Greg Wood's report
See you tomorrow
Well that was an odd day. The oddest Royal Ascot in living memory with no crowds, no atmosphere and no Queen, who like the rest of us was tuning in from home. There was a great story as the modestly priced Pyledriver beat the million-dollars purchase Mogul and now heads for the Derby. Circus Maximus won the Queen Anne Stakes and foiled Terebellum with Frankie Dettori up. Frankie did, however, get to do his flying dismount after Frankly Darling, arguably the most impressive winner of the day, hacked up. Even he was upstaged by Jim Crowley who rode a treble on the day, including on Battaash, the fastest thing on four legs, in the King’s Stand Stakes. Finally, it was all about #RoyalAscot at home and this scene sums it up well, as trainer Charlie Hills’s young lads celebrated the victory of the brilliant Battaash. See you tomorrow.
That winning feeling from the living room! 🙌🎉@cbhills boys cheer home Battaash and Equilateral in the King’s Stand Stakes! 🥰
— Ascot Racecourse (@Ascot) June 16, 2020
📽 Behind the scenes of #RoyalAscot At Home with #QIPCO pic.twitter.com/1kSNxxFwpA
Ascot Stakes Handicap (4.40pm) result
1 Coeur De Lion (Thore Hammer Hansen) 16-1
2 Verdana Blue (R L Moore) 4-1 Fav
3 Summer Moon (J Fanning) 11-2
4 Smart Champion (Callum Shepherd) 22-1
19 ran
Non Runner: 15
Coeur De Lion wins the Ascot Stakes, a first #RoyalAscot winner for @ThoreHammer! pic.twitter.com/FAWPtPittY
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 16, 2020
Updated
Ascot Stakes Handicap (4.40pm)
They’re off ... Pianimisso leads them early in this marathon contest ... Summer Moon is in second as they head out past the winning post for the first time with a circuit to go ... Dubawi Fifty and Land Of Oz are both prominent ... Verdana Blue, the favourite, is in a good position on the inside ... Quloob has made a big move into fourth spot ... and Summer Moon takes the lead ... Land Of Oz and Verdana Blue are trying hard ... Coeur De Lion comes wide to pip the leading pair and win for Alan King.
Updated
Ascot Stakes Handicap (4.40pm) betting
- Verdana Blue – 5/1
- Moon King – 7/1
- Land of Oz – 7/1
- Blue Laureate – 10/1
- Summer Moon – 11/1
- Smart Champion - 14/1
- Dubawi Fifty - 14/1
- Pianissimo – 14/1
- Mancini - 16/1
- 18/1 bar
- Full betting here at Oddschecker
Ascot Stakes Handicap (4.40pm) preview
A packed field of British stayers try their luck in this marathon, cheered by the absence of the Irish raiders who have done so well in recent years. So long is this race, it has become known as “the point to point” according to Nicky Henderson, whose Verdana Blue is favourite. She’s a top-class hurdler but this distance on the Flat might be a stretch for her if they go a decent gallop and she was raised 8lb for her Sagaro fourth last year. This is the sort of race Sir Mark Prescott is good at and his Land Of Oz looks a contender, though he may have few secrets from the handicapper after six wins last year.
The relentless Moon King won again at Haydock, though there must be a risk that this will come too soon. Summer Moon, an excellent third in the Cesarewitch as a three-year-old, looks the type to do better again this year and comes from a hot yard. Frankie Dettori is an intriguing booking for Pianissimo, who was “always towards rear” at Chelmsford last week. This gelding belonged to the Queen until being sent to the sales by John Gosden in October, so there may be some sweet words uttered at Windsor Castle if he does the business.
