With the Guineas, Derby and Oaks now behind us, Flat fans can now turn their attentions to the showpiece festival on the calendar, as next week will see Royal Ascot take centre stage between June 18-22, and it will see the elite thoroughbreds flock to the Berkshire venue to battle it out for glory in a host of top-class races.
A multitude of Group races sit alongside some devilishly difficult handicap contests over the five days, and with the hope that the current wet weather can blow away before next week’s action gets under way on Tuesday, then we are all set for a spectacular Summer showpiece.
As is tradition now, the meeting kicks off with a flurry of Group events and the Queen Anne Stakes will be the customary curtain-raiser and Eve Johnson Houghton’s Accidental Agent will aim to retain his crown, but Le Brivido (4/1 with bet365) and Mustashry are prominent figures in the betting for what should be a corking Group 1 event.
The Coventry Stakes will attract the speedy two-year-olds, while the King’s Stand Stakes and St James’s Palace Stakes will keep the Group bandwagon rolling on. The latter of those Group 1 events will potentially see Phoenix Of Spain, Too Darn Hot and Magna Grecia lock horns.
Day two will see the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes take centre stage and Sea Of Class and Magical (both 5/2 with Betfred) could be ready for an almighty tear-up, while the Royal Hunt Cup will serve up arguably the toughest betting conundrum of the entire week.
Ladies Day takes place on Thursday and star stayer Stradivarius (13/8 with BetVictor) will aim to retain his Gold Cup crown, but the marathon Group 1 will see Cross Counter and Dee Ex Bee try to down the Sir Michael Stoute-trained star, who kicked off his campaign with a win last month.
Two Group 1 races light up Friday’s action with the Coronation Stakes and Commonwealth Cup likely to attracting some top notch fields with Guineas heroine Hermosa likely to be a warm order for the former of those events.
The Diamond Jubilee Stakes is the main attraction on Saturday as the Group 1 6f event attracts some classy speedsters, while the Queen Alexandra Stakes will conclude the meeting with the likelihood of National Hunt trainers taking on Flat trainers in the 2m 6f race that draws a close to proceedings.