Accidental Agent shocks big guns in Queen Anne Stakes, by Chris Cook
The exploits of a particularly daring war hero were remembered in the name of a surprise winner on day one of Royal Ascot, when Accidental Agent somehow won the Queen Anne Stakes at 33-1. He was named after the autobiography of John Goldsmith, who worked with the French Resistance in the second world war and once escaped from the Gestapo by inching along a ledge three floors up on the outside of a Paris hotel.
Before the conflict Goldsmith had been a racehorse trainer in Oxfordshire and would surely have been thrilled by the exploits of his grand-daughter, Eve Johnson Houghton, who prepared Accidental Agent at her stables at Blewbury, near Didcot. This was her first success at the Royal meeting, easily the highlight of her dozen years with a licence and an outcome that left her overcome with emotion.
“I haven’t slept for two nights,” she declared, and immediately contradicted herself by saying she had dreamed of Accidental Agent -finishing third. “The poor people sitting in front of me and my mum, I apologise to them. They will definitely be deaf because there was an awful lot of screaming going on.”
Johnson Houghton’s mother, Gaie, bred the horse and they bought him back for £8,000 when no one showed sufficient interest at an auction three years ago. Accidental Agent was clearly a horse of quality, having won a valuable handicap here in October, but two earlier runs seemed to show he was some way short of top-class. Johnson Houghton explained that he takes a lot of getting fit and was probably sharper here than for either of those.
Even so he would surely have been vulnerable if any of the market-leaders had shown something like their best form. Instead both Godolphin’s Benbatl and the Aidan O’Brien-trained Rhododendron faded right away after racing close to a strong pace.
Charles Bishop, Accidental Agent’s jockey, was also tasting Royal Ascot success for the first time, in a season which is already his best by number of winners. “Eve has done a fantastic job with him; she was the one who wanted to come here. I thought at the furlong pole he might finish in the frame and then he quickened up again.”
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That’s all for the first day, a card dominated by the remarkable Frankie Dettori. There was a lot of talk about him quitting on Derby day earlier this month which the ebullient Italian shot down in flames. He has had three winners today and long may he remain in the game. Lester Piggott was a master around Epsom and Dettori is similarly supreme at Ascot, where he famously rode all seven winners at the Festival of British Racing meeting in 1996. Tomorrow he rides the best horse of the week, Cracksman, in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes. Cracksman is a hot favourite and the betting suggests it will be another red letter day for the rider. Have a drink and prepare for the glittering card on Wednesday.
Wolferton Stakes (5.35) result
1 Monarchs Glen (L Dettori) 8-1
2 Euginio (S De Sousa) 33-1
3 Muntahaa (Dane O’Neill) 33-1
Updated
Wolferton Stakes (5.35)
And they’re off ... Mirage Dancer slowly away ... Chain Of Daisies leads ... Big Country and Fabricate are prominent ... Eugenio is second ... Monarchs Glen has shot through with Frankie Dettori to win ... a great day for Ascot’s greatest jockey.
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Wolferton Stakes (5.35) betting
- 7-2 Mirage Dancer
- 13-2 Sharja Bridge
- 8-1 Laraaib
- 9-1 Yucatan
- 10-1 Monarchs Glen
- 12-1 Kidmenever
- Full betting here
Wolferton Stakes (5.35) preview
There is no shame in having been beaten by a Charle Appleby runner on Guineas weekend this year, a time when the Godolphin man was close to unbeatable. Sharja Bridge went down by just half a length that day, was well clear of the third and is ready for this step up into Listed company.
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Incredibly, Willie Mullins trained the first, third, fourth and fifth out of five runners in the Ascot Stakes. Not only does the Irish trainer have an amazing record in jumps racing. He also dominates the Flat races he has horses for!
A fourth Ascot Stakes success in seven years for Willie Mullins as Lagostovegas, the mount of Andrea Atzeni, wins the 2m4f contest.
— Racing Post (@RacingPost) June 19, 2018
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Ascot Stakes (5.00) result
1 Lagostovegas (Andrea Atzeni) 10-1
2 Dubawi Fifty (S De Sousa) 6-1
3 Stratum (R Winston) 10-1
4 Chelkar (R L Moore) 5-1 Jt Fav
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Ascot Stakes (5.00)
And they’re off ... Chelkar and Sam Missile are held up in the early stages with Dubawi Fifty taking the field along along with Garo De Juilley ... Dannyday is also prominent ... Battalion is last with Jamie Spencer on board ... Hasssle J is just behind the leaders as they reach Swinley Bottom where Percy Street has made good progress into second ... Dubawi Fifty under pressure ... Percy Street takes the lead on the home turn ... Lagostovegas comes late to overhaul the game Dubawi Fifty.