Duke of Cambridge Stakes (4.10pm) result
1 Nazeef (Jim Crowley) 10-3
2 Agincourt (D Tudhope) 28-1
3 Queen Power (S De Sousa) 3-1 Jt Fav
10 ran
Also: 3-1 Jt Fav Jubiloso, 125-1 Iconic Choice 4th
Non Runner: 7
Nazeef grinds out the win in the Duke of Cambridge Stakes at @Ascot, edging past Agincourt at the line to give Jim Crowley his third win of the day. pic.twitter.com/CRlvrDsXKB
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) June 16, 2020
Updated
Duke of Cambridge Stakes (4.10pm)
They’re off ... Invitational was out well and leads early with Jubiloso pursuing the leader ... Magic Lily is up there as they congregate in the middle of the track ... Lavender’s Blue travels well ... Invitational kicks clear but is being pressed by Nazeef and Agincourt with Nazeef just getting there.
Updated
Duke of Cambridge Stakes (4.10pm) betting
- Jubiloso – 3/1
- Nazeef – 7/2
- Queen Power – 7/2
- Lavenders Blue – 7/1
- Wasmya – 15/2
- Magic Lily – 12/1
- Agincourt – 50/1
- Posted – 66/1
- Invitational – 66/1
- Iconic Choice – 150/1
- Full betting here
Duke of Cambridge Stakes (4.10pm) preview
Half the field have pretty obvious chances in this tricky fillies’ race, made up of well-established five-year-olds and promising four-year-olds. Sir Michael Stoute, who has won this four times but not since 2014, has the favourite in Jubiloso. She was placed in the Coronation last year and was just a length behind Billesdon Brook (runs in the Queen Anne) at Goodwood, both strong pointers in her favour for a Group Two contest.
Nazeef outpaced Billesdon Brook at Kempton recently, albeit in receipt of half a stone. She looks an improving sort for John Gosden and Jim Crowley rides, as Frankie Dettori is aboard the Al Shaqab-owned Wasmya. The latter is nicely bred and has been brought along quietly. She should improve for this return to a mile. Magic Lily is surprisingly available at double-figures after a fair run behind Terebellum 10 days ago. She’ll shorten if that winner follows up in the Queen Anne. Magic Lily has plenty of form to show she belongs at this level.
King's Stand Stakes (3.35pm) result
1 Battaash (Jim Crowley) 5-6 Fav
2 Equilateral (James Doyle) 9-1
3 Liberty Beach (Jason Hart) 4-1
11 ran
Also: 33-1 Tis Marvellous 4th
Explosive! #Battaash 🚀 pic.twitter.com/Ol3BDwySH8
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 16, 2020
Updated
King's Stand Stakes (3.35pm)
They’re off ... Battaash and Tis Marvellous are prominent as they split into two groups ... Battaash with Glass Slippers working hard ... but Battaash kicks clear for a smooth victory with the rest of the field left in his wake.
Updated
King's Stand Stakes (3.35pm) betting
- Battaash – 10/11
- Glass Slippers – 5/1
- Liberty Beach – 5/1
- Equilateral – 12/1
- Sergei Prokofiev – 25/1
- Tis Marvellous – 40/1
- Kurious – 40/1
- Shades of Blue – 50/1
- Well Done Fox – 80/1
- Hit the Bid – 80/1
- Rocket Action – 150/1
- Full betting here
King's Stand Stakes (3.35pm) preview
A crowd-free Royal Ascot seems ideal for Battaash, a nervy sort who is thought to have fretted his chance away on odd occasions in the past. Famously, he has yet to win at Ascot but Blue Point, who bested him in this race for the past two years, is safely retired and none of today’s rivals can match his achievements to date. He has a perfect record on his reappearance but his stable has been quiet this past fortnight. When he flopped in the Abbaye, Glass Slippers prevailed but that result seemed very draw-affected. Still, Glass Slippers has won her last three and should have more to give.
Equilateral, a stablemate of Battaash, was seventh last year but his Dubai form in the winter suggests he has improved. Kurious showed plenty of pace in two wins at Sandown last summer and is a half-sister to both an Abbaye winner (Tangerine Trees) and Alpha Delphini, who beat Battaash in the 2018 Nunthorpe. Liberty Beach, a very zippy juvenile last year, seeks to join Lady Aurelia as a three-year-old winner of this race.
