Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall presents Frankie Dettori with an award after he won the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes on Crystal Ocean. Photograph: John Sibley/Action Images via Reuters
Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall presents Frankie Dettori with an award after he won the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes on Crystal Ocean. Photograph: John Sibley/Action Images via Reuters
Frankie Dettori lands a double and proves once again Ascot is his course. He’ll be back on board Stradivarius in the Gold Cup tomorrow, when he will be even more demonstrative than he was today if that horse lands the Gold Cup for the second time. But Frankie wasn’t the only rider shining on the second day of Royal Ascot as Danny Tudhope took the lead in the jockeys’ standings – nevertheless he will be back to the day job tomorrow and riding at Ripon! Join us again on Gold Cup day when there’s one thing I can say with confidence: the Queen won’t be wearing a blue hat!
Danny Tudhope after his third victory at Royal Ascoton Move Swiftly in the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes. Photograph: Steve Davies/racingfotos.com/Rex/Shutterstock
1 Southern Hills (R L Moore) 7-1 2 Platinum Star (C Soumillon) 8-1 3 Glasvegas (P Mulrennan) 25-1 21 ran Also: 6-1 Jt Fav Symbolize 4th, Temple Of Heaven Non Runners: 9,23 Withdrawn: No 13 Show Me Show Me (50-1) not under orders. Rule 4 does not apply.
Southern Hills ridden by jockey Ryan Moore on his way to winning the Windsor Castle Stakes. Photograph: Mike Egerton/PA
There will be a delay to the race as a horse has broken out of the stalls and is careering riderless down the track ... the offending horse, Show Me Show Me, is now running back up the course thereby ensuring a longer delay ... Show Me Show Me is now running back down to the finish ... He’s now been caught.
And they’re off ... Elecrtric Ladyland was off fast ... Platinum Star and Southern Hills go for home ... with Southern Hills holding on.
Wesley Ward has won this a couple of times and fields two unbeaten runners but soft going may have dished their chances. The French raider Wheels On Fire may have a better chance but Iffraaz appeals most, showing precocious strength to beat a subsequent winner on heavy going at Carlisle three weeks ago. Temple Of Heaven showed toughness to win a rough race at Newbury and his sights at that time were said to be set a little higher than this. He represents a yard that went close in Tuesday’s Coventry Stakes with another fancied juvenile.
Afaak ridden by Jim Crowley, blue colours, wins the Royal Hunt Cup. Photograph: Matthew Childs/Action Images via Reuters
And they’re off ... Cardsharp is prominent early ... Zhui Feng leads one group of runners ... Afaak hits the front ... and looks like he just held off Clon Coulis.
Frankie Dettori celebrates with trainer, Sir Michael Stoute after he and Crystal Ocean win the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot. Photograph: Hugh Routledge/Rex/Shutterstock
Danny Tudhope is now leading jockey at Royal Ascot ... and tomorrow he’s riding at Ripon!
Danny Tudhope now 14 wins from just 20 rides for William Haggas this year - quite astonishing. Pair have combined for two #RoyalAscot wins this week. Leading jockey at meeting rides at Ripon tomorrow.
Irish success in this big-field handicap was virtually unknown for a long time but two of the last three runnings have been won by raiders and perhaps that has alerted others to an opportunity. Joseph O’Brien comes here with the very interesting King’s Field, who made a lot of progress in the three months after his September debut. Ridden sympathetically on his reappearance, he was a promising third in that Listed contest and surely has more to offer.
Settle For Bay, an impressive winner of this last year, is 6lb higher and doesn’t get the fast ground that seems to suit him. At a much bigger price, a return to form for Zhui Feng, the 2017 winner, would not totally surprise. He had a wind operation and was belatedly gelded over the winter and there was some promise in his reappearance third, though his stable is faring poorly. New Graduate is short on experience and has been rocketed up the weights for winning at Ripon in April.
Racegoers try to shelter from the torrential rain at Royal Ascot. Photograph: Jed Leicester/BPI/Rex/Shutterstock
And they’re off ... Preening leads with Indian Blessing all on here own ... Veracious is also prominent ... Veracious makes her move and Rawdaa comes late ... and Move Swiftly just gets there.