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Ascot Stakes (5.00) betting
- 5-1 Chelkar
- 7-1 Coeur de Lion
- 7-1 Dubawi Fifty
- 8-1 Stratum
- 10-1 White Desert
- 11-1 Dannyday
- 11-1 Lagostovegas
- 12-1 Meri Devie
- 12-1 Whiskey Sour
- Full betting here
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Ascot Stakes (5.00) preview
The record of Willie Mullins means that all five of his are worth a look but perhaps Alan King can trump the Irishman this time with Coeur De Lion. Place prize money has been his speciality in marathon Flat handicaps but he was a shade unlucky when a rival got first run on him at Chester last time and the cheekpieces fitted that day can help him again. Martin Harley, who has done well for King in recent weeks, gets his first chance aboard this one.
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St James's Palace Stakes (4.20) result
1 Without Parole (L Dettori) 9-4 Fav
2 Gustav Klimt (D O’Brien) 8-1
3 Wootton (M Barzalona) 8-1
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St James's Palace Stakes (4.20)
And they’re off ... Romanised is at the back of the field early with US Navy Flag out wide but then taking the lead ... the leader has gone well clear on the home turn ... Without Parole trying to challenge ... Gets past and goes clear ... Gustav Klimt tries to get back but Without parole holds on ...
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St James's Palace Stakes (4.20) betting
- 11-4 Without Parole
- 9-2 US Navy Flag
- 13-2 Tip Two Win
- 13-2 Wootton
- 15-2 Romanised
- 14-1 Gustav Klimt
- 18-1 Gabr
- 33-1 Kings Shield
- 40-1 Chilean
- 40-1 Threeandfourpence
St James's Palace Stakes (4.20) preview
There’s a lot to be said for latching onto a star horse before every other punter has spotted his talent but an excess of faith can be expensive, a lesson which possibly awaits those who have made Without Parole favourite for the St James’s Palace Stakes. The highlight race on day one of Royal Ascot generally features a clash between Classic winners but this colt is stepping straight up from Listed company and, while he might be able to manage it with John Gosden’s help, odds of 11-4 make no appeal. A more orthodox favourite would be Romanised, winner of the Irish 2,000 Guineasand beaten only by Masar, the Derby winner, when he last came to Britain in September. I don’t think there was any fluke about his Curragh win last month, when he produced a really strong finish to reel in U S Navy Flag. On a fast surface here, there is a risk that that rival could pinch a handy lead off the home turn but Romanised is the way to bet at 11-2. Tip Two Win can go well again but might lack the necessary finishing kick.
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Calyx was very impressive in the Coventry Stakes and was picked out as a likely top-class horse after a study of the sectional times on his debut. It’s a shaming fact for the sport of horse racing that there are no official sectional times available for today’s victory at the premier British Flat race meeting as sectionals expert Simon Rowlands points out:
Lots of the talk beforehand about Calyx's sectionals on his debut (which had to be derived manually). But, today, there will be no official sectionals at what is meant to be British racing's premier event. Do those who run racing want the sport to be taken seriously?
— Simon Rowlands (@RowleyfileRRR) June 19, 2018
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King's Stand Stakes (3.40) result
1 Blue Point (W Buick) 6-1
2 Battaash (Jim Crowley) 9-4
3 Mabs Cross (P Mulrennan) 20-1
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King's Stand Stakes (3.40)
And they’re off ... Battaash was out quick and Lady Aurelia is fast out of the stalls too ... Battaash leads ... Lady Aurelia well beaten ... Blue Point gets up late to pick off the leader and win.
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Calyx romps to Coventry Stakes success
Calyx maintained his unbeaten record with a most impressive display in the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot. A son of trainer John Gosden’s former champion miler Kingman, the two-year-old had looked a star in the making on his racecourse debut at Newmarket just 10 days ago and was a heavily-supported 2-1 favourite for this Group Two assignment.
The field split in two soon after the stalls opened and with Frankie Dettori in the saddle, Calyx raced enthusiastically in the group nearest to the grandstand. Dettori asked his mount to quicken racing inside the final two furlongs and the response was devastating, as Calyx quickly put distance between himself and his rivals.