Updated
King Edward VII Stakes (3.00pm) result
1 Pyledriver (M Dwyer) 18-1
2 Arthur’s Kingdom (L Dettori) 9-2
3 Mohican Heights (Andrea Atzeni) 4-1
6 ran
Also: 10-11 Fav Mogul 4th
Big congratulations to our chief tipster Chris Cook who found that 18-1 winner!
Pyledriver wins the King Edward VII Stakes! #RoyalAscot pic.twitter.com/M62C5HWqWQ
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 16, 2020
Updated
King Edward VII Stakes (3.00pm)
They’re off ... Arthur’s Kingdom and Sound Of Cannons share the lead as they set off ... Sound Of Cannons has kicked clear ... Papa Power back in third as they start to run uphill ... not as far in front now as they bunch up and turn for home ... Pyledriver goes forward and travelling well ... Mogul is getting going ... but Pyledriver holds them at bay to win,
Updated
King Edward VII Stakes (3.00pm) betting
- Mogul – 1/1
- Mohican Heights – 4/1
- Arthurs Kingdom – 5/1
- Papa Power – 11/1
- Pyledriver – 14/1
- Sound of Cannons – 40/1
- Full betting here
King Edward VII Stakes (3.00pm) preview
Here is the colts’ version of the Ribblesdale and effectively a Derby trial this year. Mogul, the favourite here, is just 8-1 for the Derby and is Aidan O’Brien’s shortest-priced entrant for the Epsom race at the moment. It seems a lot of expectation for a horse with a Group Two win to his name, whose finishing effort might have been stronger when he was fourth to Kameko last year. But he is very well bred and ought to have more to offer. Arthur’s Kingdom, his stablemate, is thought to be more a Leger type but Dettori is booked and some punters will have a go in case the Italian has ended up on the better runner, as happened in the Guineas.
Mohican Heights is out of a Shirley Heights mare; there can’t be many of those around, as Shirley Heights won the Derby 42 years ago. His stable has been quiet and he may well need this, though he has been well supported. Papa Power hacked up in a novice contest in February and comes from a hot yard but this is a huge step up in class. Pyledriver won races at 50-1 and 14-1 last year, ran second at 40-1 on his reappearance and is unfancied again but this step up in trip should help him and he has ability.
A member of the groundsstaff wearing a face mask during day one of Royal Ascot. Photograph: Julian Finney/PA
Newsflash: Of course, Frankie Dettori did the flying dismount on returning after victory in the Group Two Ribblesdale Stakes on Frankly Darling. The jockey said: “I think it [flying dismount] was a six out of 10, to be honest! There’s no crowd, but it’s still a Royal Ascot winner, so I thought I might as well celebrate it in style.”
Updated
One tip for anyone planning to visit a post-lockdown betting shop: take your own pen, because the days of the classic betting-shop stubbie are surely numbered. There’s still a few on the counter if you ask, but they have to be binned after a single use, so supplies are likely to be limited.
In most other respects, the betting-shop experience in the age of social distancing is much the same as before – if you are only popping in to put a bet on, at any rate. But the days when the local shop was as much a social club for its regulars as a place to gamble could be over, if the William Hill on Queen’s Road in Brighton is any guide.
No more than eight customers are allowed in the shop at any one time, the only chairs are parked in front of the FOBT machines, and those are shielded from each other by plastic screens. This is not a place where people are going to be encouraged to linger.
The old-fashioned dash for the betting window a few seconds before the off is also history. Punters must queue one at a time for the cashier, and wait their turn at a two-metre distance.
In the circumstances, though, it sounds as if business has been better than some expected. “Ascot helps,” one of the staff said, “but it’s felt like normal. I was thinking it might be really quiet.”
Updated
Ribblesdale Stakes (2.25pm) result
1 Frankly Darling (L Dettori) 11-8 Fav
2 Ennistymon (James Doyle) 11-1
3 Passion (R L Moore) 13-2
11 ran
Also: 100-1 Bharani Star 4th
Non Runner: 3
Updated
Ribblesdale Stakes (2.25pm)
They’re off ... Golden Lips takes the lead early with Frankly Darling, running keenly, in second spot ... Miss Yoda in third at this early stage ... Golden Lips two lengths clear ... West End Girl moves up to third ... Frankly Darling goes for home two furlongs out ... goes a few lengths clear and wins for Frankie Dettori.
