1.45pm Live racing
Tony Paley guides you through the afternoon's action with news, views and comment.
Will Bankable cash in?
Yesterday ended catastrophically for punters with an outsider getting up to foil a couple of gambles in the big handicap and a 100-1 shot careering home in the last. Today Bankable will start the shortest-priced favourite for a major handicap at Royal Ascot in living memory. If he and Duke Of Marmalade, the other 'banker' on day two, win the punters will be back in front.
1.55pm Aidan O'Brien and his team have just been thrown off the track as The Queen and guests are about to enter the home straight. I hope O'Brien has already decided which part of the track will be favoured. The 7-1 we took about O'Brien's Jupiter Pluvius, Ron Cox's tip in the first, has gone as predicted and we are hoping for a bold show.
2pm Kinane angry at being jocked off
Intriguing news from the weighing room. Mick Kinane, who was due to ride Sixties Icon in the big race at 3.45, has been jocked off after Frankie Dettori became available following Literato's defection. Kinane and his agent objected to the stewards, an action unheard of unless someone out there can correct me. The stewards informed Kinane that as Dettori has been Sixties Icon's usual partner then they were not of a mind to disallow the change. Watch out the next time Dettori and Kinane clash on the track!
2.05pm What a caper(r)!
That James Sherwood, the love-him-or-hate-him fashion critic on the Beeb, has just said "well at least The Queen isn't wearing her Burberry cape -- that's a mercy!" Times have changed -- no one would have been the least critical of Her Maj pre-Sherwood days. Whatever you think of him, he certainly says what he thinks.
2.35pm Aqlaam delivers
The unexposed Aqlaam, who was quietly fancied, wins the opener. An excellent performance on only his third outing and an obvious candidate for bigger prizes. Frankie Dettori was right to pick second-placed Il Warrd of the Godolphin pair with the other from the stable, Calming Influence, finishing well beaten. However, the yard are still struggling overall and will be desperate for a winner at the meeting. Jupiter Pluvius had every chance but has obviously gone backwards.
3.10pm Ryan Moore is cursed!
Moore, the leading jockey, has yet to win a horse race at Royal Ascot but he must have thought he was going to when Heaven Sent went clear. The BBC thought so as they zoomed in on the filly twice only for the French filly Sabana Perdida to swoop late for victory. My colleagues, who were watching the Beeb coverage, were cursing but I watch ATR (Attheraces) -- better camera angles and better commentators. Ron's tip, Grecian Dancer, did not have the best of runs and stays on into third. It's our last chance with her as she is away to have a foal.
3.35pm Bookies in a jam with Marmalade
Here we go. Duke Of Marmalade is as short as 11-10 now and the money is piling on. I'm not sure this one deserves to be as short as this and there must be some value to be had elsewhere. Ron is with Pressing, I think Phoenix Tower has claims and for those who want an outsider the suggestion is Loup Breton.
The bookies are in retreat after Duke Of Marmalade wins with plenty in hand after a race that would not have been ideally run to suit him. The Ballydoyle/Coolmore camp are simply different gravy -- another easy success and a third Group 1 victory for them already this week. The winner is 7-1 for the King George back at Ascot in July and that seems the logical next target although he has never won a race at a mile and a half and stablemate Soldier Of Fortune would be an obvious candidate for that race.
Meanwhile, what price will Bankable be now! Those poor bookmakers . . .
4.30pm Bookies get out of jail
Bankable has run an incredible race in the Hunt Cup -- but only finishes fifth. There was an obvious bias in favour of the low numbers with horses drawn 4, 1, 5 and 6 filling the first four positions. Bankable is drawn 25 and makes up an enormous amount of ground from an impossible position. That was a very unsatisfactory race and punters have got to take a position now -- either go with the low bias or hope the overnight rain changes matters. All the jockeys are now going to want to go straight over to the stands rails where the bias seems to be and there are going to be serious traffic problems in races up the straight. It's a mess!
5pm Quick on the draw
For those who were quick on the draw, stall 6 beats 2, beats 1, beats 4 in the latest race on the straight course. Langs Lash wins the races but perhaps Lucky Leigh (first home on the unfavoured side) could turn out to be the best of those that ran in the Queen Mary Stakes.
5.35pm Festivale cheers backers
All the jockeys crowd up the favoured stands rail in the last. Illusion looks to have won the race when kicking clear, but Festivale comes to nab the fiilly late in the day. Phew -- another tough day, and Duke Of Marmalade aside, it's been another good day for the bookie chappies.
Tomorrow, for what it's worth, Dr Faustus looks very interesting and I was pleased to see Ron had gone for that. He's napped Colony in the last and interestingly he reckons the horses drawn high in the Britannia Handicap will stay there with clever Philip Robinson drawn in No 30. Ron's tipped Radford and he must have a screaming chance if getting the breaks. We punters eh -- like moths to a flame!! Good night.
Need some help finding those winners? Well Ron Cox is on hand to help.
And for images of the disastrous and delightful fashion statements that have graced Ascot over the last century, look no further than our picture gallery.
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