Gosden said: “He’s very talented, his father was exceptionally talented and he has all of those attributes. The high draw may not be the best, and he’s had to race on his own for two furlongs with a huge crowd screaming - that’s a big ordeal for him and I think he’s done amazingly well to win. “I’d love to give him a nice holiday now and come back for the Prix Morny.”
Asked about the 2,000 Guineas, for which Calyx is now favourite with some firms, Gosden said: “I don’t see why not (be a Guineas horse), but I think at the moment we should see if we can win a Group One with him and then think about stepping up.” PA
King's Stand Stakes (3.40) betting
- 15-8 Lady Aurelia
- 11-4 Battaash
- 9-1 Blue Point
- 14-1 Kachy
- 18-1 Washington DC
- 20-1 Finsbury Square
- 22-1 Different League
- Full betting here
King's Stand Stakes (3.40) preview
Possibly continuing a good day for French raiders, Finsbury Square could outrun big odds here. A veteran of 35 races, he produced a career best on his first run since joining Mauricio Delcher Sanchez, who won this race 10 years ago with Equiano. Whether Finsbury Square can repeat that effort to score at Chantilly a fortnight ago is one question that must be answered but he was only beaten three lengths in the Diamond Jubilee last year and any improvement would make him very dangerous. Lady Aurelia needs no introduction but she has started her two previous seasons strongly, so her reappearance defeat is a concern. Battaash is a huge talent but this atmosphere will be a real test for a temperamental sort and his stable is out of form.
My fashion spotter says the Duchess of Sussex, better known as Meghan Markle, has chosen a similar outfit and colour scheme to the Queen at her very first Royal Ascot in 1952, the year before her coronation. Here is film of the Queen at the 1952 meeting:
Coventry Stakes (3.05) result
1 Calyx (L Dettori) 2-1 Fav
2 Advertise (Oisin Murphy) 10-1
3 Sergei Prokofiev (R L Moore) 3-1
23 ran
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Coventry Stakes (3.05)
And they’re off ... Calyx is prominent but Vange leads... Calyx takes the lead ... Calyx looks a very good horse ... and ten days after his debut holds on the late surge of Advertise.
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Coventry Stakes (3.05) betting
- 3-1 Calyx
- 7-2 Sergei Prokofiev
- 11-1 Advertise
- 11-1 Cosmic Law
- 12-1 The Irish Rover
- 16-1 Indigo Balance
- 22-1 Dubai Legacy
- 25-1 Burj
- Full details here
Coventry Stakes (3.05) preview
Calyx is the sexy one here, the son of Kingman having looked so very zippy on his debut at Newmarket 10 days ago. But he won that race with a killer burst of pace and could find that weapon being taken from him by an end-to-end gallop this time. Sergei Prokofiev is a short price for a horse stepping up in distance, so the suggestion is the imposing Cosmic Law, who showed a lot of improvement to land the Woodcote on Derby weekend.
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Queen's Hat (2.00) result
1st Yellow 4-1
Queen Anne Stakes (2.30) result
1 Accidental Agent (Charles Bishop) 33-1
2 Lord Glitters (J P Spencer) 20-1
3 Lightning Spear (Oisin Murphy) 10-1
15 ran
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Queen Anne Stakes (2.30)
They’re off ... So Beloved was slowly away ... Zonderland running very free ... Deauville leads ... Benbatl is close up ... and Rhodedendron in third ... Benbatl tries to kick on but it’s wide open ... Lightning Spear took the lead but Accidental Agent got up close home for a shock success.
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Queen Anne Stakes (2.30) betting
- 7-2 Benbatl
- 7-2 Rhodedendron
- 6-1 Recoletos
- 12-1 Lightning Spear
- 14-1 Limato
- 14-1 Yoshida
- 16-1 Century Dream
- 16-1 Deauville
- 22-1 Lord Glitters
- 28-1 Accidental Agent
- 33-1 Beat The Bank
- 33-1 Suedois
- 40-1 Zonderland
- 100-1 Oh This Is Us
- 125-1 So Beloved
Full details here
Queen Anne Stakes (2.30) preview
Few trainers would be more grateful for a big win at this Royal Ascot than Saeed bin Suroor, who has made a quiet start to the European flat-racing season, while Godolphin’s other Newmarket yard produced the goods in the Derby. Bin Suroor fields Benbatl, whose Dubai Turf success in March is just about the best form on offer and who won a Group Three in this week a year ago. But horses who have a busy Dubai campaign early in the year cannot be relied on to pick up in midsummer where they left off in spring, so a better option might be the progressive French raider, Recoletos. From an in-form yard, he delivered a career-best performance to win the Ispahan last month and he travelled well for a long way behind Cracksman in the Champion Stakes before failing to stay. He is preferred to Rhododendron, who had everything fall right for her in the Lockinge.