Updated
Ribblesdale Stakes (2.25pm) betting
- Frankly Darling – 11/8
- Trefoil – 9/2
- Miss Yoda – 6/1
- Passion – 13/2
- Ennistymon – 10/1
- Hold Fast - 25/1
- West End Girl – 28/1
- Anastarsia – 66/1
- Bharani Star – 80/1
- So I Told You – 80/1
- Golden Lips – 100/1
- Full betting here
Ribblesdale Stakes (2.25pm) preview
Normally a consolation for beaten Oaks contenders, this has become a trial for the Epsom Classic, to be held next month. Frankly Darling is easy to like after her Newcastle success, when she showed an impressive stride in the straight. She’s lightly raced and inexperienced but so are many of her rivals. Her stablemate, Miss Yoda, won the Lingfield Oaks Trial but the yard seem to be clear that Frankly Darling is the better prospect.
Aidan O’Brien has won the 1,000 Guineas in England and Ireland this season but does not seem to have a strong hand here, Passion having proved rather a letdown at Navan last week. Ennistymon has achieved less so far but might be a better prospect for the Irishman. Trefoil needs to step up on a slightly disappointing return nine days ago. Hold Fast should appreciate the extra quarter-mile and could get involved.
Queen Anne Stakes (1.50pm) result
1 Circus Maximus (R L Moore) 4-1 Fav
2 Terebellum (L Dettori) 5-1
3 Marie’s Diamond (J Fanning) 40-1
15 ran
Also: 11-1 Roseman 4th
Non Runner: 2
Updated
Queen Anne Stakes (1.50pm)
Circus Maximus reportedly getting steamed up in the paddock ... it is a sultry day but can’t see that is his usual demeanour before the races ... and they’re off ... Circus Maximus is prominent with Marie’s Diamond ... the field moves towards the near rail ... Circus Maximus makes his move with Terebellum moving strongly ... Terebellum and Circus Maximus go past together .. what a race ... with Circus Maximus getting up on the line ... and avoiding more embarrassing reports about the Sheikh Mohammed/Princess Haya split if the second had won.
Updated
Queen Anne Stakes (1.50pm) betting
- Terebellum – 9/2
- Circus Maximus – 9/2
- Mohaather – 6/1
- Fox Chairman – 7/1
- Skardu – 10/1
- Mustashry – 14/1
- Roseman – 16/1
- Duke of Hazzard – 18/1
- Plumatic – 25/1
- Billesdon Brook – 25/1
- Space Traveller – 28/1
- Maries Diamond – 80/1
- Escobar – 80/1
- Accidental Agent – 100/1
- Full betting here
Queen Anne Stakes (1.50pm) preview
It can’t be the strongest Queen Anne if the second, third and fourth in the betting don’t have a Group One win between them but the compensation is that it’s really competitive. Circus Maximus heads the market, having won the St James’s Palace here last summer and also the Moulin in September. It was interesting that he hung to his left on both occasions and he wouldn’t want to do that from a far-side draw in this straight-mile contest. A straight course is a new test for him and possibly not ideal for a quirky sort whose concentration may not be flawless.
Speaking of quirky, Accidental Agent is back, having shocked us with a 33-1 success in this two years back. Last year, he refused to start. Which version of him will we see today? The bookies think they know, as he’s 80-1 in places. Terebellum travelled well and looked classy in landing a Group Two 10 days ago; this is her first race against males and also her first at a distance shorter than 10 furlongs. Fox Chairman was a slightly unlucky second in a Group Three here last year and has not been seen since the following month, leaving him plenty to prove.
The form of Mohaather’s Greenham win is not entirely convincing, though his stable is hot just now. Duke Of Hazzard was going the right way after blinkers were fitted last summer and he has a useful turn of foot, though Monday’s rain was not ideal for him.
Here’s the finish for the first race ...
We’re underway at #RoyalAscot!
