Stage fit for a Queen
The Gold Cup is traditionally the highlight of the week at Royal Ascot and Thursday could be quite some occasion if the Queen arrives at the track for the first time this Platinum Jubilee year and sees her horse Reach For The Moon win the Hampton Court Stakes, for which he is an odds-on favourite. That story would knock the Gold Cup, even if Stradivarius returns to win the race for a record-equalling fourth time, off the front pages of even the racing press. It is likely we won’t find out till around midday if the Queen is to make her way to the track but it promises to be some atmosphere if she does and you can follow all the action here.
Updated
Kensington Palace Stakes (6.10pm) result
1 Rising Star (N Callan) 40-1
2 Random Harvest (Saffie Osborne) 40-1
3 Isola Rossa (Hayley Turner) 22-1
4 State Occasion (Rossa Ryan) 8-1
20 ran
Also: 7-2 Fav Haziya
Non Runners: 1,12
Updated
Kensington Palace Stakes (6.10pm)
And they’re off ... White Moonlight has an early lead ... Random Harvest and Ffion are chasing the leader ... Haziya comes with a run but Rising Star holds off Random Harvest in a fight to the line at 40-1!!!
Updated
Kensington Palace Stakes (6.10pm) betting
- Haziya – 4/1
- White Moonlight – 13/2
- Improvised – 9/1
- Spirit of the Bay – 11/1
- Farhh to Shy – 12/1
- State Occaision – 12/1
- Angel Power – 14/1
- Dubai Love – 16/1
- Isola Rossa – 22/1
- Don’t Tell Claire – 22/1
- Pretty Sweet – 25/1
- Serendading – 25/1
- BAR – 33/1
- Full Oddschecker betting
Updated
Kensington Palace Stakes (6.10pm) preview
A big field of closely handicapped fillies and mares over the round mile to draw proceedings to a close, and another chance for Joseph O’Brien to break his Royal Ascot duck as a trainer (if he hasn’t already done so earlier in the afternoon). O’Brien saddles Haziya, a lightly-raced four-year-old who won at Leopardstown in early April and caught the eye when third at the Curragh last time.
White Moonlight, meanwhile, has even less form in the book, but she looked like a potential Pattern-class filly as a juvenile in 2019 but was off the track for 971 days before a satisfactory return to action at Chelmsford earlier this month. She has an entry in the Group One Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket next month so is clearly still held in high regard, but there has to be a concern that she might “bounce”, running less than a fortnight after such a long beak.
So I’ll have a delve into the longer-priced runners for a selection, and try Ffion, last year’s runner-up in a David Loughnane 1-2 behind Lola Showgirl. She is higher in the weights this time around but put up a career-best to win at Chester last time and has presumably been targeted towards this race all season by her shrewd trainer.
Selection: FFION
Updated
Windsor Castle Stakes (5.35pm) result
1 Little Big Bear (R L Moore) 6-5 Fav
2 Rocket Rodney (Daniel Muscutt) 14-1
3 Eddie’s Boy (Hollie Doyle) 40-1
24 ran
Updated
Windsor Castle Stakes (5.35pm)
And they’re off ... Rocking Ends is quick off the blocks ... Little Big Bear is up there ... Rocket Rodney challenges late but Little Big Bear holds off the challenge to land the odds. A first win of the week for Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore.
Updated
Windsor Castle Stakes (5.35pm) betting
- Little Big Bear – 13/8
- Chateau – 7/1
- Wodao – 10/1
- Bolt Action – 11/1
- Knebworth – 14/1
- Rocket Rodney – 12/1
- Far Shot – 18/1
- Union Court – 25/1
- Star of Lady – 25/1
- JumBeau – 30/1
- Seismic Spirit – 33/1
- BAR – 33/1
- Full Oddschecker betting
Updated
Windsor Castle Stakes (5.35pm) preview
Royal Ascot 5.35 Another speed test for juveniles, and an increasingly warm favourite, as Aidan O’Brien’s Little Big Bear is now no bigger than 7-4 having been widely available at 9-4 overnight. The son of No Nay Never certainly looked like a useful prospect when going three lengths clear of his field at Naas last time, and that was a decent performance on the clock too so he is definitely the one to beat.
