That's it for today ...
On a day when Irish trainer Dermot Weld and his jockey Pat Smullen teamed up to win the Prince of Wales’s Stakes with the 5-2 favourite Free Eagle, they had their thunder well and truly stolen by Frankie Dettori, who popped up to win the final race of the day, the Sandringham Handicap, to score his 50th Royal Ascot winner on board Osaila.
Dutch Connection triumphed in the opener, winning the Jersey Stakes for trainer Charlie Hills, with Jim Crowley in the saddle, before the massive and massively impressive Acapulco took the Queen Mary Stakes for American trainer Wesley Ward with Ryan Moore in charge of the steering job.
The Duke of Cambridge Stakes was won by 25-1 outsider Amazing Maria, for another Irish trainer-jockey combination in David O’Meara and James Doyle, while the big handicap of the day, the Royal Hunt Cup was won by GM Hopkins. A second winner of the day for Ryan Moore, the four-year-old was trained by John Gosden.
Tune in tomorrow on Ladies Day, for more thrilling racing and big hat action.
Frankie does his flying dismount ...
It may just have been a handicap, but he won’t care. He’s beaten his former employers to notch his half century of Royal Ascot winners. Spare a thought for Her Majesty - no, really - for whom Touchline ran an amazing race under the luckless Jamie Spencer after missing the break and getting left behind.
Sandringham Handicap (5.35) result
1 Osaila (L Dettori) 13-2
2 Always Smile (James Doyle) 2-1 Fav
3 Touchline (J P Spencer) 15-2
4 Jellicle Ball (R L Moore) 8-1
17 ran
CSF: 18.86
Tricast: 113.42
Sandringham Handicap (5.35) betting
Osaila wins! Frankie Dettori wins his 50th race at Royal Ascot by a whisker, beating the big favourite Always Smile, who lost the race because she didn’t run in a straight line.
Sandringham Handicap (5.35)
Sulaalaaat leads with two-and-a-half furlongs to go, but Always Smile crosses the line with Osaila together with about 20 yards between them. Has Frankie won his 50th Royal Ascot winner? We’ll need a photo to find out.
Sandringham Handicap (5.35) 1m
They’re off and racing. Sulaalaat makes the early running, while Touchline broke like a hairy goat and is trailing the rest of the field. Her Majesty won’t be amused ...
The Queen has two runners in this race
Pack Together is trained by Richard Hannon and ridden by Sean Levey, while Touchline is trained by Michael Bell and ridden by Jamie Spencer. Both have decent chances.
Sandringham Handicap (5.35) betting
Always Smile 15-8
Jellicle Ball 8-1
Touchline 8-1
Osaila 10-1
Mother’s Finest 12-1
Risen Sun 14-1
Muffriha 16-1
Tazffin 16-1
20-1 bar
Sandringham Handicap (5.35) preview
The card closes with a mini Hunt Cup, restricted to three-year-old fillies. For Godolphin, the unbeaten Always Smile beat two subsequent winners at Doncaster last month and still looks fairly handicapped. Touchline ran well behind a good rival here last time and may carry the Royal colours into the argument. Jellicle Ball has been a bit disappointing so far this year and looks high in the weights. Realtra is a fair contender at a big price, having won her only handicap so far and run well against the colts in a Listed race last time.
Jimmy Fortune is back on his feet
Ryan Moore rides his second winner of the afternoon and his fifth of the Festival on board the 8-1 shot, which was trained by John Gosden. Further back in the field, Jimmy Fortune suffered a horrible fall when his horse clipped heels with a rival. Fortunately, the jockey is back on his feet and was able to walk away from the scene of the accident. His mount is showing no signs of injury, despite performing a somersault that was as impressive as it was impromptu.
Updated
Royal Hunt Cup (5.00) result
1 GM Hopkins (R L Moore) 8-1
2 Temptress (James Doyle) 9-1
3 Chil The Kite (G Baker) 16-1
4 Balty Boys (S De Sousa) 25-1
30 ran
Also: 7-1 Fav Ayaar
CSF: 69.88
Tricast: 1198.27
Updated
Royal Hunt Cup (5.00) 1m
It’s difficult to see which group is in the lead: Big Baz leads the stand side group, with Bronzer Angel leading on the far side ... Gm Hopkins wins on the far side from Temptress. Spark Plug crosses the line minus his jockey, who’s been unshipped. Jockey Jimmy Fortune is being attended to after coming a cropper in the final half-furlong. Hopefully he’ll be OK. Gm Hopkins wins the Royal Hunt Cup.