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Going change
The going at Royal Ascot has changed from good to firm, good in place to good to firm all over, and the track is expected to be watered every evening after racing this week to maintain it at good to firm.
The GoingStick readings at 8.30am, by the way, were:
Stands’ side: 8.6
Centre: 8.8
Far side: 8.7
Round course: 7.8
A bit more betting news ...
A few snippets of betting news while Ascot waits for the moment which always prompted one late, and much-missed, racing journalist to announce: “Here come the Germans”.
Benbatl, in the opening Queen Anne Stakes, has been one of the big movers of the day. He was a 9-2 chance this morning but is now top-priced at 7-2, having earlier displaced Rhododendron, the Lockinge winner, at the head of the betting. Aidan O’Brien’s filly is now the joint-favourite, while Recoletos is quite easy to back and has drifted out to 6-1.
No less an authority than John Gosden, who trains Without Parole, has suggested that his colt should not be favourite for this afternoon’s St James’s Palace Stakes ahead of Tip Two Win, the runner-up in the 2,000 Guineas. The punters seem to agree with Gosden on the first point and Without Parole has drifted to 3-1 from 11-4, but not the second. The money is all for Aidan O’Brien’s U S Navy Flag, who was behind Romanised, another contender for today’s race, in the Irish 2,000 Guineas but is now 5-1 from 6-1 to take today’s feature race.
The movers in the Ascot Stakes at 5.00 include Dubawi Fifty, the mount of Silvestre de Sousa, who is 9-1 from 12-1 with SkyBet, while Chelkar has emerged as the favourite from five runners saddled by Willie Mullins. Ryan Moore’s mount is 11-2 from 6-1 while stable companion Stratum is out to 8-1 (from 6-1).
Dettori and Al Shaqab mystery deepens
I’ve heard from Peter Burrell, Frankie Dettori’s business agent, in relation to riding arrangements this week. He says: “Our contract with Al Shaqab runs until July. Frankie is available to ride for them if required.” So it appears the Qatari owners have made their own decision to use other jockeys on their Royal Ascot runners this week, even though one of the finest of Flat jockeys is still under contract to ride for them. Instead, they have allowed him to ride against them and I dare say he will need no extra motivation. How very strange. If I hear any explanation from Al Shaqab, I shall pass it on.
2.00 The Queen's Hat Stakes
The people at Bonuscodebets.co.uk tell me close to £1m has been wagered on the colour of the Queen’s hat. And although the bookies have blue as the favourite for today, nearly 40% of all bets have gone on pink, followed by yellow (19% of bets). And we have form for this particular betting heat: blue is the only colour the Queen has worn at least once a every year, every year, to Royal Ascot since her coronation in 1953. Not a lot of people know that. The Queen has reached for more pink and blue hats during her visits to Royal Ascot than any other colour, with BonusBet research revealing that almost half of her outfits worn since 2005 have been either of those two shades. They have counted each colour the Queen has worn since the Royal meeting was extended from four days to five, and pink and blue tops the charts by some way. On the opening day the Queen plump for pink or blue in eight of the last 13 years. Hope that helps. We’ll have more form for the Queen’s Hat Stakes throughout the five-day meeting.
Today’s odds: 5-2 Blue, 3-1 Pink, 4-1 Green, Yellow, 8-1 Purple, 12-1 White/Cream and 16-1 Orange.
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2.00 Royal Procession Stakes
The official runners and riders are in for the Royal Procession, and the Queen is in capital letters.
1st Carriage
THE QUEEN
The Princess Royal
The Duke of York
The Lord Vestey
2nd Carriage
The Prince of Wales
The Duchess of Cornwall
Princess Beatrice of York
Princess Eugenie of York
3rd Carriage
The Duke of Sussex
The Duchess of Sussex
The Earl of Wessex
The Countess of Wessex
4th Carriage
Prince Michael of Kent
Princess Michael of Kent
The Lord de Mauley
The Lady de Mauley
I will be writing about the royals this week. There’s a clue in the meeting’s name. First of all we have the news that Harry and Meghan Markle, officially the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are at the races today, which will be the most exciting thing about the whole week for many. Now comes news that the Queen will have a runner in tomorrow’s Royal Hunt Cup as Seniority has got into the famous mile handicap after only being second reserve. Two horses that were originally entered went lame. Now that’s lucky.