— Timeform (@Timeform) June 16, 2020
MOTAKHAYYEL bursts through under @JimCrowley1978 to take the opening race of the week, the Buckingham Palace Handicap for @rhannonracing!pic.twitter.com/PrxwXwzNMC
Buckingham Palace Handicap (1.15pm) result
1 Motakhayyel (Jim Crowley) 14-1
2 Jack’s Point (M Dwyer) 66-1
3 Mutamaasik (Dane O’Neill) 7-1
4 Cliffs Of Capri (D C Costello) 20-1
23 ran
Also: 7-2 Fav Daarik
Non Runner: 16
Updated
Buckingham Palace Handicap (1.15pm)
Number 3, Blown By Wind has ditched his jockey at the start ... could be a delay ... he’s back on ... they’re off ... Keyser Soze slowly away with Gifted Master leading in the centre ... three groups spread across the track ... Jack’s Point is also prominent ... Documenting going well ... Motakhayyel goes on to win with Jack’s Point the runner-up.
Updated
In the absence of the Queen the national anthem will be played each day this week a quarter of an hour before the first race.
The national anthem plays in a socially-distanced @ascot paddock just minutes before the opening race of the historic 2020 royal meeting. pic.twitter.com/Wluwiv0YTZ
— Lee Mottershead (@leemottershead) June 16, 2020
Updated
Buckingham Palace Handicap (1.15pm) betting
- Daarik – 7/2
- Kaeso – 6/1
- Mutamaasik – 9/1
- Motakhayyel – 14/1
- Glen Shiel – 16/1
- Keyser Soze – 16/1
- Cliffs of Capri – 18/1
- Greenside – 20/1
- Flaming Spear – 20/1
- First Contact – 20/1
- Firmament – 20/1
- Ebury – 20/1
- Blown By Wind – 28/1
- Shelir – 33/1
- Documenting – 33/1
- War Glory – 33/1
- Hey Jonesy – 40/1
- Straight Right – 40/1
- Gifted Master – 50/1
- Jacks Point – 66/1
- Alexander James – 100/1
- Silent Attack – 100/1
- Habub – 100/1
- Full betting here at Oddschecker
Updated
Buckingham Palace Handicap (1.15pm) preview
This is a bit like an old friend, long since disappeared overseas, suddenly dropping in for tea. Killed off in 2015 to make way for the Commonwealth Cup, the much-lamented Buckingham Palace is back for one year only as part of this enhanced Royal Ascot. Quite possibly we will all wonder why we pined for it, as 24-runner handicaps are not the easiest to pick apart.
The market has latched onto Daarik, who impressed in scoring at Newcastle 10 days ago, his handicap debut and his first run since being gelded. He’s trained by John Gosden and it’s interesting that Gosden has crowbarred Dettori into the saddle rather than Jim Crowley, the retained first rider to Daarik’s owner, Sheikh Hamdan.
The Sheikh evidently missed this race as much as anyone, since he has four runners. Mutamaasik has an obvious chance after four wins on the bounce last year; interesting, then, that Crowley is aboard Motakhayyel, whose form chance is less clear but who may have progressed since he was last seen in July. David O’Meara, who trained the most recent winner of this race, fields an interesting pair of runners in the slightly frustrating veteran Firmament and the ex-Irish Shelir, who will surely pop up in a big handicap one day. Glen Shiel was fourth in the handicap here on Champions Day and Monday’s rain was good news for Hollie Doyle’s only mount of the day.
Updated
It would be about this time we would normally be getting the runners and riders in the Royal Procession Stakes .. this time all we have is the Queen’s broadcast to the racing nation via the Royal Ascot racecard ... and no tips!
We are honoured that Her Majesty The Queen has, as normal, written the introduction to our racecards.