Favourites do not have a particularly strong record in this race, however, probably because the field will always include a whole host of potential improvers, and Chateua, Knebworth, Rocket Rodney and Far Shot all fall into that category, along with Roger Varian’s colt Bolt Action. I’ll take a chance on the latter, who won by four lengths in a fast time on his debut at Leicester 15 days ago and could outrun his price of around 11-1.
Selection: BOLT ACTION
Updated
Royal Hunt Cup (5pm) result
1 Dark Shift (James McDonald) 13-2
2 Intellogent (James Doyle) 40-1
3 Tempus (Hollie Doyle) 28-1
4 Astro King (R L Moore) 17-2
29 ran
Also: 7-2 Fav Legend Of Dubai
Non Runner: 22
Updated
Royal Hunt Cup (5pm)
And they’re off ... Percy’s Lad is out fast ... and leads the near side ... Astro King just behind the leaders in the centre with Legend Of Dubai ... Isla Kai goes for the line ... Dark Shift takes the lead and gets there from Intellogent.
Updated
Legend Of Dubai is down to 7-2 for the Royal Hunt Cup next ... big gamble!
Updated
Royal Hunt Cup (5pm) betting
- Legend of Dubai – 5/1
- Totally Charming – 8/1
- Dark Shift – 8/1
- Symbolise – 17/2
- Astro King – 10/1
- Fantastic Fox – 16/1
- Magical Morning – 20/1
- Bless Him – 18/1
- Bopedro – 28/1
- Sinjaari – 14/1
- Aratus – 22/1
- Desert Palace – 22/1
- BAR - 25/1
- Full Oddschecker betting
Updated
Royal Hunt Cup (5pm) preview
Arguably the toughest challenge for the punters of the entire meeting as a full field of handicappers thunders down the straight mile in around 100 seconds. The last Hunt Cup winner I remember backing – and it’s the sort of thing you do tend to remember – is Colour Sergeant in 1992, so here’s hoping a 30-year gap can be bridged this afternoon via Andrew Balding’s Symbolize. He has some excellent form in big-field handicaps at Ascot, including a close second over today’s trip in the Balmoral Handicap last October, and while David Probert, his rider there, is an excellent jockey, he does not have the 5lb claim that crack apprentice Harry Davies can bring to the table.
Alternatives abound, however, including Astro King, who was the tip 12 months ago and finished first … in his group on the stands’ side, but nearly five lengths behind Real World – who proved to be a Pattern horse in a handicap – on the other side of the track. Legend Of Dubai, meanwhile, has been the one for money this morning, having bolted up by more than four lengths on his first start for 246 days at Newmarket in April. This will be just the sixth start of his career, and so he has plenty of scope for progress off an 11lb higher mark, although it will also be a very different test to a five-runner race on the Rowley Mile. Totally Charming, another handicapper in storming form, is another to closely consider.
Selection: SYMBOLIZE
Updated
Duke Of Cambridge Stakes (4.20pm) result
1 Saffron Beach (W Buick) 5-2 Jt Fav
2 Thunder Beauty (D Tudhope) 40-1
3 Primo Bacio (R Kingscote) 14-1
7 ran
Also: 5-2 Jt Fav Bashkirova, 20-1 Novemba 4th
Non Runner: No 2 Sibila Spain (11-2) was withdrawn not under orders. Rule 4 applies to all bets. Deduct 15p in the £.
Updated
Duke Of Cambridge Stakes (4.20pm)
And they’re off ... going without Sibila Spain ... Novemba leads with Saffron Beach close up ... Kennella is in third ... they are racing in a line up the straight ... Saffron Beach challenges and takes the lead and kicks clear for a smooth win.
Updated
He did actually
Didn’t expect to be saying this, but Richard Madeley has just given one of the best summations of why it’s great to go racing.
— Mark Walsh (@MarkWalsh) June 15, 2022
Duke Of Cambridge Stakes (4.20pm) betting
- Bashkirova – 5/2
- Saffron Beach – 7/2
- Mother Earth – 4/1
- Sibila Spain – 11/2
- Prime Bacio – 14/1
- Novemba – 16/1
- Kennella – 35/1
- Thunder Beauty – 50/1
- Full Oddschecker betting
Updated
Duke Of Cambridge Stakes (4.20pm) preview
Just eight runners for this Group Two but seven have form in the book that would give them a squeak and two – Saffron Beach and Mother Earth – have a Group One win to their name. Mother Earth, in fact, is a Classic winner, and also landed the Group One Prix Rothschild in France last summer, but was a long way below her best in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury last time, when she dropped away very tamely. Aidan O’Brien has decided to try her in cheek-pieces today but she is possibly one to treat with some caution at present.