After Race 3, the going @Ascot is changed to Soft on both the Straight and Round Course (From Good to Soft on the Straight Course and Soft,Good to Soft in places on the Round Course)#RoyalAscot2019
Aidan O’Brien’s chances continue to look strong with I Can Fly, his third consecutive favourite on this card. She was beaten just a neck by Roaring Lion in the QEII when she last raced here and may even have won that day, but for the 2lb overweight put up by her jockey. She has not run to that level since but she was a fair sixth in the Lockinge and was given a lot to do last time. This return to soft going may help.
Pretty Baby is feared but could have done without such a testing surface for this first attempt at a mile. Rawdaa, like Crystal Ocean, is normally the mount of Ryan Moore but has been inherited by Frankie Dettori. She was a close second to Lah Ti Dar at York and a never-nearer third around Kempton’s tight turns to Agrotera, both bits of strong form. Agrotera, a well-backed handicap winner here last year, would need everything to fall right if she’s going to score at this level.
Frankie Dettori celebrates on Crystal Ocean after winning the Prince of Wales’ Stakes. Photograph: Alastair Grant/AP
And they’re off ... Hunting Horn leads early ... with Crystal Ocean close up and Zabeel Prince in third ... The leader quickens up the pace ... Sea Of Class is last ... Magical is in third ... Crystal Ocean and Hunting Horn with Magical ... A proper battle which Crystal Ocean (Frankie Dettori up) wins from Magical.
Oisin Murphy appreciated that victory at Royal Ascot on Dashing Willoughby after his breath test failure earlier this week. Photograph: Matthew Childs/Action Images via Reuters
The bookies coined it in on the Queen’s Hat Stakes after Her Majesty sneakily wore the same colour (blue) for two days running. “We have probably had our best day ever in over thirty years of betting on the colour of the Queen’s hat,” said Rupert Adams of William Hill.
“Not only is the first time Her Majesty has worn the same colour two days in a row, but it also marks the best result for bookies in this market in recent history. Very different to last year, when punters successfully predicted the colour of the Queen’s hat all of the five days of Royal Ascot,” said a spokesperson for bemybet.com.
William Hill betting for tomorrow: 2/1 Pink, 4/1 Green, 4/1 Yellow, 7/1 Purple, 7/1 White/Cream, 8/1 Blue, 14/1 Orange, 25/1 Red, 33/1 Black, 33/1 Brown.
‘You pulled a fast one there!” Photograph: Tim Rooke/Rex/Shutterstock
There is nothing remotely flashy about Crystal Ocean, who wins by grinding or not at all, but he might be the right ally for a race like this. He is better known for his exploits over further but has plenty of form at this distance and the rain has come in time to help him. There is little between him and Magical but the Irish filly has had little to beat so far this year and looks like being a shade too short in the betting. Sea Of Class may eventually prove herself the best in this field but this is a first run back for a horse whose big day is in October and she may not quite be ready for the battle this could become.
Waldgeist was a ready winner of the Ganay on his reappearance and has three Group One wins to his name, which, in fairness, is three more than Crystal Ocean. Soft ground would be a help. Zabeel Prince also won a French Group One when last seen but his form leaves him a bit to find with several of these. His September second to Mustashry does not read so well, now that that one has been well beaten in the Queen Anne.
Darcey Bussell meets Frankie Dettori. Photograph: Mike Egerton/PA
And they’re off ... Jalmoud and Pythion lead early ... Jalmoud pulling too hard ... and Nayef Road now goes on ... with Dashing Willoughby just behind ... Barbados has made ground into second ... Almost Midnight is last ... Norway two from the back ... Barbados has the lead with Dashing Willoughby challenging and Dashing Willoughby goes on to win.
This race seems more and more in the control of Aidan O’Brien, who has better access than his rivals to horses bred to stay this marathon distance. He’s won it three times in the past four years and has a fine chance of doing so again with Norway. A 10-furlong winner as a juvenile, he was beaten only by the freakish Sir Dragonet at Chester and can be forgiven for fading in the Derby after helping to force a strong pace; he finished two lengths behind yesterday’s Group One winner Circus Maximus. The cheekpieces come off to help him settle.