Royal Hunt Cup (5.00) 1m
They’re off and racing in the Royal Hunt Cup with the 30 runners lined across the course. The field splits into two groups, one on either side of the course ...
Royal Hunt Cup (5.00) 1m
The 30 runners are down at the start, with Frankie Dettori the warm favourite on board Ayaar, a hold-up horse who has a lousy draw in the coffin box that is stall one. Good luck picking a winner in this cavalry charge where blind luck ought to prove a huge factor for the eventual winner.
Updated
Royal Hunt Cup (5.00) betting
- Ayaar 15-2
- Gm Hopkins 8-1
- Temptress 9-1
- Speculative Bid 11-1
- Spark Plug 11-1
- Chil The Kite 16-1
- Munasser 16-1
- You’re Fired 14-1
- Bronze Angel 16-1
20-1 bar
An email from Stephen Holmes
“I feel that as fans of racing we should be praising James Doyle, Amazing Maria’s jockey, for being both happy to talk freely after winning a race, being able to communicate how the race took place and the feelings of being among it all,” he writes. “More winners for Doyle please. Take note Ryan ’Surly’ Moore.” Oof!
Would The Grey Gatsby have won with a clear run?
The Channel 4 experts Graham Cunningham and Jim McGrath are of the opinion he might well have prevailed. Frankie Dettori rode a tactically shrewd race on board Western Hymn and didn’t cede an inch to Jamie Spencer’s mount which was boxed in on the home straight. Further back in the field, Ryan Moore will be unhappy at being barged on board Cannock Chase by the Japanese raider Spielberg and his jockey Christophe Soumillon in an encounter of the very close kind.
Royal Hunt Cup (5.00) preview
The first of the week’s properly impossible betting puzzles, this is a 30-runner handicap up the straight mile. You can be sure the field will split into at least two groups for part of the journey but whether there will be a right and a wrong place to be across the track is a question we just can’t be sure about until the race is run.
Speculative Bid is the likely favourite after three wins this year, including in a big race here in May. Ayaar and Frankie Dettori are back together after winning a similar race at Newbury. They have more weight this time and it’s possible that stall one on the far rail will not be ideal. Dettori’s regular employer, John Gosden, has bagged Ryan Moore for GM Hopkins, a disappointing favourite for the Lincoln under a different jockey. He clashes once more with Spark Plug, who beat him a neck at Newbury last time.
Temptress is interesting at the bottom of the weights, though she has no experience of a race as competitive as this. At big odds, Mondialiste is more seasoned and may have excuses for his last two defeats.
Botti hot and bothered over Euro withdrawal
Marco Botti expressed his frustration after the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes was run without his Euro Charline, who played up and would not go into the starting stalls. The trainer was not alone in thinking the starting team on day two at Royal Ascot could have done more to encourage the filly into the stalls for the Group Two contest, for which she had been trading as second-favourite at odds of around 6-1 before the ‘off’.
“You know, fillies, when they start doing that, you just get somebody and you chase her behind and she would have walked straight in,” Botti said. “She’s been everywhere in the world, Dubai, America. Here, they didn’t even give her a chance. She didn’t even have a minute or two and I think it’s very unfair.
“For a trainer, you get over it, but for the owners, they come from the other side of the world, it’s very disappointing. Owners get fed up and they just walk away.
“What can you do? In any other part of the world, a horse like this, they get somebody behind to chase her. I mean, we all are horsemen and no one wants to hit the horses or be brutal to horses but we all know, rather than get somebody kicked, it’s best to chase her in and she would have walked straight in. I can’t get my head round this and I think it’s very unfair.” Several of those posting on Twitter agreed with Botti that more could have been done to get his filly to take part.
But the British Horseracing Authority’s starter, Stephen Avis, said: “She was given as much chance as the starter wanted to give her. She was tried in the hood, that didn’t work. She was tried with everything as far as we were concerned.”