Saffron Beach is a fine advertisement for her trainer, Jane Chapple-Hyam, but won probably the weakest Group One of the season when she came home three lengths clear in the Sun Chariot at Newmarket in October. The rising star in the field, meanwhile, is Bashkirova, who was a very smooth winner of the Princess Elizabeth Stakes at Epsom’s Derby meeting and runs here just 11 days on from that career-best performance. William Haggas clearly thinks she is over that race so she looks like the way to go, though Sibila Spain, a Group Two winner in France last time, also deserves a mention. Christopher Head, her trainer, is the son of Freddy and thus the nephew of Criquette, which is as close to racing royalty as the Fifth Republic will ever get.
Selection: BASHKIROVA
Updated
Prince Of Wales's Stakes (3.40pm) result
1 State Of Rest (S M Crosse) 5-1
2 Bay Bridge (R L Moore) 10-11 Fav
5 ran
Updated
Prince Of Wales's Stakes (3.40pm)
And they’re off ... Lord North almost refused to come out of the stalls and is ten lenghts or so behind the others ... State Of Rest leads ... Lord North is back in touch ... Shahryar is in second and Bay Bridge just behind ... Shahryar goes for home on the turn in but State Of Rest leads with Bay Bridge challenging ... but State Of Rest holds on to win.
Updated
Close attention will be paid to the attendance figures at Royal Ascot this week as unrestricted crowds return to the meeting for the first time since 2019, and the first number from Tuesday’s opening day is a little disappointing.
The official crowd yesterday was 42,239, a drop of 2,900, or 6.4%, on the same day in 2019 despite the attractions of an extra race on the card and the novelty value of being allowed to turn up in the first place.
That will mean extra scrutiny for Wednesday’s crowd, although the remainder of the week – when attendance has been capped at around 50,000 – should be a sell-out, as all three days have attracted between 65,000 and 70,000 spectators for the best part of a decade.
Updated
Prince Of Wales's Stakes (3.40pm) betting
- Bay Bridge – Evens
- Shahryar – 4/1
- State of Rest – 11/2
- Lord North – 17/2
- Grand Glory – 12/1
- Full Oddschecker betting
Updated
Prince Of Wales's Stakes (3.40pm) preview
The feature event of the day, £1m in prize money on offer with £600k to the winner, and a potential history-maker in Shahryar, the winner of last year’s Japanese Derby and the Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan in March. This race was the scene of a huge recent disappointment for Japanese racing in its pursuit of a first winner at the Royal meeting, as A Shin Hikari went off at 8-13 in 2016, only to finish last of the six runners. Deirdre, a 33-1 outsider, filled the same spot three years later, which remains the best finishing position of any of the nine previous Japanese challengers here, so with just five going to post today, Shahryar is sure to go at least one place better. Hideaki Fujiwara, his trainer, will hope for much better than that, however, and he is likely to go off as a solid second-favourite behind Bay Bridge, the impressive recent winner of the Brigadier Gerard Stakes, who is stepping up to Group One company for the first time. State Of Rest will also attract plenty of support to get Joseph O’Brien, who rode six Royal winners as a jockey including So You Think in this race 10 years ago, off the mark as a trainer (he is 0-43 with his runners so far).
Selection: BAY BRIDGE
Updated
Queen's Vase (3.05pm) result
1 Eldar Eldarov (David Egan) 5-2 Fav
2 Zechariah (C T Keane) 20-1
3 Hafit (James Doyle) 9-1
12 ran
Also: 10-1 Al Qareem 4th
Updated
Queen's Vase (3.05pm)
And they’re off ... Al Qareem and Baltic Bird take the field along in the early stages ... the leader has gone five lengths clear and Ruler Legend in third is pulling hard ... Perfect Alibi is in fourth for the Queen ... with the leader now eight lengths ahead ... on the home turn and Zechariah tries to close ... Hafit is trying hard and Eldar Eldarov is just catching the leader at the line. Photo-finish Zechariah v Eldar Eldarov. That is very, very close. First: Eldar Eldarov after a long, long wait!