Most interesting among the opposition is Joseph O’Brien’s Eminent Authority, well bred but lightly raced, who has hinted that this distance may suit. Aidan also fields Western Australia, who has more to give at marathon distances but may not have achieved much in a Listed success over Pythion last time. Godolphin’s Jalmoud is by a Derby winner and out of an Oaks winner, and unbeaten this year. He scored by only a head in France last time but finished strongly.
Darcey Bussell is at the races. She presented the trophy to the winner of the Queen Mary Stakes. Photograph: James Veysey/Rex/Shutterstock
Frankie Dettori having a winner has brightened up proceedings somewhat – what will the sport be without the irrepressible, mercurial Italian. The day has needed it given the awful weather again.
Wet, wet, wet. Photograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images
And they’re off ... Tango is slow but Too Shy Shy and Kimari are prominent ... Anna’s Fast is up there ... Kimari is not going to hold on as Raffle Prize just gets up under Frankie Dettori.
There’s already early betting on tomorrows’s Queen’s Hat Stakes. Nicola McGeady of Ladbrokes said: “Nobody expected Her Majesty to wear another blue hat with all money going on pink. We don’t expect another blue hat tomorrow, with punters going in again on pink.”
It’s easy to see why Final Song is near the top of the market, given that she was impressive over this course and distance last month, on ground roughly as soft as is likely today. But she’s a short price in a big field and comes from the Saeed bin Suroor yard that has had just one juvenile winner at Royal Ascot in the past 20 years and doesn’t really specialise in speedsters.
At slightly bigger odds, Ickworth has achieved more in winning a Listed race in Ireland, travelling strongly throughout. Her trainer, Willie McCreery, does well with his five-furlong runners. Both are Godolphin runners and the blue team even has another fancied runner in Divine Spirit, who won in a good time at Windsor. Seeking to win this for the third time, Wesley Ward fields Kimari, an easy winner on dirt in April. If she also copes well with rain-softened turf, she is more versatile than most juveniles.
Flippa The Strippa has her fans but comes from the Charlie Hills yard that may have gone off the boil, with two winners from 30 runners in the past fortnight and a couple of disappointments yesterday.
Rain in the paddock waiting for the Royal procession. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters
“I want to be a good role model. It was an embarrassing situation” – a typically honest response from @oismurphy with @SkySports David Craig following Sunday's failed breath-test. The country's leading jockey also spins through some of today's #RoyalAscot chances 🤞 pic.twitter.com/oYTEjschIh
For those of you who take a niche interest in these things (and very important matters with regard to form study) ...
Timeform description of the going on day one of Royal Ascot 2019 was "Good to Firm" for the first two, "Good" for the middle two and "Good to Soft" for the last two. I'm not far from that myself.
More than 30 years after Gay Kelleway became the first female jockey to ride a Royal Ascot winner, we are still waiting for the second. Could it happen today? Six of today’s runners are to be ridden by women, which would not be many in the context of a normal race-meeting but is quite a lot by the standards of Royal Ascot, where equality of opportunity does not reign.
Nicola Currie will be aboard the second-favourite, Raising Sand, in the Royal Hunt Cup at 5pm, and she also has a couple of outsiders to ride, Emten in the first and Paper Star in the last. Hayley Turner will also be in the opening Queen Mary on the outsider Applecross, while Hollie Doyle has half a chance in the Queen’s Vase on Nate The Great. Doyle will also be on Taxiwala at a big price in the Windsor Castle.
Yesterday’s gamble on blue paid off for those who wade in and pink is all the rage this time. All the betting is here via Oddschecker with pink at a short price.
A Bookmakers.tv spokesperson said: “Punters got it spot on yesterday as Her Majesty opted for a blue number. And despite talk of a plunge with certain firms in yellow, those who followed the form book and kept blue on side were rewarded.
“The bookies are taking no similar changes today with pink – another stand out selection on all known form – opening up at evens. And as the Queen is known to wear pink on either the Wednesday or Thursday of the five-day meeting, it seems that punters believe today is the day. And with over 50% of bets going on pink, it would be no surprise to see it go odds on before betting is suspended.