Socks are big news this year …
In March Royal Ascot announced a ban this week on gentlemen of the ‘no socks’ variety. Apparently, visible bra straps and fake tan are also verboten, though that might need a check. It was a Sun report. So, how will this sock edict be enforced? One scribe is suggesting there might well be masons among Ascot officials. God forbid.
Wonder how Ascot are going to enforce the Socks rule. Guessing some officials are no stranger to rolling up a trouser leg...
— Tony Coleman (@RuaTrindade) June 19, 2018
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Dettori and Al Shaqab growing apart?
Entries for Royal Ascot suggest the association between Frankie Dettori and the powerful Qatari owners Al Shaqab is at an end. Al Shaqab have four runners declared to run here over the next two days, all of which Dettori rode when they last ran, but all have other jockeys booked this time and Dettori is riding against all four, mostly on John Gosden-trained runners. We’ll pass on any official comment from the parties as soon as we have it. It was reported in January that Al Shaqab had halved Dettori’s pay for this year, on the grounds that they expected to have fewer runners in Britain. Before that, Al Shaqab was having cashflow problems that led to several of their trainers being owed significant sums for months on end.
Are you planning to travel by train to Royal Ascot? I have numerous times and, you won’t be surprised to hear given the mess on Network Rail recently, there have been issues. If you’re going to the meeting this week and don’t fancy the crush on the choo-choo then help may be at hand. Zeelo, the on-demand coach service, are running a fleet to the track each day. Leather seats, tables, wi-fi and toilets on board. Plus champagne on arrival and a selection of breakfast nibbles. All for less than £40. Sounds good value to me and Zeelo recently introduced an offer the other day where racegoers can travel for just £5 return if they book by entering the promo code “RoyalAscot” on its website here. Seats are subject to availability by the way so would be best to snap up the offer as soon as possible. And no I’m not getting a backhander. I just hate travelling by train to this meeting and think others ought to know about the alternatives.
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Top trainers at Royal Ascot
Sir Michael Stoute 75
Aidan O’Brien 61
John Gosden 43
Mark Johnston 41
Saeed bin-Suroor 35
Paul Cole 21
Mick Channon 18
Stoute failed to have a winner at Ascot last year, for only the second time since 1995. Just to rub it in, his tally of 75 matches the trainer’s record set by the much-missed Sir Henry Cecil, so Stoute had to spend the whole week fielding questions from the media about when he was going to get the record to himself. Press folk are, of course, noted for their humanity, so I dare say it will be a similar story this week. At least he’s got runners on Day One this time, four of them in fact, which makes four more than he had on this day a year ago. Aidan O’Brien is showing everyone else how the game is played, with at least one runner in every race and 12 in total. Gosden has a more restrained five but they do include Without Parole, favourite for the big race at 4.20pm.
What's being backed?
“Benbatl is the worst loser of the day,” quoth Paddy Power’s on-course representative, Paul Binfield, already into full-on despair mode, as if there’s much for bookies to worry about. The Godolphin runner is 9-2 from 5-1 for the Queen Anne, which opens today’s proceedings at 2.30pm. The other one Paddy doesn’t want, apparently, is Battaash (3.40), as they have made a trading decision to keep Lady Aurelia onside in the King’s Stand, with the result that their book for that race has an unbalanced look. Advertise (3.05) is 12-1 from 18s for the Coventry, the firm reports. Later on the card, punters are evidently putting their faith in Ryan Moore, whose mount Chelkar (5.00) is 11-2 from 7s for the Ascot Stakes, while Yucatan (5.35) is 8-1 from 9s in the Wolferton, though there has also been some interest in Morando (11-1 from 12s) for the closing contest.
Top jockeys at Royal Ascot
Frankie Dettori 56 wins
Ryan Moore 48
Jamie Spencer 24
William Buick 20
Olivier Peslier 16
(highest career totals for currently licensed jockeys)
Ryan Mighty has been top jockey at Royal Ascot seven times in the past eight years, beaten only in that time by Johnny Murtagh in 2013. But he’ll face a bit more competition this year than last, when Frankie Dettori was a late absentee. The Italian had better crack on with a few winners here, or Moore will be past his career total in a year or two. Dettori hasn’t been top dog in this week since 2004, when he was a stripling of 33 summers. Whatever happens, just remember that he’s not retiring!