Prince Of Wales’s Stakes (4.20) result
1 Free Eagle (P J Smullen) 5-2 Fav
2 The Grey Gatsby (J P Spencer) 9-2
3 Western Hymn (L Dettori) 8-1
9 ran
Also: 14-1 The Corsican 4th
Non Runner: 1
CSF: 13.30
Tricast: 76.91
Updated
Prince Of Wales’s Stakes (4.20)
Ectot and The Corsican in the rear as Gailo Chop leads early ... The Grey Gatsby is in midfield ... Free Eagle, the favourite, makes his move with five furlongs to go close to the home straight. All have a chance on the turn for home. Free Eagle leads but Western Hymn challenges. The Grey Gatsby comes to try but Free Eagle looks to have held on for a narrow success. Photo finish ... photo finish ... Free Eagle first; The Grey Gatsby a very close second and Western Hymn back in third.
Meanwhile, in the Raymond Blanc box at Royal Ascot (this is what you would be getting now ... for afternoon tea)
Just serving afternoon tea @Ascot #RoyalAscot for the @raymond_blanc box offering. Delish 😜 pic.twitter.com/bKobej9c6D
— Adam Johnson (@Adaam_Johnson) June 17, 2015
Prince Of Wales's Stakes betting
- Free Eagle 3-1
- The Grey Gatsby 11-2
- Ectot 6-1
- Spielberg 7-1
- Cannock Chase 15-2
- Western Hymn 15-2
- Gailo Chop 10-1
- Criterion 16-1
- The Corsican 16-1
Prince of Wales Stakes (4.20) preview
A top-class race to be contested by potential stars rather than established ones. Free Eagle and Ectot have both looked classy types when able to race but both have missed a lot of time with niggling injuries of various kinds. The Grey Gatsby should probably count as an established star, having won the French Derby and beaten Australia in Ireland last year but four defeats in his last five starts give him something to prove. There’s nothing much wrong with his Dubaian second to Solow, now that we’ve seen that horse win here yesterday, but his fourth at The Curragh last time was disappointing. Western Hymn looks more of a threat, having responded to a gelding operation by winning both starts so far this year. He represents the Derby-winning trainer, John Gosden. The Australian raider Criterion adds international glamour and is tricky to assess but appears beatable on his domestic form.
The crowd has been silenced
James Doyle and Amazing Maria return to virtual silence from the crowd after turning over the favourite; the jockey won’t care one bit. Integral looked to have every chance, but Ryan Moore just couldn’t get a tune out of her. Euro Charline was fancied in some quarters to win this one, but ruined her chances by refusing to go into the stalls.
Updated
Duke of Cambridge Stakes (3.40) result
1 Amazing Maria (James Doyle) 25-1
2 Rizeena (W Buick) 7-1
3 Cladocera (C Soumillon) 8-1
6 ran
Also: 8-11 Fav Integral, 9-1 Bragging 4th
Non Runner: 6
Withdrawn: 5
Tote: win 18.00 places 5.30 2.00
Tote Exacta: 135.70
CSF: 131.06
Tricast: 914.13
No 5 Euro Charline (6-1) was withdrawn not under orders. Rule 4
applies to all bets. Deduct 10p in the pound.
Duke of Cambridge Stakes (3.40) 1m
Amazing Maria wins the Duke of Cambridge Stakes, romping home for jockey James Doyle and trainer David O’Meara at 25-1. THat’s the biggest priced winners of the meeting thus far.
Updated
Duke of Cambridge Stakes (3.40) 1m
The starter loses patience and they go without Euro Charlene. Bragging leads them from Lightning Thunder, then Cladocera ...
Duke of Cambridge Stakes (3.40) 1m
Euro Charlineis refusing to go into the stalls, a place she appears to have no interest in being. The blindfold is on, but she’s still having none of it. We should be off shortly ...
Duke of Cambridge Stakes (3.40) betting
- Integral 4-5
- Euro Charline 11-2
- Rizeena 7-1
- Cladocera 9-1
- Bragging 10-1
- Amazing Maria 25-1
- Lightning Thunder 25-1
- Evita Peron (N/R)
Another winner for Wesley Ward
Acapulco was another Royal Ascot winner for American trainer Wesley Ward. It was an astonishing performance for a two-year-old, but considering she was so much bigger in size than all her rivals, it was no great surprise. She obliterated her opposition and the second placed Easton Angel did superbly to get within two lengths of her. She’ll win some very big races.
Duke Of Cambridge Stakes (3.40) preview
After the sprint for babies, here’s a mile race for girls who are all grown up, aged four or older. It is the sort of race you would expect Sir Michael Stoute to be good at and he has won it four times from the 11 runnings so far, including last year with Integral, who runs for him again. Inconveniently, she has since won a Group One, meaning she has 5lb extra to carry in this Group Two contest, so a better effort may be needed than last year, but she ran a blinding race to be fourth against the boys in the Lockinge last time.
