Well another year has flown by and here we are again back at Royal Ascot. Never has a blog site lived up to its name quite so dissapointingly as this one as we haven’t managed to find the time to post a single entry all year. Hopefully that is about to change though and at least this year we have kicked off on day one.
Things get underway at 2.30 with the Queen Anne Stakes over a mile and this could well be one of the standout races of the week. Foreign raiders Solow and Able Friend both have impressive looking form figures and either could look like a good thing after the event. However , given the prices on offer and the slight question marks over both of the favourites, (Able Friend is not proven over a straight course and Solow has never come up against a top notch miler) I am going to side with last years Guineas hero NIGHT OF THUNDER. He won what was possibly the best running of the 2000 Guineas for many a year and although he never quite hit those heights again he still ran creditably in defeat. His reappearance victory in the Lockinge was as good a performance as any of his rivals have shown this season and at considerably longer odds he is the value bet. The Hannon yard have a good record in the race and I cannot envisage him not making the first three. Therefore at the 5/1 still readily available an each way bet is virtually a bet for nothing. Stable companion Toormore could follow him home for a Hannon 1-2.
The Coventry Stakes at 3.05 is the first two year old race of the week and usually throws up a decent horse or two. That looks the case again this year with several well bred unexposed and unbeaten horses in the line up. Round Two is far too short a price for me so he is easy to bypass. Similarly I haven’t been that impressed with the O’Brien two year olds so far so Air Force One is also jettisoned. The unbeaten WAR DEPARTMENT produced a tremendous display on his only start at Leicester and the William Haggas trained colt looks like a potential superstar. Not many horses get a rating of over 100 from Timeform on their debut and I can see him powering home from Qeyaadah who also looked imprssive on his only start to date.
The sprinters take centre stage at 3.40 for the Kings Stand Stakes and although Sole Power will be a popular choice to win it for the third year in a row time may be catching up with him and MUTHMIR is a confident choice to grab the sprinting crown. Hot Streak could also run into a place at long odds
This years St James’s Palace Stakes at 4.20 looks like a bit of a non event and it is impossible to oppose dual Guineas winner GLENEAGLES. However the price will reflect this so for betting purposes he is probably best included in doubles and trebles. Belardo looks a huge price and if there were more runners I would be suggesting an each way bet on him instead. A forecast may be the way to go here.
The two and a half mile Ascot Stakes at 5.00 looks wide open at first glance and my ratings have the majority of the feild withim 8 pounds of each other. SHWAIMAN has been a thorough rogue on occasions and is now the owner of the infamous Timeform squiggle despite being one of tneir horses to follow last season. He has recently changed yards and gone hurdling , winning on his second attempt over timber last month. One of only three in the field to have won onthe flat over this marathon trip it is hoped that the resurgent Frankie Dettori can rekindle the horses enthusiasm on the level. Fellow hurdler and distance winner Broxbourne is my suggestion for the forecast and may be worth a seperate each way wager. The Irish trained Hardstone is suggested for the tricast.
The final race of the day sees 27 two year olds hurtling up the Ascot straight in the five furlong Windsor Castle Stakes and is no easy get out of trouble race for anyone who has found winners hard to come by in the earlier races. Several unbeaten horses put their record on the line here and I always like to follow an unbeaten horse that appears on the upgrade. The American raider Ruby Notion is likely to make a bold bid to make all but her only previous run was on dirt in America and over half a furlong shorter than here. With that in mind I expect her to be nailed on the line by the unbeaten Richard Hannon colt ORVAR. He may not have beaten much at Salisbury on his debut but you can only beat what runs against you and he did it well. He is the chosen mount of three by Richard Hughes and can keep his unbeaten record intact.
2.30 NIGHT OF THUNDER
3.05 WAR DEPARTMENT (NB)
3.40 MUTHMIR (NAP)
4.20 GLENEAGLES
5.00 SHWAIMAN
5.35 ORVAR
The (Not so) Daily Racing Page 
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