Key events
Queen’s Hat Stakes (2pm) betting
Queen’s Hat Stakes (2pm) preview
For those of us who follow the form for the first betting event each day at Royal Ascot this is a fascinating background piece on the “Queen’s Hat” flutter from our good friends at BestofBets.com highlighting Queen Camilla’s “vanilla” choices so far and why, perhaps, the days of this particular betting heat may be numbered.
“It’s Ladies’ Day and the traditional flutter for racegoers in the build up to the action is the colour of the Queen’s hat. However, it can’t go unnoticed that this betting market is far from as popular as it was when Her Late Majesty was still with us. So much so that many of the leading bookmakers have decided to opt out of this longstanding novelty betting market. And it remains to see if it’ll even be a “thing” next year.
“At the risk of stating the obvious, Queen Camilla and the late Queen Elizabeth are very different when it comes to fashion. The late Queen loved making a bold splash and she famously said ‘If I wore beige, nobody would know who I am’, so it’s no surprise that she made some bold choices during Royal Ascot over the years, and it was these bold vibrant colours that fulled the hat betting market.
“Camilla, on the other hand, tends to play it down, and play it safe and we’re unlikely to see her in fuchsia or bright lime green this week. If anything, we may see her in one of the colours that she’s already worn this week as Pink/Peach (4/1) and Cream/White (10/1) are now gaining traction.”
Royal Procession (2pm)
1st Carriage
The King
The Queen
The Earl of Snowdon
Sir Mark Prescott Bt.
2nd Carriage
The Princess Royal
Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence
HH Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani
The Rt. Hon. the Lord Soames of Fletching
3rd Carriage
The Lady Sarah Chatto
Mr. Daniel Chatto
The Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
Mr. Colin Chisholm
4th Carriage
Mr. John Gosden
Mrs. John Gosden
Mr. John Warren
The Lady Carolyn Warren
Two years ago ITV Racing presenter Rishi Persad described racing as “behind the times” on racial diversity and revealed the launch of the British Horseracing Authority’s diversity in racing steering group had triggered a pushback that was “unpleasant and unnecessary”.
The BHA at the time condemned the hostility shown to Persad and stressed the sport needs, “an open, progressive and respectful debate about diversity, for both moral reasons and in the interests of the long term health of the industry”.
Last year Sky Sports Racing presenter Josh Apiafi warned: “We have to make racing more reflective of society and if we don’t then the sport will suffer. We’re constantly being told our customer base is physically and virtually disappearing. We may be living longer and retaining the same customers for our sport, but that isn’t being backfilled.”
It’s worth those in the sport reflecting on those comments today on the 75th anniversary of the arrival of Empire Windrush, as the children of its passengers tell of an enduring legacy in a thought-provoking article in the Guardian.
Our Opinion editor Hugh Muir concludes in his article: “I see a journey that at its end and through the years made this a better country. Their sweat and that of their descendants helped build our infrastructure – physical and social, their creativity infuses our politics, our industry, our arts and culture, our sport.”
The suggestion that Highfield Princess would turn out again on Saturday after her narrow defeat earlier in the week has been confirmed. The newly christened Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes promises to be a cracker.
King’s Stand Stakes second Highfield Princess will make a quick return and faces 15 rivals in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot on Saturday.
Star international sprinters Artorius and Wellington have been declared as has Cannonball, who also ran earlier in the… pic.twitter.com/QAfUC4Y338
— Racing Post (@RacingPost) June 22, 2023
The official going for day three is: Good to Firm on the Straight Course and Good, Good to Firm in places on the Round Course.
GoingStick readings at 8am (the higher the figure the faster the ground):
Stands side: 7.5
Centre: 7.7
Far side: 7.4
Round course: 7.2
Good morning and welcome to Gold Cup day, traditionally the highlight of the week when those outside the racing parish sit up and take notice. If you’re taking a look at the other races don’t put these down on your betting slips. They are non-runners and won’t be turning up.
2.30pm Norfolk Stakes: Hala Emaraaty (not eaten up)
3.05pm King George V Handicap: Gallerist (other)
3.40pm Ribblesdale Stakes: Infinite Cosmos (bad scope) and Luckin Brew (going)
4.20pm Gold Cup: 7 Tashkhan (going)
5.00pm Britannia Handicap: 11 Theoryofeverything (going)
Preamble
Greg Wood
Good morning from Royal Ascot on day three of this year’s meeting, where a sell-out crowd, or something very close to it, is beginning to gather for the showpiece event of the week – the Gold Cup.
Sadly, the defending champion is absent for the second year running, as Kyprios, who kicked off a four-timer at Group One level with his half-length success 12 months ago, is recovering from an injury and will not be out until later in the campaign.
The 2021 winner, Subjectivist, however, is very much present, which appeared to be a most unlikely eventuality when he sustained a potentially career-ending tendon injury shortly after beating a strong field in convincing fashion two summers ago.
It would be a remarkable achievement by all concerned if Subjectivist – who is still only six years old – could pick up where he left off at Ascot and become only the third horse in Gold Cup history to double up in non-consecutive years (I went through the list last night and Anticipation, in 1816 and 1819, and Kayf Tara, in 1998 and 2000, are the only others I can find).
The Gold Cup is the undoubted highlight but there is plenty of variety and interest elsewhere on the card, from the Group Two Norfolk Stakes for juveniles over five furlongs which kicks off the afternoon to an impossibly difficult, 29-runner seven-furlong handicap which draws proceedings to a close.
One of the biggest ever fields for the Ribblesdale Stakes, meanwhile, is headed by one of its shortest-priced favourites, as Al Asifah bids to confirm the huge expectations created by her recent, hugely impressive win at Goodwood. If you haven’t seen it, it’s well worth a watch.
The sun is out at Ascot and the ground is getting faster by the minute, with the going riding good-to-firm on the straight course and good, good-to-firm in places on the round track.
“We’ve been dry now since Tuesday morning, when we had 10mm of rain,” Chris Stickels, the clerk of the course, said earlier. “We actually irrigated last night, with 4mm on the straight course and 3mm just on the downhill section of the round course.
“The forecast for today is for another bright, sunny warm day with temperatures of 27 degrees and that’s the theme for the rest of the week with continued dry weather. There’s an isolated shower possible but otherwise warm, dry weather with high temperatures.”
My picks for today’s races – including a couple at very big odds – are here, though with the caveat that 13 of 14 tips so far have been beaten. The sole winner was a 9-1 shot though so there’s still hope of a profit on the week.
And all the news, results, frantically-typed text commentaries and more will of course be here on the live blog throughout the day.