Updated
Queen's Vase (3.05pm) betting
- Eldar Eldarov – 5/2
- Nahnni – 9/2
- Anchorage – 8/1
- Al Qareem – 11/1
- Hafit – 9/1
- Baltic Bird – 10/1
- Perfect Alibi – 16/1
- Ruler Legend – 16/1
- Zechariah – 20/1
- Typewriter – 25/1
- Emotion – 25/1
- Green Team – 33/1
- Full Oddschecker betting
Updated
Queen's Vase (3.05pm) preview
From lightning speed to durability and stamina, as a dozen three-year-olds go to post for a race in which several Group One-winning stayers have announced their arrival in recent seasons. Stradivarius – who will bid to win his fourth Gold Cup tomorrow – won in 2017 and the subsequent St Leger winner, Kew Gardens, came home in front a year later, while Santiago, in 2020, went on to win the Irish Derby just eight days later. Put today’s winner in your notebook, in other words, with the most obvious candidates being Nahanni, Eldar Eldarov and Anchorage (whose trainer, Aidan O’Brien, has saddled the winner seven times since 2007).
Nahanni ran in the Derby last time and did quite well in the circumstances, finishing seventh of the 17 runners after a slow start meant that his race was over almost before it had begun. Eldar Eldarov, meanwhile, arrives unbeaten after two starts in minor events at Newcastle and Nottingham, but is taking a much bigger step up in both distance and class than his main market rival. Roger Varian’s colt has emerged as the clear favourite this morning but at the likely odds, Nahanni feels like the safer bet.
Selection: NAHANNI
Updated
That was a terrific victory for Dramatised in the opening race today and she looks very useful to have done that on only her second outing. But it’s the jockey who could prove just a big a story this week. No one was mentioning Danny Tudhope as top jockey at Royal Ascot but that is his third victory already, and we’re only on day two.
Tudhope lost his whip though and admitted afterwards: “It was a nightmare to be honest. I went to spin [the whip] and lost it about a furlong and a half out but she has so much talent and so much speed.”
Winning trainer Karl Burke said: “She’s definitely a Group One horse ... we have spoke about the Prix Morny, and later the Lowther Stakes at York would definitely be an option.”
What a first race to start the day! 👏
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) June 15, 2022
Dramatised wins for @karl_burke in the Queen Mary Stakes 🥇#ITVRacing | #RoyalAscot |@ascot pic.twitter.com/gYzGY921d9
Updated
Queen Mary Stakes (2.30pm) result
1 Dramatised (D Tudhope) 5-2 Fav
2 Maylandsea (David Egan) 28-1
3 Maria Branwell (K Shoemark) 9-1
21 ran
Also: 11-4 Love Reigns 4th
Updated
Queen Mary Stakes (2.30pm)
And they’re off ... Manhattan Jungle leads on the near side ... Love Reigns down the middle ... Katey Kontent is there but Dramatised is coming to take over and kicks clear for a stunning success with Maylandsea chasing her home.
Updated
Queen Mary Stakes (2.30pm) betting
- Dramatised – 11/4
- Love Reigns - 3/1
- Maria Branwell – 17/2
- Katey Kontent – 11/1
- Lady Tilbury – 16/1
- All the Time – 18/1
- Yahsat – 22/1
- Carmella - 28/1
- Miami Girl – 25/1
- The Platinum Queen – 33/1
- Manhattan Jungle – 40/1
- Full betting at Oddschecker here
Queen Mary Stakes (2.30pm) preview
Royal Ascot 2.30 A blink-and-you’ll-miss-it test of speed for 21 juvenile fillies, in which Dramatised, from the Karl Burke stable, and Wesley Ward’s American raider Love Reignsare locked together at the head of the market. Both have one race and one win on their record, but Ward’s past record in this race – with four wins in the last 13 years – had seen the market tilt towards Love Reigns in recent days, until Ward’s Golden Pal ran tamely to finish last in yesterday’s King’s Stand Stakes.
The money has now started to arrive for Dramatised, and while Katey Kontent, Maria Branwell and All The Time are all likely to be involved if they continue to progress, Dramatised could prove to be a cut above. Her winning time at Newmarket in April was even more impressive than her four-length margin of victory. Keep an eye on Maria Branwell too though, as Crispy Cat – the horse she beat in the National Stakes at Sandown last time – is among the contenders for tomorrow’s Norfolk Stakes.