Her most obvious rival is Euro Charline, also a top-class winner but unpenalised because her success, in America, came just before the start point for penalties in this race. She’ll love this fast ground. Last year, she trailed Rizeena by a length in the Coronation Stakes here and Rizeena runs again, trying to make her Ascot record a perfect four from four. She has a bit to prove after a disappointing reappearance but that was also true last year.
Updated
The winning jockey speaks ...
“She’s very special,” says Ryan Moore. “She has a great attitude, loads of pace ... far too many gears for the rest of them.” When told his giant of a two-year-old was only taking one stride for every two taken by her rivals, he responds in his usual effusive, gregarious fashion: “She probably was.”
Queen Mary Stakes (3.05) result
1 Acapulco (R L Moore) 5-2 Fav
2 Easton Angel (P Mulrennan) 13-2
3 Besharah (P Cosgrave) 6-1
20 ran
Also: 14-1 Kurland 4th
Non Runners: 5,6
Withdrawn: 8
CSF: 16.34
Tricast: 95.62
No 8 Dark Side Princess (100-1) was withdrawn not under orders. Rule
4 does not apply.
Updated
Queen Mary Stakes (3.05)
Bruised Orange is first out of the gates and the field splits into two, with the near side appearing to lead. Eastern Angel comes through strongly, but the favourite Acapulco surges down the near side to win for jockey Ryan Moore. Acapulco wins the Queen Mary Stakes. She’s a massive horse for a two-year-old.
Queen Mary Stakes (3.05) 5f betting
- Acapulco 5-2
- Besharah 6-1
- Easton Angel 13-2
- Rah Rah 10-1
- Delizia 10-1
- Cry Me A River 10-1
12-1 bar
Non runners: No5 Caledonian Gold, No6 Cobana Sand.
Queen Mary Stakes (3.05) preview
Now here’s a speed test over the minimum distance (five furlongs) for two-year-old fillies. Besharah earned a place at the head of the market with two wins from two starts, beating a subsequent winner last time. But she is being usurped as favourite by Acapulco, beaten on her only start. Acapulco is trained in America by Wesley Ward, who has won this race before, as well as others at the Royal meeting. When he gets excited about a juvenile, it’s time to listen and Acapulco seems to be the one that excites him this time, plus she has Ryan Moore aboard. Her defeat was on dirt but her homework apparently suggests she is better on grass. Many will be happy to take Ward’s word for that, but let’s all note that he has another fancied runner in Bruised Orange, who is actually a winner already and has Frankie Dettori on top. Easton Angel has been snapped up by Qatari owners after showing good form.
Updated
That was a rough race ...
The favourite Ivawood wasn’t looking a likely winner but seemed to run into traffic and get bumped around, while backers of Sir Isaac Newton can also consider themselves unlucky as he also seemed to get squeezed out of contention in the closing stages by Toscanini. The winner was trained by Charlie Hills, while the second placed filly was trained by Charlie’s father Barry.
Updated
Jersey Stakes (2.30) result
1 Dutch Connection (Jim Crowley) 14-1
2 Fadhayyil (P Hanagan) 9-1
3 Bossy Guest (Charles Bishop) 8-1
16 ran
Also: 15-8 Fav Ivawood, 14-1 Tupi 4th
CSF: 124.79
Tricast: 1129.36
Updated
Jersey Stakes (2.30) 7f
With Ivawood encountering traffic problems, Dutch Connection takes it up and wins by three-quarters of a length from Fadhayyil. Dutch Connection has won the Jersey Stakes for jockey Jim Crowley for trainer Charlie Hills.
Jersey Stakes (2.30) 7f
Just under a mile is the trip and Luck of the Kitten is quickest out and opens a clear lead on the rest of the field, followed by Aces, Mister Universe, Devonshire and Ivawood ...
Jersey Stakes (2.30) 7f
The horses are at the start and Jamie Spencer seems to have had an eventful canter down to the stalls on Volatile, who was on his toes. He’s now being kept calm by Spencer, but there’s two stalls handlers holding his reins. Sir Isaac Newton is sweating quite a lot compared to his rivals. They’re going behind and loading up the stalls.