— Ascot Racecourse (@Ascot) June 16, 2020
View Tuesday’s full racecard 👉 https://t.co/bN4AiI5PrL pic.twitter.com/xWeoDz0Y5n
Top trainers at Royal Ascot
Sir Michael Stoute 81
Aidan O’Brien 70
John Gosden 49
Mark Johnston 45
Saeed bin-Suroor 36
Paul Cole 21
Mick Channon 18
Dermot Weld 17
David Elsworth 16
Roger Charlton 10
James Fanshawe 10
William Haggas 10
Wesley Ward 10
This Royal meeting will have a markedly different feel, in terms of who is training the runners, the coronavirus having dramatically slimmed down the raiding party from Ireland. The Ascot Stakes at the end of today’s card has been won by Irish-trained runners in five of the last six years but this time it will be an all-British affair. Aidan O’Brien has six runners on the opening card, compared to 11 last year, and he will have five tomorrow and just four on Thursday.
John Gosden (11 declared for Thursday) looks set to outnumber him for runners over the course of the week, so there’s a case for 7-4 being a fair price for him to be top trainer this week, a feat he has not achieved since 2012. Meanwhile, I believe Darren Bunyan is the only trainer other than O’Brien to be bringing a runner over from Ireland in the first three days of this Royal Ascot. He has Hit The Bid, an outsider in the King’s Stand today. There will be a modest French presence, as Francis Graffard runs two today and Fabrice Chappet has one in the Jersey on Thursday.
Top trainer best odds:
5-4 O’Brien, 7-4 Gosden, 10-1 Appleby, Johnston, 25-1 Haggas, Stoute, 33-1 Andrew Balding, Richard Hannon, Roger Varian.
Interestingly, the Frankie Dettori-ridden horses are the ones being backed on day one with Daarik (1.15), Terebellum (1.50) and Frankly Daring (2.25) the best supported at the meeting so far. If that trio win the first three races the bookies will be running for cover.
Right on cue a spokesperson for BettingExpert.com sent me this: “Frankie is the go to rider for the public and with a huge stay-at-home audience likely to tune in, it’s no surprise to see a more casual audience turn to the jockey they know and love in the search for a Royal Ascot winner. Anyone who fancies him to have a good day is strongly advised to take early prices as despite his latter rides coming on currently less fancied horses, their odds should all collapse if he starts the meeting with a bang.”
But will we see his trademark celebration? Dettori told the Mail: “I’m not sure about the flying dismount. It is very hard to jump off a horse when there is nobody in front of you, so at the moment I don’t think I will be jumping off.” I rather suspect TV viewers will get one if he notches a treble!
Updated
Top jockeys at Royal Ascot
Frankie Dettori 67
Ryan Moore 58
Jamie Spencer 26
William Buick 23
Olivier Peslier 16
James Doyle 13
There might be Classics in which Moore ends up riding the wrong one from his employer’s stable but things tend to go pretty well for him at the Royal meeting. He’s been top jockey here no fewer than eight times, including five times in a row until 2019. That run was ended last year by Dettori, whose seven wins made him top rider in Ascot week for the first time since 2004, when he was a stripling of 33 years. Can he do it again? He might be pushing 50 but he’s got so much ammunition that another title could hardly be a surprise.
Meanwhile, other riders struggle to get a look-in. Neither Spencer nor Buick added to their totals last year, when Moore and Dettori won 12 of the 30 races and were also runner-up 10 times between them. Danny Tudhope had a good week, you may remember, with four wins.
In case you need reminding, just two female jockeys have ever won at Royal Ascot: Gay Kelleway in 1987 and Hayley Turner last year. Hollie Doyle, Josephine Gordon and Megan Nicholls all have a ride each today.
Top jockey best odds:
6-4 Dettori, 13-8 Moore, 12-1 Oisin Murphy, 16-1 Buick, 25-1 Andrea Atzeni, Jim Crowley, 33-1 Silvestre de Sousa, 50-1 James Doyle, Tom Marquand, Jason Watson.
Very few racing scribes (reptiles as the late John McCririck was fond of labelling us) are currently being allowed into racecourses under the Covid-19 restrictions. Indeed, apart from the handful of TV broadcasters there’s only the Racing Post and the Press Association with journalists at the track. BBC commentator John Hunt, who was on the Radio 4 Today programme this morning at 7.25 am (listen back here), is at the track and at the gates!