Selection: DRAMATISED
Ascot have announced they are happy with precautions as the temperature is set to reach over 30C on Friday. Clerk of the course Chris Stickels told the Racing Post: “We’ve raced at Royal Ascot in temperatures of 32C, 33C and 34C before. I don’t want to sound flippant but we have plenty of water and devices here to help out with cooling horses. There’s lots of water around and we have the cooling misting fans to use too.”
“We have plenty of cold water and ice available in order to help cool horses down. They’re all in strategic places,” Stickels said. “There’s lots of water around the horse exits and further around the track and in the pull-up areas, as well as on the way back to the stables. There’s plenty of staff and extra water valves too. It’s a huge amount of resources and I don’t think anything extra will be required.”
What about the poor racegoers though? There is no indication that the strict dress code policy which requires men to wear jackets in the Queen Anne, Village and Royal Enclosures will be eased.
All the Queen's Horses
Her trainers are primed to have the Queen’s horses ready this week so how may winners will she have? Reach For The Moon, who races tomorrow when she may well attend, clearly has the best chance and has been backed all week into a very short price. Ladbrokes are offering 5-2 that the Queen has two or more winners if backing odds-on shots is not for you while britishgambler.co.uk are suggesting an optimistic 1272-1 accumulator on Perfect Alibi, Saga, Reach For The Moon. and Just Fine.
Here are the possible runners she has left to run this week ...
Today:
Perfect Alibi (16-1) – Queen’s Vase
Thursday:
Saga (12-1) – Britannia Stakes
Reach For The Moon (8-13) - Hampton Court Stakes
Tactical (16-1) – Buckingham Palace Stakes
Friday:
Just Fine (4-1) – Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes
Discretion (18-1) – Sandringham Stake
Spring Is Spung (22-1) – Palace Of Holyroodhouse Stakes
Saturday:
King’s Lynn (33-1) - Platinum Jubilee Stakes
Updated
Nature Strip, yesterday’s runaway winner of the King’s Stand Stakes, will not be bidding for a Royal Ascot double this week by running again on Saturday.
King's Stand Stakes hero Nature Strip will not bid for a historic Royal Ascot double after connections ruled him out of the Platinum Jubilee Stakes ❌
— Racing Post (@RacingPost) June 15, 2022
Read more 👇
Updated
Rebel Territory, who was set to run in the Royal Hunt Cup at 5pm, is the latest non-runner, a very frustrating exit for the horses’s trainer Amanda Perrett.
Amanda Perrett will be very frustrated with Rebel Territory having to come out of the Hunt Cup due to lameness. Its too late for the first reserve to get in and that first reserve was the Amanda Perrett trained, You’re Hired.
— john o'connell (@johnoconnell6) June 15, 2022
TV presenter Richard Madeley has made it ... with his wife Judy Finnigan
Her Majesty officially a non-runner ...
Buckingham Palace confirm the Queen will not be travelling to Royal Ascot today ❌
— Racing Post (@RacingPost) June 15, 2022
The Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and Vice Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt will be in the first carriage of the royal procession 👑
Read more 👇
And it’s the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes at 4.20pm today too!
No Queen or the Duke and Duches of Cambridge on day 2 of Royal Ascot either pic.twitter.com/mC5V2Nlxeb
— RegalFille (@RegalFille) June 15, 2022
Royal Procession (2pm)
1st Carriage
The Prince of Wales
The Duchess of Cornwall
Vice Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt
2nd Carriage
The Earl of Wessex
The Countess of Wessex
The Lord de Mauley
The Lady de Mauley
3rd Carriage
Princess Alexandra, the Hon Lady Ogilvy
The Countess Mountbatten of Burma
Princess Beatrice, Mrs. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi
Mr. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi
4th Carriage
Mr. David Bowes-Lyon
Mrs. David Bowes-Lyon
Mr. Peter V’Landys
Mrs. Peter V’Landys
Looks like the Queen is a likely non-runner again today ...
It is understood The Queen is not expected to attend Royal Ascot for the second day running.
— Cameron Walker (@CameronDLWalker) June 15, 2022
Her Majesty has one runner today, Perfect Alibi, expected to race at 15:05.
Updated
There’s been a sniffer dog in the press room today. He’s been a busy boy.