Richard Hannon Jr speaks
The trainer has two runners in the opener: favourite Ivawood and outsider Tupi. “I don’t think we’ll have him looking better than we do today,” he says of Ivawood. “Hopefully he’s good enough.” Of Tupi, he adds: “We’ve liked this horse for a long time and I think 20-1 is underestimating what he’s capable of.”
Jersey Stakes (2.30) betting
- Ivawood 7-4
- Bossy Guest 9-1
- Sir Isaac Newton 9-1
- Fadhayyil 10-1
- Hathal 12-1
- Toscanini 16-1
- Tupi 16-1
View the Jersey Stakes betting
It's forelock-tugging time ...
The proles crane their necks for a glimpse of their Queen, who parades down the home straight in horse-drawn carriages with her husband, assorted other royals and their small army of flunkies. The Royal Scots Guards strike up a chorus of God Save The Queen and in a few minutes, all this anachronistic nonsense will be done with and we can get on with the proper business of the day. Her hat is royal blue today, I’m told.
Updated
Course closures on the cards?
Meanwhile, a world away from Royal Ascot a shiver will have gone through some of the less fashionable outposts which serve this great game today after Nick Rust, the man in charge in his position as CEO of the British Horseracing Authority, was interviewed at Ascot by Lydia Hislop on Racing UK about the future of the sport.
Perhaps Rust’s most telling remark was that “there are probably 10 [racecourses] which make less than £50k year outside of ARC [which has closed two tracks in recent times], so unless we get growth racecourses are threatened ... .I can’t say [some] won’t close.”
(2) "There are probably 10 [racecourses] which make less than £50k year outside of ARC, so unless we get growth racecourses are threatened"
— Simon Rowlands (@RowleyfileTF) June 17, 2015
Updated
Jersey Stakes (2.30) preview
We start with a Group Three race over the specialist and slightly unloved distance of seven furlongs, midway between sprinting and miling. Since this is a race for three-year-olds, we’re dealing with horses who are mostly still searching for a specialism and their connections are hoping it will reveal itself today.
Ivawood is a short-priced favourite after finishing third in the 2,000 Guineas in England and Ireland. Impressively quick last year, he is probably not quite a miler this time, so this could suit him. His stablemate Tupi has already done well at this distance and last time beath Latharnach, second to Gleneagles yesterday. Both those represent Richard Hannon, blanked on Day One but with plenty of ammunition left. Bossy Guest was close behind Ivawood at Newmarket but may be a bit flattered by that. Hathal is the horse for which Frankie Dettori went to Lingfield on the evening of his Derby success when he really should have been celebrating.
That Frankel statue ...
Some are not happy with the statue, unveiled at Royal Ascot yesterday, of the greatest horse that ever looked through a bridle.
Form your own opinion with the help of the pic here ...
Whatever your thoughts, it can’t be as bad as the one commissioned after Frankie Dettori completed his Magnificent Seven, also sited at Ascot. It can’t be as bad as that, can it?
That Frankel statue could be any horse
— James Knight (@jamesaknight) June 17, 2015
Today's market movers
-
2.30: Sir Isaac Newton 8-1 from 11-1
-
3.05: Acapulco 4-1 from 5-1
-
3.40: Rah Rah 11-1 from 12-1
-
4.20: Gailo Chop 10-1 from 12-1
-
5.00: Ayaar 9-1 from 10-1, Big Baz 22-1 from 25-1*
-
5.35: Always Smile 5-2 from 11-4
*Mainly being backed by blokes named Barry.
The course will be watered after racing this evening
As expected, Chris Stickels will water the track at Ascot tonight ahead of tomorrow’s Gold Cup, a contest in which the favourite, Forgotten Rules, will be racing on ground faster than good for the first time in his career.
“It’s highly likely that we will water after racing tonight to maintain the going description [currently good-to-firm] for the rest of the week,” Stickels said. “We changed the going description after the first race yesterday, it was a relatively fast time, there was still plenty of moisture in it but the jockeys indicated it was good-to-firm, so we changed the ground. The times yesterday were fast, which is what you’d expect at a meeting like Royal Ascot on really nice ground.
“I don’t know yet how much water we will put on the track. The weather forecast is for it to be fine for the next two days, with the possibility of the odd shower or two at the end of the week, Friday or Saturday, but there’s not huge confidence in that forecast. There’s a possibility it might stay dry all week. We will review track conditions and make decisions on watering again as we go. I wouldn’t rule it out.”