Here’s how the big two match up for rides today:
2.30 Dettori: (feet up) Moore: Rhododendron 4-1
3.05 Dettori: Calyx 3-1 Moore: Sergei Prokofiev 3-1
3.40 Dettori: (resting) Moore: Different League 22-1
4.20 Dettori: Without Parole 100-30 Moore: U S Navy Flag 5-1
5.00 Dettori: (forty winks) Moore: Chelkar 11-2
5.35 Dettori: Monarchs Glen 12-1 Moore: Yucatan 8-1
There’s a guaranteed Royal Ascot pic on the front-pages tomorrow ...
CONFIRMED: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will join the Queen on day 1 at #RoyalAscot
— Great British Racing (@GBRacing) June 19, 2018
Harry and Meghan will present the winning trophy for the St James' Palace Stakes at 4:20pm
📸 @KensingtonRoyal pic.twitter.com/DVARHfjuYx
Going and weather news
Despair, all those who wanted a bit of cut in the ground for this week’s racing. The going is officially described as ‘good to firm, good in places’, while GoingStick readings (8.6 or higher for the straight course, 7.8 for the round) suggest there might not be much of that ‘good in places’. The forecast is dry, warm and breezy, we are advised by the clerk of the course, Chris Stickels. He expects to put some water down after racing throughout the week, to prevent the track drying out any further.
Fast-ground horses should be in their element and anything with significant powers of acceleration will have every chance to show it this week. Grinders are going to find themselves outpaced. Hold-up horses may find that the ones in front are not getting tired fast enough.
The big question ahead of the week’s big-field handicaps is which side of the straight course is the right place to be. Action here last month suggested those drawn low might have an advantage but that can be no more than a tentative suggestion, particularly because jockey behaviour has so much to do with draw biases or perception of same.
A rundown of today's card
2.30 Queen Anne Stakes Few trainers would be more grateful for a big win at this Royal Ascot than Saeed bin Suroor, who has made a quiet start to the European flat-racing season, while Godolphin’s other Newmarket yard produced the goods in the Derby. Bin Suroor fields Benbatl, whose Dubai Turf success in March is just about the best form on offer and who won a Group Three in this week a year ago. But horses who have a busy Dubai campaign early in the year cannot be relied on to pick up in midsummer where they left off in spring, so a better option might be the progressive French raider, Recoletos. From an in-form yard, he delivered a career-best performance to win the Ispahan last month and he travelled well for a long way behind Cracksman in the Champion Stakes before failing to stay. He is preferred to Rhododendron, who had everything fall right for her in the Lockinge.
3.05 Coventry Stakes Calyx is the sexy one here, the son of Kingman having looked so very zippy on his debut at Newmarket 10 days ago. But he won that race with a killer burst of pace and could find that weapon being taken from him by an end-to-end gallop this time. Sergei Prokofiev is a short price for a horse stepping up in distance, so the suggestion is the imposing Cosmic Law, who showed a lot of improvement to land the Woodcote on Derby weekend.
3.40 King’s Stand Stakes Possibly continuing a good day for French raiders, Finsbury Square could outrun big odds here. A veteran of 35 races, he produced a career best on his first run since joining Mauricio Delcher Sanchez, who won this race 10 years ago with Equiano. Whether Finsbury Square can repeat that effort to score at Chantilly a fortnight ago is one question that must be answered but he was only beaten three lengths in the Diamond Jubilee last year and any improvement would make him very dangerous. Lady Aurelia needs no introduction but she has started her two previous seasons strongly, so her reappearance defeat is a concern. Battaash is a huge talent but this atmosphere will be a real test for a temperamental sort and his stable is out of form.
4.20 St James’s Palace Stakes There’s a lot to be said for latching onto a star horse before every other punter has spotted his talent but an excess of faith can be expensive, a lesson which possibly awaits those who have made Without Parole favourite for the St James’s Palace Stakes. The highlight race on day one of Royal Ascot generally features a clash between Classic winners but this colt is stepping straight up from Listed company and, while he might be able to manage it with John Gosden’s help, odds of 11-4 make no appeal. A more orthodox favourite would be Romanised, winner of the Irish 2,000 Guineasand beaten only by Masar, the Derby winner, when he last came to Britain in September. I don’t think there was any fluke about his Curragh win last month, when he produced a really strong finish to reel in U S Navy Flag. On a fast surface here, there is a risk that that rival could pinch a handy lead off the home turn but Romanised is the way to bet at 11-2. Tip Two Win can go well again but might lack the necessary finishing kick.