Updated
It’s almost that time again ... the royal procession down the track is back at about 2pm (after being seen for the first time since 2019 yesterday) and we can expect the details of who will be in it at midday. The Queen is again a doubtful runner at Ascot and people will be waiting to see if she’s in the first carriage, though there is a suggestion that she might arrive by car if she does go to the races and if there’s a day she’s likely to go then it’s Thursday, Gold Cup day, when she traditionally presents the trophy to the big-race winner and she also has an odds-on shot running in one of the races.
This is also the time when I mention the Serpentine gallery exhibition by artist Mark Wallinger I saw back in 1994 when one of his installations, called ‘Royal Ascot’, consisted of a series of video monitors on top of wheeled flight cases, each isolating the royal carriage’s leisurely progress down the track on the Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (respectively, as it was then) of the meeting with the added TV commentary.
The point Wallinger was making is that the difference from day to day was barely discernible but what was different yesterday, a point made by former Racing Post editor Bruce Millington and by Jack Keene in the Sun, was that the procession passed by “in total silence, with none of the usual rapturous applause and cheers.” The Queen’s passing will clearly mark a major shift in support for the monarchy. Keene himself says it’s time to ditch the procession. Off with his head! Or maybe just the photo-shopped Royal Ascot topper?!
… @jkeene124 in the Sun “the four carriages coasted past the huge grandstands [at #RoyalAscot] without a murmur” pic.twitter.com/vpWzg7quuY
— Tony Paley (@tpaleyfilm) June 14, 2022
Updated
Non runners
Don’t put these on your betting slips. They aren’t turning up! I do like the idea of these horses self-certificating ...
6.10pm Kensington Palace Handicap
1 Technique (Self Certificate – In Season)
12 Mobadra (Self Certificate – Infection)
Going news
The Ascot clerk of the course Chris Stickels has just been on Sky Sports Racing and said: “We’ve put 4mm of watering on the track to maintain the moisture. It will be fast ground but it’s a fantastic racing surface. We still have a dry forecast for the next couple of days and then we’re not sure what is going to happen on Saturday. There are one or two forecasts of thunderstorms.”
The going for day two of Royal Ascot is officially Good to Firm, with the GoingStick readings at 8am:
Stands side: 8.4
Centre: 8.4
Farside: 8.5
Round: 7.4
The farside is just a bit quicker on the straight but not much in it. Perhaps those in the low numbered stalls may be at advantage in the opener according to some pundits ...
Worth noting that on good or faster since 2000, three Queen Mary winners (Romantic Myth, Maqaasid and Campanelle) have come from the stall nearest the far rail (1). @TheTote1000 @WorldPool
— Rory Delargy (@helynsar) June 15, 2022
Preamble
Good morning from Royal Ascot, where temperatures are forecast to reach 25C this afternoon, the good-to-firm ground will be getting quicker by the minute and several thousand gentlemen (and rogues) who are really not dressed for the weather will already be perspiring freely as the Royal Procession makes its way down the track at 2pm.
But it should be worth the discomfort, because Wednesday’s card has something for everyone: a couple of juvenile sprints, a field full of St Leger types in the Queen’s Vase, one of the year’s most competitive handicaps and the Royal meeting’s first ever £1m race at 3.40.
That works out as £200,000 per runner in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes, but what the feature event lacks in numbers, it makes up for in quality and variety. Bay Bridge, the favourite, is stepping up to Group One company for the first time, whereas his four rivals all have at least one victory at the highest level to their name.
Sir Michael Stoute’s colt was odds-against at 5-4 on Tuesday afternoon but there has been plenty of cash for him this morning and you will now struggle to beat 10-11. There were echoes of the great Mtoto about his win in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown last time – which to my mind is pretty much the highest praise you could ever attach to a racehorse – and Bay Bridge will send his Derby-winning trainer, Sir Michael Stoute, past £2m in prize money in 2022 if he picks up the £600,000 first prize.
His biggest rival according to the betting is Japanese-trained Shahryar, who took the immensely valuable Sheema Classic on World Cup night in Dubai back in March and is looking to be the first runner from Japan to win a race at the Royal meeting. All five runners, though, will go to post with a realistic chance, and it promises to be a fine highlight despite the lack of numbers.
The action is underway at 2.30pm as a big field of juvenile fillies flies down the five-furlong course in the Group Two Queen Mary Stakes. News, results, race-by-race previews and even in-running commentaries will be here on the blog as the action unfolds, so let’s saddle up for the second afternoon at the Royal meeting.
Updated