Ordinarily these gates would now be clattering open @Ascot . Not this year. pic.twitter.com/VHfmRy7JYj
— John Hunt (@HuntyCaller) June 16, 2020
Updated
Today’s tips (full analysis here)
1.15pm Buckingham Palace Handicap
Daarik 7-2
1.50pm Queen Anne Stakes
Duke Of Hazzard (nap) 16-1
2.25pm Ribblesdale Stakes
Frankly Darling 6-4
3.00pm King Edward VII Stakes
Pyledriver 16-1
3.35pm King’s Stand Stakes
Kurious 28-1
4.10pm Duke Of Cambridge Stakes
Wasmya 7-1
4.40pm Ascot Stakes (Handicap)
Summer Moon 11-1
Updated
The Betfair Royal Ascot tipping competition
You could win a £50 account credit from Betfair 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 1.15pm. There are seven 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 please post your tips or racing-related comments below.
Going eases after overnight rain
The going news from the track this morning is that the course is now officially good-to-soft, following 10mm of rain in thundery showers on Monday evening.
“The forecast is for a warm day but this may again trigger some thundery showers later,” Chris Stickels, Ascot’s clerk of the course, said on the track’s Twitter feed a few minutes ago. “The forecast remains similar for the remainder of the week.”
A little more detail on this can be found here. The course has taken 10.2mm of rain in the last 24 hours, and lost 0.39mm to evapotranspiration since midnight, a rate which should remain fairly steady if the temperature (around 18C) and humidity (79%) do not change significantly and the wind does not get up.
The unknown, of course, is how much rain, if any, is going to arrive over the next few days – but at least if it does, we will know about it in minute detail as soon as it appears. And Royal Ascot is never quite as much fun if you are casting nervous glances at the sky every 10 minutes, so perhaps “at home” will prove to be the best place to watch the action after all this year?
The latest news on the ground and conditions from our Clerk of the Course Chris Stickels #RoyalAscot pic.twitter.com/5sba6MMSJB
— Ascot Racecourse (@Ascot) June 16, 2020
It's Royal Ascot ... but not as we know it
In early May, the chance that Royal Ascot 2020 would open as scheduled on 16 June was seen as so remote by the backers on Betfair’s betting exchange that around £1,000 was matched on “Yes” on its “Will Racing Go Ahead?” market at about 25-1.
Yet just a few weeks later, here we are. Or rather, we aren’t. For the first time in a history which is generally dated to around 1807, the grandstands will be empty as the runners go to post for the opening race just after 1pm today, a moment which was memorably captured by Lerner and Loewe in My Fair Lady (without ever explaining how Rex Harrison managed to evade the bowler-hatted dress-code police and get into the Royal enclosure without a morning suit).
Racing behind closed doors is a necessity that the sport will hopefully not have enough time to get fully used to, as without paying spectators, the balance sheet does not even come close to equilibrium. A badge for the Royal enclosure would have cost £125 – which works out as around £4m in revenue before any of them have bought a bottle of champagne or some strawberries. With well over 200,000 tickets for other enclosures too, the drop in income is eye-watering.
The only significant source of revenue from this year’s Royal meeting, in fact, will be from betting, and there are six new races – all tricky handicaps – for one year only, while bookmakers will be falling over themselves with special offers and enticements to new customers to try and get some money into their (mainly digital) satchels. Some betting shops started to re-open from yesterday, but with social distancing rules to enforce and many still shut, online is almost certainly the way to go for punters.
The good news for backers is that everyone can access the online information hub on going, rainfall and so on, which Ascot has set up for owners who have been denied access to see their horses run for Royal glory. It offers probably the most extensive range of information on track conditions ever provided to the punting public, up to and including the rate at which the course is losing moisture. That should make winners at least a little bit easier to find.
The lightning-fast Baattash’s attempt to finally lay his Royal Ascot hoodoo in the King’s Stand Stakes is the feature event on the opening day, since the St James’s Palace Stakes, which normally takes centre stage, has been shifted to Saturday as part of a re-arrangement which you can imagine becoming a permanent legacy of this year’s meeting as it puts three Group Ones on the most popular, closing day.
