1 hour ago
Key events
Going to commencement putting up immoderate previews of nan day’s action from our racing analogous and tipster Greg Wood, who is presently starring nan nationalist property situation successful nan Racing Post.
Good morning. It was overcast this greeting but nary precipitation truthful nan going for time 3 of Royal Ascot is: Good to Firm and there’s very small betwixt nan different sides of nan track.
GoingStick readings astatine 8.30am:
Stands’ side: 8.8
Centre: 8.7
Far side: 8.7
Round course: 7.5
We person 1 non-runners truthful acold truthful transverse this disconnected your database of imaginable wagers …
4.50pm Britannia Stakes: 16 Bobby McGee (vet’s certificate – temperature)
Preamble
Good greeting from Ascot connected nan 3rd greeting of nan Royal gathering 2026 – Gold Cup time – wherever Aidan O’Brien is poised to go nan first trainer to saddle a period of winners astatine Flat racing’s showpiece event, having moved to 99 pinch a victor successful nan first title connected Wednesday.
There are much races to purpose astatine these days than location were successful nan era erstwhile nan precocious Sir Henry Cecil racked up what was, astatine nan time, a grounds 75 winners, and while nan Sir Michael Stoute was progressive good into nan five-day Ascot era and had saddled 82 by nan clip of his caller retirement, O’Brien’s grounds is still an astonishing achievement, moreover by nan standards of nan pre-eminent trainer of nan past 25 years.
He has a full of 7 runners connected today’s paper arsenic he looks to scope 3 figures, including Scandinavia, the somewhat uneasy favourite, successful nan Gold Cup astatine 4.15 and opening up pinch Aix La Chapelle in nan Chesham Stakes astatine 2.30.
Scandinavia’s main Gold Cup rival, according to nan betting astatine least, is past year’s winner, Trawlerman, and location is now little than a constituent betwixt them successful nan betting. Elsewhere connected nan time 3 card, nan Oaks shape gets an early trial arsenic Legacy Link, the Epsom runner-up, lines up for nan Ribblesdale Stakes (3.40) conscionable 2 weeks connected from her large tally successful nan Classic, while nan Britannia Handicap astatine 4.50 could good move retired to beryllium nan astir competitory arena of nan full gathering – conscionable 2 of nan 30 runners are presently connected connection astatine single-figure odds.
Another 5mm of h2o was applied overnight to support nan going astatine good-to-firm, thoughts connected imaginable winners are here, and nan action is underway astatine 2.30 connected what could beryllium a historical time astatine Royal Ascot. One 100 is only a number, but it’s an awesome number each nan same.