Updated
A funny thing happened on the way to the racecourse ...
I found myself behind John Gosden’s box on the way here this morning, which is one of those things that would matter to a superstitious punter. Then it took a wrong turn and I shot off in what I knew to be the right direction, crying out: “Ha, ha, lorry from Newmarket! Eat my dust!”
About five minutes later, after I’d been flying along an empty road at a speed of my own choosing, the horsebox ambled back in front of me off a roundabout. Which just goes to show, with Gosde ... even his boxes can find a way to beat you.
The master trainer had no runners on Day One but today fields Western Hymn (4.20), GM Hopkins (5.00) and Jellicle Ball (5.35). The first is ridden by Frankie Dettori, the last two by Ryan Moore.
Sandringham Handicap (5.35) preview
The card closes with a mini Hunt Cup, restricted to three-year-old fillies. For Godolphin, the unbeaten Always Smile beat two subsequent winners at Doncaster last month and still looks fairly handicapped. Touchline ran well behind a good rival here last time and may carry the Royal colours into the argument. Jellicle Ball has been a bit disappointing so far this year and looks high in the weights. Realtra is a fair contender at a big price, having won her only handicap so far and run well against the colts in a Listed race last time.
Royal Hunt Cup (5.00) preview
The first of the week’s properly impossible betting puzzles, this is a 30-runner handicap up the straight mile. You can be sure the field will split into at least two groups for part of the journey but whether there will be a right and a wrong place to be across the track is a question we just can’t be sure about until the race is run.
Speculative Bid is the likely favourite after three wins this year, including in a big race here in May. Ayaar and Frankie Dettori are back together after winning a similar race at Newbury. They have more weight this time and it’s possible that stall one on the far rail will not be ideal. Dettori’s regular employer, John Gosden, has bagged Ryan Moore for GM Hopkins, a disappointing favourite for the Lincoln under a different jockey.
He clashes once more with Spark Plug, who beat him a neck at Newbury last time. Temptress is interesting at the bottom of the weights, though she has no experience of a race as competitive as this. At big odds, Mondialiste is more seasoned and may have excuses for his last two defeats.
Prince of Wales’s Stakes (4.20) preview
A top-class race to be contested by potential stars rather than established ones. Free Eagle and Ectot have both looked classy types when able to race but both have missed a lot of time with niggling injuries of various kinds.
The Grey Gatsby should probably count as an established star, having won the French Derby and beaten Australia in Ireland last year but four defeats in his last five starts give him something to prove. There’s nothing much wrong with his Dubaian second to Solow, now that we’ve seen that horse win here yesterday, but his fourth at The Curragh last time was disappointing.
Western Hymn looks more of a threat, having responded to a gelding operation by winning both starts so far this year. He represents the Derby-winning trainer, John Gosden. The Australian raider Criterion adds international glamour and is tricky to assess but appears beatable on his domestic form.
Duke Of Cambridge Stakes (3.40) preview
After the sprint for babies, here’s a mile race for girls who are all grown up, aged four or older. It is the sort of race you would expect Sir Michael Stoute to be good at and he has won it four times from the 11 runnings so far, including last year with Integral, who runs for him again. Inconveniently, she has since won a Group One, meaning she has 5lb extra to carry in this Group Two contest, so a better effort may be needed than last year, but she ran a blinding race to be fourth against the boys in the Lockinge last time.
Her most obvious rival is Euro Charline, also a top-class winner but unpenalised because her success, in America, came just before the start point for penalties in this race. She’ll love this fast ground. Last year, she trailed Rizeena by a length in the Coronation Stakes here and Rizeena runs again, trying to make her Ascot record a perfect four from four. She has a bit to prove after a disappointing reappearance but that was also true last year.
Queen Mary Stakes (3.05) preview
Now here’s a speed test over the minimum distance (five furlongs) for two-year-old fillies. Besharah earned a place at the head of the market with two wins from two starts, beating a subsequent winner last time. But she is being usurped as favourite by Acapulco, beaten on her only start. Acapulco is trained in America by Wesley Ward, who has won this race before, as well as others at the Royal meeting.
When he gets excited about a juvenile, it’s time to listen and Acapulco seems to be the one that excites him this time, plus she has Ryan Moore aboard. Her defeat was on dirt but her homework apparently suggests she is better on grass. Many will be happy to take Ward’s word for that, but let’s all not that he has another fancied runner in Bruised Orange, who is actually a winner already and has Frankie Dettori on top. Easton Angel has been snapped up by Qatari owners after showing good form.
