough to win. Punters must decide whether a price of around 3-1 is big enough to include that risk.
King Of Rooks versus Log Out Island in the Norfolk Stakes is a rare head-to-head for this meeting, but with the third horse in the betting standing at 20-1, it is difficult to see a winner from outside the front two. Pleascach, the Irish 1,000 Guineas winner, is another strong favourite in the Ribblesdale but more opposable given her big effort to win at The Curragh less than a month ago, while two of the most impenetrable handicaps of the week – the Britannia and the King George V Stakes – lurk at the bottom of the card.
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