Star sprinter Sceptical diverted to Diamond Jubilee and made new favourite

THIRTEEN stallions with their first European runners this year have been making an early impact, and this week I will take a quick gallop through the list. Given copy deadlines, it is likely that some of the numbers mention will have been improved on by the time you read this, but the race to be leading first season sire is still a live one. At the…

Australia's team for the King's Stand Stakes has been further strengthened after it was announced high-class sprinter will head to Royal Ascot this summer. Trained by Peter and Paul Snowden, the son of Capitalist won a Group 3 on his first start for the yard at Rosehill in early March, and booked his place at the royal meeting in June after…

Home Affairs was favourite for the Platinum Jubilee Stakes on Saturday afternoon. Alfred Munnings and Hurricane Lane were two of the key runners for Royal Ascot 2022's grand finale, but they could not claim a win Racing fans are under starter's orders for the grand finale of Royal Ascot 2022. The big meeting has already reached its fifth day, after…

Royal Ascot is fast approaching with the highlight of the flat racing season in Britain taking place on Tuesday, June 14 to Saturday, June 18. Ascot Racecourse in Berkshire, England, hosts Royal Ascot every year, and this year promises to be even more exciting with 35 races over five days of top-class action. This major social and fashion event…

Royal Ascot 2022 is nearly upon us and we have put together an all you need to know guide to help you through the five-day showpiece event of British flat racing. Dating back hundreds of years, Royal Ascot is a celebration of all thing's pageantry and racing, it's a mainstay of the racing calendar and is certainly one to savour. Royal Ascot is the…

Diamond Jubilee ante-post favourite Starman has been declared to take on 13 rivals in Saturday's Group 1 at Royal Ascot. Trained by Ed Walker for owner David Ward, Starman has won four of his five starts and appeared to be a sprinter destined for the top when edging out Nahaarr in last month's Duke of York Stakes, form which was franked when third…

Ed Walker believes a combination of impressive physique and an ice-cold mind gives Starman every chance of living up to his top billing in the Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Ascot a week on Saturday. Walker heads to the royal meeting with an enviable line-up of horses with serious chances and the likes of Primo Bacio in the Coronation Stakes,…

Saturday brings a real feast of action for the final day of Royal Ascot, with three Group 1 races in a high-class finish to the meeting. A mouthwatering St James's Palace Stakes (3.00pm) is in store while Sceptical seeks a fairytale in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes (3.35pm). Scroll down for the Royal Ascot Saturday Placepot tips.

Irish trainer Denis Hogan is daring to dream of Royal Ascot glory after his up-and-coming sprinter Sceptical delivered a virtuoso performance on his turf debut at Naas. The four-year-old Godolphin cast-off has become one of the most engaging stories of the season with a near-meteoric rise in Ireland. He made his boldest statement so far when…

Khaadem: former Stewards' Cup winner missed the Sprint Cup at Haydock due to the soft ground The classy Khaadem, who bypassed Haydock's Betfair Sprint Cup on Saturday, is to be aimed at the Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes at Ascot on October 17, with trainer Charlie Hills desperate for a dry autumn for his colt. Last year's Stewards' Cup…

Sceptical: Denis Hogan-trained sprinter weak in the July Cup market on Saturday morning The Darley July Cup (3.35) at Newmarket is a rare omission from Frankie Dettori's glittering CV and the star jockey will bid to set the record straight aboard Sceptical, who is weak in the market for the day's feature race at a general 9-2. The leading rider,…

SATURDAY'S re-jigged running order has thrown up treat after treat for us punters. There are Group 1s wherever you look. And here we focus on the Diamond Jubilee Stakes (3.35) - a top-level sprint over six furlongs. With Blue Point off at stud, it's a great opportunity for one of the new kids on the scene to take the spoils. Our man Callum Jamieson…

3.00) at Royal Ascot on Saturday, as he bids to bounce back from his disappointing third in the 2000 Guineas. The Charlie Appleby-trained son of Shamardal was defeated for the first time in the Newmarket Classic and will once again take on Wichita, who finished second. Appleby said: "Naturally, you are always disappointed when you lose that…

