#Richard Hoiles

It's the big day of Royal Ascot week and Frankie Dettori's mount Stradivarius bids to win a third Gold Cup at 3.35pm. Follow for live updates, tips and reaction History could be made at Royal Ascot, when Stradivarius races for a third Gold Cup. Only two horses have managed it before, Sagaro the first to complete the hat-trick from 1975 to…

My Oberon: dramatic winner at Windsor on Saturday Saturday: Windsor There were 51 races in Britain and Ireland on Saturday but it took a four-runner affair to provide one of the most dramatic finishes of the day, with My Oberon stealing the show in the Vickers-sponsored Midsummer Stakes in the dying strides. With all runners under pressure on the…

These nine veterans have 170 runs over fences between them, but in terms of significant recent efforts three pieces of form stand out. First is the race won by Certainly Red (runs in the Mandarin at Newbury on Saturday) at Wincanton 30 days ago, run in unhelpfully foggy conditions. La Cavsa Nostra pulled up sometime before the runners reappeared on…

Ross Millar provides his expert analysis on the leading juveniles we have seen so far this season and also suggests a couple of ante-post bets for next year at large odds. Finally, he got the job done! Ebro River justified my high opinion of him and put it all together to win the Group One Keeneland Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh on Sunday.

FURIOUS punters slammed the'disgraceful' racing conditions at Wincanton - as thick fog meant no one could see a thing. Conditions meant that the helicopter of top amateur jockey Patrick Mullins was not able to land and he was diverted to Birmingham Airport. Mullins was set to make a rare appearance at the Somerset venue aboard Filey Bay in the…

IT'S been a huge day of drama at Epsom. And Adam Kirby is the toast of Godolphin after a superb ride gave Adayar (16/1) the spoils in the Derby. �� FREE BETS SPECIAL: Get £40 in FREE BETS for this weekend at the Epsom Derby �� BEST BETS: All the bookies' best offers in one place with our betting guide �� DERBY RACECARD: Latest CONFIRMED runners and…

Johnny Murtagh: enjoying his best season as a trainer Saturday: Curragh Johnny Murtagh won the Gain Railway Stakes twice as a rider, most notably with Mastercraftsman in 2008, but you sense seeing the speedy Shartash quicken up to land the Group 2 with Ben Coen wearing the famous Aga Khan silks gave him far more pleasure. This was a plan hatched a…

Comparisons aren't odious - as well-respected commentator Richard Hoiles suggested as Baaeed careered away from his rivals in the Juddmonte International. They hold an important part of understanding the true and accurate representation of racehorse merit. What is the point of holding a race at all, if we aren't comparing the merits of each runner…

Punters are predicting a Frankie Dettori masterclass riding Torquator Tasso for back-to-back wins in the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. No horse has taken the autumn highlight from a stall wider than 16 in recent years, but the top jockey and reigning champion start from 18. Sustained support has led to Ladbrokes dropping Torquator Tasso's odds…