Updated
Jersey Stakes (2.30) preview
We start with a Group Three race over the specialist and slightly unloved distance of seven furlongs, midway between sprinting and miling. Since this is a race for three-year-olds, we’re dealing with horses who are mostly still searching for a specialism and their connections are hoping it will reveal itself today.
Ivawood is a short-priced favourite after finishing third in the 2,000 Guineas in England and Ireland. Impressively quick last year, he is probably not quite a miler this time, so this could suit him. His stablemate Tupi has already done well at this distance and last time beat Latharnach, second to Gleneagles yesterday. Both those represent Richard Hannon, blanked on Day One but with plenty of ammunition left.
Bossy Guest was close behind Ivawood at Newmarket but may be a bit flattered by that. Hathal is the horse for which Frankie Dettori went to Lingfield on the evening of his Derby success when he really should have been celebrating.
Today's non-runners
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3.05: No5 Caledonian Gold, No6 Cobana Sand
-
3.40: No6 Evita Peron
-
4.20: No1 California Chrome
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 on each day of the Royal meeting, up to Friday.
Congratulations to stanflashman, who won the Day One competition on a final score of +22.53, thanks to Goldream, Colndaw Warrior and Gleneagles. He also had Solow in his initial posting but then changed to Cougar Mountain moments later, apparently inadvertently. A special mention for Raymond King, who had every winner bar Goldream, a tremendous feat but only good for fifth under the scoring rules of our competition.
Top Day One Scores:
stanflashman +22.53
CallMeSpanner +21
Mai11 +18.91
kingklynch +17.38
Raymond King +16.91
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Greg hits us with his going stick ...
Goldream at 20-1 was the only winner on the first day at Royal Ascot to start at a double-figure price, but it could get rather messier for the punters this afternoon with the 30-runner Royal Hunt Cup among the attractions that will prove very difficult to resist.
Nor is there anything much in this morning’s going report to give us a steer about which side of the straight mile is more likely to supply the winner. The stands side was a fraction quicker when Chris Stickels, the clerk of the course, walked it at 8.15 this morning, recording 9.3 on the GoingStick versus 9.2 for the far side and 9.1 for the centre, but this is, quite simply, just quick, good-to-firm ground, and almost certainly a fair bit quicker too by 5pm this evening.
There was some speculation yesterday that Stickels might feel obliged to turn on the taps overnight – and it will be astonishing if he does not do so tonight – but he resisted the temptation and so far Evita Peron, in the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes, is the only non-runner due to the ground. Caledonian Gold is out of the Queen Mary at 3.05 after failing to eat up this morning, while California Chrome, of course, was ruled out of the feature event, the Prince of Wales’s Stakes, yesterday.
If the draw plays a part in the Hunt Cup it is more likely to be due to the pace, with Lamar, who has a high stall, one of the few in the field who is in the habit of making the running. Don’t Be, who is close by in stall 31, also like to race prominently, so that might – with the emphasis on might – be the place to look. The alternative is to split stakes between one on either side, because there is nothing in betting that is quite as infuriating as backing a winner on the wrong side of the track.
The Prince Of Wales’s Stakes could be the race in which Free Eagle finally comes good after a very light and stop-start career to date. This will be just his fifth trip to the track, and only two of his previous starts have ended in success, a maiden and a Group Three at Leopardstown last September, but he has always been held in the highest regard by Dermot Weld and even the one apparent disappointment of his career – a six-length defeat at 2-5 in September 2013 – proved to be better than it seemed at the time when the winner, Australia, strode home in the following summer’s Derby.
Free Eagle also finished third behind Noble Mission in last year’s Champion Stakes here, so he has form over course and distance. He has yet to race on ground as fast as he will experience today, however, and those lining up to back him at around 3-1 are doing so on the basis of promise and reputation rather than solid form.
Victory would not be an immense surprise, but at the same time, even in the absence of California Chrome there are plenty of interesting rivals up against him. The Japanese runner Spielberg is certainly a very credible opponent. The Autumn Tenno Sho, which he won last last, is one of the most competitive and prestigious races in the Japanese calendar, and yet he is the same price as Cannock Chase, who peak form to date is a Group Three.
More updates on the going and non-runners will be available here as they arrive.