5.00 Ascot Handicap The record of Willie Mullins means that all five of his are worth a look but perhaps Alan King can trump the Irishman this time with Coeur De Lion. Place prize money has been his speciality in marathon Flat handicaps but he was a shade unlucky when a rival got first run on him at Chester last time and the cheekpieces fitted that day can help him again. Martin Harley, who has done well for King in recent weeks, gets his first chance aboard this one.
5.35 Wolferton Stakes There is no shame in having been beaten by a Charle Appleby runner on Guineas weekend this year, a time when the Godolphin man was close to unbeatable. Sharja Bridge went down by just half a length that day, was well clear of the third and is ready for this step up into Listed company.
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Ladbrokes Royal Ascot tipping competition
You could win a £50 bet from Ladbrokes 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 BST. 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. And post your tips or racing-related comments below.
Royal Ascot 2.30 Recoletos (nap) 3.05 Cosmic Law 3.40 Finsbury Square 4.20 Romanised (nb) 5.00 Coeur De Lion 5.35 Sharja Bridge
Thirsk 1.40 Prairie Spy 2.10 Deira Surprise 2.45 Kingstreet Lady 3.20 Beauty Filly 3.55 Madrinho 4.35 Bayshore Freeway 5.10 Mutawaary 5.45 Fyrecracker
Stratford 1.50 Stylish Dancer 2.20 Conistone 2.55 Cernunnos 3.30 Wells De Lune 4.05 Just A Feeling 4.45 Hatcher 5.20 Iniesta
Brighton 5.40 Born To Finish 6.10 Spirit Kingdom 6.40 Kachumba 7.10 Mr Tyrrell 7.40 Seinesational 8.10 Sharp Operator 8.40 Deer Song
Beverley 6.30 Pesci 7.00 Sea Youmzain 7.30 El Astronaute 8.00 Rampant Lion 8.30 Roddy 9.00 Bollin Ted
Tips by Chris Cook.
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Preamble
It used to be said that Royal Ascot opened with the best of the week – and in front of the smallest crowd. It is a day for the purists, or that is how the theory went, at least. Three Group One races, and still space to move around before the crowds really build towards the end of the week.
In fact, the first-day attendance has been outstripping the crowd for Wednesday’s card for quite a few years now, perhaps as a result of the decision to stage nearly half of the meeting’s entire roster of Group One events before 4.30pm on the opening afternoon. But the live audience of maybe 45,000 will still be nothing like the 70,000 or so expected for the final three days, and nowhere near the 55,000 who turned up for the opening day when Ascot unveiled its shiny new grandstand back in 2006.
The fact that Ascot gets so many of the main events out of the way almost before anyone has drawn breath remains a bit of a puzzle.
The track no longer runs all three of Tuesday’s Group Ones at the top of the card, having inserted the Coventry Stakes – which is a Group One in all but name – as the second race of the day but three Group Ones just feels like too many when the remaining five are spread out over the next four days. None will get the attention they deserve, and one – probably the Queen Anne this time around – is likely to feel like an afterthought by this evening.
That is because the King’s Stand Stakes, the third race of the meeting, is arguably the most eagerly anticipated event of all, as it pits Battaash and Lady Aurelia against each other in a hell-for-leather dash down the straight. The St James’s Palace Stakes, meanwhile, is the official highlight of the day and there is a real chance that David, in the form of Roger Teal’s Tip Two Win, will knock out a small army of Goliaths from the biggest bloodstock operations in the business.
Away from the Group One action, Calyx versus Sergei Prokofiev in the Coventry Stakes will probably decide the early favourite for next year’s 2,000 Guineas, while the Ascot Stakes at 5.00 has several possible “plunge” horses lurking in the field, including Stratum, in the colours of Tony Bloom, whose Withhold landed a huge gamble in another big staying handicap, the Cesarewitch, last year.
The going at Ascot is officially good-to-firm and the forecast is for a generally dry and warm week. The stage is set for a fabulous week of racing, and it all gets under way at 2.30pm BST.
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