Royal Ascot 2023: Frankie Dettori chasing more glory on day four – live | Royal Ascot

1st Carriage
The King
The Queen
The Duke of Devonshire
The Duchess of Devonshire

2nd Carriage
The Prince of Wales
The Princess of Wales
Princess Beatrice, Mrs. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi
Mr. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi

3rd Carriage
The Duchess of Edinburgh
The Earl of Caledon
Prince Michael of Kent
Princess Michael of Kent

4th Carriage
Dame Judi Dench
Mr. David Mills
Mr. William Farish
Mrs. William Farish

Frankie Dettorihas lodged an appeal against the nine-day suspension he incurred on the first day of Royal Ascot.

Dettori partnered Saga, who is owned by the King and Queen, for John and Thady Gosdenin the Wolferton Stakes but was found guilty of careless riding after the stewards judged him to have allowed his mount to shift across the track, causing interference to other runners in the process.

The suspension is due to run from 4-12 July, which would rule him out of riding Emily Upjohn in the Eclipse on 8 July, and Dettori and his legal team have decided there are grounds to appeal the decision of the stewards on the day.

“I put my appeal in yesterday, so it’s fingers crossed,” Dettori told talkSPORT. “I spoke to my lawyers and they told me to appeal.”

After a disappointing first day, Dettori subsequently won Wednesday’s Queen’s Vase on Gregory before claiming a ninth Gold Cup aboard Courage Mon Ami to the delight of the crowd on Thursday.

With him still riding at the top of his game, it has led to calls for him to delay his retirement, but so far he insists his last day riding in the UK will be Champions Day at Ascot.

“Every day I get asked. At the moment I’m retiring – 21 October (in England) and then abroad. I’m sticking to it,” he said. “Yesterday was unbelievable, the reception that I got. I just have to say thanks for all the support over the years and let’s carry it on over another two days and have some fun.” PA Media

There’s been two stewards’ inquiries this week after the Queen’s Hat Stakes, reminding me of whether that dress was blue and black or white and gold. That dress that broke the internet in 2015. So after cream/white and duck egg blue/pastel green what for today? Our friends at BestofBets.com said: “With two days to go of Royal Ascot, not only are punters backing the colour of Queen Camilla’s hat, but there’s a fancy for William and Kate joining today’s Royal procession.

“In what many believe to be the last year of the hat betting market, eager punters have grey as a popular choice. Back in 2008, the hat betting market actually caused a bit of a scandal after bookies were forced to suspend the market following a flurry of activity. There’s no need for that this year, but don’t be surprised to see Queen Camilla turning up in grey or silver.”

Some breaking news … Native Trail, the unbeaten champion two-year-old of 2021 and Irish 2,000 Guineas winner, has been retired. He ran in the Queen Anne Stakes on Tuesday but only finished eighth.

Preamble

Greg Wood

Good morning from Ascot on day four of the royal meeting, which is also the only day apart from Tuesday with more than one Group One race. The feature event, in theory at least, is the Coronation Stakes at 4.20, but the upstart Commonwealth Cup, which only arrived on the schedule in 2015, has been a more interesting race in several years since and is certainly so today, with Little Big Bear a warm but hardly shockproof favourite while Tahiyra, the Irish 1,000 Guineas winner, is odds-on the Coronation.

That said, the week’s first odds-on shot, Al Asifah in the Ribblesdale Stakes, was beaten out of sight, yet another reminder that nothing can be taken for granted at this meeting. And well-timed too, as in addition to Little Big Bear and Tahiyra, there is another shortish favourite on today’s card in King Of Steel, the runner-up behind Auguste Rodin in the Derby earlier this month after briefly looking as though he had slipped the field. Waipiro, who was around 10 lengths behind King Of Steel at Epsom in sixth, won the Hampton Court Stakes here yesterday, which will further embolden punters looking to put all three hotpots in a treble.

The 10mm of rain that doused Ascot in the early hours of Tuesday morning is a distant memory now and there has been more watering overnight to maintain the going as good-to-firm.

“The going this morning is good-to-firm and watered,” Chris Stickels, the clerk of the course, said in his regular morning update. “We watered last night with 5mm on the straight course and 4mm on the round course. The forecast today is for a bright, dry, sunny, warm day, temperatures up to abut 26 or 27 degrees, and it looks like it’s going to remain dry for Saturday as well.”

That will be just the news that the 60,000+ racegoers heading for Ascot on each of the final two days of the royal meeting wanted to hear. With regard to today’s action, there are picks for the seven races here, and if you’re not here at Ascot – indeed, even if you are – you can follow all the drama as it unfolds here on the blog until the last person out – Chris Stickels, probably – switches off the lights.