“Interestingly in the hat stakes firms are suspending betting much sooner each day than they historically used to. Once upon a time the market was left up as late as possible to try and tempt a headline-grabbing market move, but it seems like in the modern era of bookmaking this novelty market is managed just as rigorously as the main markets, even if the average stake is £8.”
bettingexpert have given us a form guide (below) for all the hat colours worn by the Queen since 2005. Pink and blue have made up 57% of her choices on the Tuesday in that time, while pink has also featured most on the Wednesday and Thursday of the five-day meeting. Green, which the Queen has worn 11 times since 2005, and white, also 11, are her next most-fancied hat colours and look likely to get a showing this week.
Your form guide for the Queen’s Hat Stakes. Photograph: bettingexpert.com
Aidan O’Brien 2 William Haggas 1 Charlie Appleby 1 David O’Meara 1 Ian Williams 1
O’Brien fired 11 arrows at yesterday’s card and a couple of bullseyes is a fair return for the master of Ballydoyle. It’s a better return, anyway, than he has managed for a couple of years on day one. Appleby has now had at least one winner at Royal Ascot for five consecutive years, which is not bad, considering he’s only had a licence since July 2013. Remarkably, Haggas was having his first success here for seven years. Williams was breaking his duck at the Royal meeting, while O’Meara has won here before but not in a Group One until Lord Glitters came along.
Thumbs up from Aidan O’Brien. Photograph: Pat Healy/racingfotos.com/Rex/Shutterstock
Ryan Moore 2 wins Danny Tudhope 2 James Doyle 1 Richard Kingscote 1
In each of the last two years, Moore was winless on opening day and ended Ascot as top jockey, so what will he achieve this time after such an excellent start? Meanwhile, the under-appreciated Tudhope has doubled his career tally at Royal Ascot and got his first Group One here, in the Queen Anne on Lord Glitters. Any new fans will want to know that he has just a couple of rides today, Move Swiftly (4.20) and So Beloved (5.00).
Meanwhile, the big two are busier: 2.30 Dettori: Raffle Prize 25-1 Moore: Tango 16-1 3.05 Dettori: (feet up) Moore: Norway 3-1 fav 3.40 Dettori: Crystal Ocean 9-2 Moore: Magical 7-4 fav 4.20 Dettori: Rawdaa 5-1 Moore: I Can Fly 9-2 fav 5.00 Dettori: New Graduate 13-2 fav Moore: Seniority 16-1 5.35 Dettori: Iffraaz 16-1 Moore: Southern Hills 10-1
A (rare) smiling Ryan Moore. Photograph: Frank Sorge/racingfotos.com/Rex/Shutterstock
For the second day of Royal Ascot the going has changed to: Straight Course: Good to Soft (from Soft at the end of racing on Tuesday) Round Course: Soft, Good to Soft in places (from Soft at the end of racing on Tuesday)
There was less than 0.5 millimetres of rain after racing yesterday up to 8.00am today
Tuesday saw a total of five millimetres of rain. The remainder of the week is due to be generally drier with the risk of occasional showers. Temperatures through the week are forecast to be between 19 and 22 degrees Celsius.
Clerk of the Course Chris Stickels said at 8.00am today: “We are forecast possible further showers during the day but we were fortunate to miss most of the heavy showers overnight.”
GoingStick Readings at 8.30am today: Stand side: 8.2, Centre: 8.4, Far Side: 8.2. Round: 7.2 (Tuesday GoingStick readings: Stand side: 8.9, Centre: 8.9, Far Side: 8.7, Round: 7.4).
Here are our tipster Chris Cook’s selections for the second day. Stay here and we’ll have an in-depth preview from Chris for every race as the afternoon goes on.