Denis Hogan is excited to see Sceptical test his powers at the highest level in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot. A son of Exceed And Excel out of a Royal Ascot winner in Jealous Again, the four-year-old has made rapid progress since finishing third on his Dundalk debut last October. After rattling off a hat-trick of wins at Ireland's sole…

The Royal Ascot Festival concludes on Saturday with the Diamond Jubilee Stakes meeting. We have expert betting tips for all eight races on Day 5 of the Royal Ascot Festival. All odds are with Sportsbet - our No. 1 rated bookmaker. You can join Sportsbet by clicking HERE. #3 - Count D'Orsay @ $16 - Drawing wide down the Ascot straight has been the…

John Gosden: has six runners on the first day of Royal Ascot With six runners on Royal Ascot's opening day, John Gosden looks primed to start the meeting with a bang. He unleashes the hugely exciting Frankly Darling, one of three runners in the Ribblesdale Stakes (2.25), who bids to build on her brilliant Newcastle win and take a step closer to the…

When a jubilant Frankie Dettori and his mount Stradivarius were saluted by a 70000 crowd at Royal Ascot a year ago, life was very different. Covid-19 and social distancing were unheard of. Now flat racing's biggest meeting is set to take place behind closed doors with jockeys wearing face masks. On Tuesday, there will be no Queen, Royal procession…

Trainer Charlie Hills is hoping silence will be golden for Battaash when the sprinter tries to make it third time lucky in Tuesday's Group One King's Stand Stakes. Lack of a crowd could work as a positive for a speedball who has walked a temperament tightrope during his career and who finished runner-up to the now retired Blue Point in the King's…

Sceptical and Joey Sheridan prove a class apart in the Listed Woodland Stakes at Naas Sceptical confirmed his position as Ireland's top sprinter after a devastating performance in the Listed Anglesey Lodge Equine Hospital Woodlands Stakes at Naas, with a tilt at the King's Stand Stakes next week now on the cards for Denis Hogan's bargain buy. Paddy…

William Buick's joy is unmistakable as Blue Point beats Battaash in the 2018 King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot William Buick rode Blue Point in 15 of his 20 races and his eight wins on the five-year-old included the 2018 King's Stand Stakes and this year's Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan. He gives a personal tribute to his sprinter of a lifetime. Blue…

Charlie Appleby's speedball successfully defended his King's Stand crown with a tremendous performance to see off old foe Battaash on the opening day of the showpiece meeting. The five-year-old will now bid to become the first horse since Australian raider Choisir in 2003 to win both major sprints in the same week. Appleby saidt: "He's come out of…

Savage was how James Tate described the form of Diamond Jubilee favourite Invincible Army on Wednesday as the Newmarket trainer attempts to rein in the excitement prior to a bid for a first top-level and Royal Ascot success later this month. The Saeed Manana-owned Invincible Army has scored convincingly in two starts this season, landing the Listed…

The Platinum Jubilee Stakes is held on the final day of the Royal Ascot and it's one of Britain's richest sprint races. Worth £600000, the Platinum Jubilee Stakes is targeted by connections all around the world and it gained big popularity in the likes of Australia when Black Caviar won in 2012. It takes a quality sprinter to handle the Royal Ascot…

Ever since Choisir came and conquered at Royal Ascot in 2003, the Australian invasion has since maintained its strength, and at the 2012 Royal Meeting, it may sending over the greatest sprinters ever known "Down Under" and possibly even the world. The 21-race unbeaten Black Caviar arrives on British shores this week ahead of her Royal engagement,…

TAB has opened markets on six features at this year's Royal Ascot meeting, including the week's signature event, the Gold Cup, which features the trifecta from last year's Melbourne Cup. Winner of that race, Twilight Payment, is a $26 chance with the horse he denied at Flemington, Tiger Moth, sharing the $11 third line. Perennial Melbourne…