Five horses you must watch at Royal Ascot
Royal Ascot gets up and running with the Queen Anne Stakes at 2.30pm on Tuesday. Here, we pick five horses to look out for at this special meeting, which marks 200 years of the Royal Procession.
1. Field Of Gold – St James's Palace Stakes (4.20pm, Tuesday)
Not too many people would argue that John and Thady Gosden's grey is not the best three-year-old in training after his Irish 2,000 Guineas romp. He meets the only horse to have beaten him this season, Ruling Court, in a rematch of the Newmarket 2,000 Guineas, but Ruling Court is very much seen as the underdog this time.
Odds 5-6
2. Reaching High – Ascot Stakes (5pm, Tuesday)
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em – that seems to be the King and Queen's reasoning for sending the former Sir Michael Stoute-trained gelding to Willie Mullins, a master at the Cheltenham Festival but also at winning staying handicaps at Royal Ascot. Second in an amateur race, first time out for Mullins, Ryan Moore booked – a day-one certainty.
Odds 4-1
3. Zelaina – Queen Mary Stakes (2.30pm, Wednesday)
An expensive purchase in the spring, the two-year-old filly hacked up on her Nottingham debut and looks fast. This will be a different test, but trainer Karl Burke could easily have the best week with his two-year-olds and she looks the pick of them.
Odds 2-1
4. Yashin – Gold Cup (4.20pm, Thursday)
Bought out of Jessica Harrington's yard by Nick Bell, son of trainer Michael, the six-year-old is not bred to get a yard beyond a mile and a quarter, but won the Sagaro Stakes (two miles) first time out for his new stable. He is a beautiful mover, so will love the ground, and if they do not go too fast, he might have the kick on his rivals in the home straight, in a race that has opened up following the retirement of two-time winner Kyprios.
Odds 25-1
5. Kind Of Blue – Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (4.20pm, Saturday)
James Fanshawe has an uncanny habit with his Ascot specialist sprinters of picking up a big one. This colt won the British Champions Sprint on the soft last autumn, but is equally adept on quick ground. He reared leaving the stalls on first start this season, so ignore that, and owner Wathnan may not have been in the game that long, but is already very successful at the royal meeting.
Odds 10-1
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