2.30 Queen Mary Stakes Ickworth 8-1
3.05 Queen’s Vase Stakes Norway 3-1
3.40 Prince of Wales’s Stakes Crystal Ocean 4-1
4.20 Duke Of Cambridge Stakes I Can Fly (nap) 9-2
5.00 Royal Hunt Cup (Handicap) King’s Field (NB) 20-1
5.35 Windsor Castle Stakes Iffraaz 16-1
... which would amount to four winners for Ireland, three of them for the O’Brien clan, and that doesn’t seem at all unlikely. It would also mean doubles for Frankie Dettori (Crystal Ocean, Iffraaz) and Ryan Moore (Norway, I Can Fly).
Racegoers sing around the bandstand at the end of the first day at Royal Ascot. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Congratulations to fallguy99, who won Tuesday’s competition on a final score of +13.88, thanks to Circus Maximus (10-1), Addeybb (5-1) and Arizona (15-8). That saved us having to give the prize to someone who’s called themselves dirtynorthernbastard (+13.38), while Lindsey6677 (+13) was also close up.
You could win a £50 bet from Ladbrokes Coral by proving your tipping prowess on today’s races. All you have to do is give us your selections for all of today’s races at Ascot. As ever, our champion will be the tipster who returns the best profit to notional level stakes of £1 at starting price. Non-runners count as losers.
Please post all your tips in a single posting, using the comment facility below, before the first race at 2.30pm. There are six races at Ascot today and you must post a single selection for each race.
Our usual terms and conditions, which you can read here will apply, except that this will be a strictly one-day thing. If we get a tie after all the races have been run, the winner will be the one who posted their tips earliest out of those with the highest score.
If you don’t win today, don’t despair. We are running an identical competition on each day of the Royal meeting, up to Friday.
Post your tips or racing-related comments below.
The opening race of Royal Ascot yesterday. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
The forecast for Ascot on Tuesday afternoon was possible thunderstorms – the sort of thing you can take shelter from and then carry on with enjoying the rest of the day.
Instead, we got several hours of fairly light but very steady rain which turned the ground from good to good-to-soft and finally to soft, but the good news is that there has been no significant rain at the course since yesterday evening and the going has consequently improved to be good-to-soft on the straight course and soft, good-to-soft in places on the round.
“The forecast is for possible further showers during the day,” Chris Stickels, the clerk of the course, said this morning, “but we’ve been fortunate and missed most of the heavy showers overnight.”
It had been three years since a race at Royal Ascot had been run on anything other than good-to-firm ground – last year’s meeting was at the start of the heatwave – and it was just a little deflating to start the week with a reminder of how susceptible this showpiece event can be to the weather.
But Ryan Moore and Danny Tudhope both rose to the occasion with doubles, and Moore’s ride on Circus Maximus was a perfect example of an outstanding jockey turning every little edge to his advantage to win to beat the market leaders on a 10-1 chance.
We await news this morning on whether Sea Of Class, one of the week’s biggest stars, will be allowed to take her chance in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes. She has not seen a racecourse since her fast-finishing second behind Enable in last year’s Arc after passing almost the entire field in the straight, and while it would be a blow to the meeting to lose her, a return to Paris in October is a number one priority. William Haggas will not want to risk leaving her season behind with a hard race on testing ground.
As yet, there are just a handful of non-runners on the card, the most notable being Good Vibes, one of the best of the British-trained runners, in the opening Queen Mary Stakes. She was scratched yesterday afternoon due to a bad scope, which leaves Saeed bin Suroor’s Final Song as the most opponent for Wesley Ward’s Kimari as the American attempts to win this race for the third time in five seasons.
Kimari’s challenge is backed up by her stable companion Anna’s Song, but soft ground is an unknown for both and one runner to catch the eye at a big price is Liberty Island, whose trainer, John Quinn, saddled the 25-1 winner Signora Cabello 12 months ago.
The Royal Hunt Cup is the big betting race of the day and the course specialist Raising Sand could yet start favourite to provide his rider Nicola Currie with only the second victory for a female rider at the Royal meeting and the first for 32 years. Jamie Osborne’s course specialist is at his very best with a little cut in the ground and is closing in on New Graduate at the head of the market at around 15-2 having been a 12-1 chance a couple of days ago.
Chris Cook’s tips for day two are here and all the news on market moves, non-runners and, from 2.30pm BST, the winners and losers will be here as the day unfolds.
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