Royal Ascot Day 1 - The Best Day's Flat Racing of the Year

Day 1 of Royal Ascot is always an absolute cracker. Group 1 after Group 1 and the quality goes right through the day. It really is unmissable and even as a jumps fan mainly I can still get properly excited about it. And it helps when you have a few views on the races which I do, so here are my three main fancies for a fantastic day of flat racing.

2.30 Queen Anne Stakes

I love Ger Lyon's Endless Drama for this race. He is a big, no huge, horse so will definitely have needed and come on for his re-appearance run in the Lockinge stakes the last day. He has a really high cruising speed and this test will suit him down to the ground, as will the softer going. Both the trainer and the rider Colin Keane love him and for good reason!

Colin Keane on Endless Drama:

“Endless Drama is just different gravy to anything else we have at home”

“He’s the best horse I’ve ever sat on”

“A horse like Brendan Bracken, who is a proper horse and a Group 3 winner, is not even good enough to lead him in canters”

"I’d be very confident of beating Belardo this time. We finished ahead of him in the Irish Guineas last year but he had 2 runs under his belt before the Lockinge and we were having our first run for over a year”

“It looks a wide-open race but our fella is a monster – I’m just praying they get a bit of rain”

“Endless Drama is just different class. He’s a monster”

Extremely positive from the jockey who is riding plenty of winners and a jockey I really like. Endless Drama has some very good form in the book already, his 2nd place in the Irish Guineas behind Gleneagles probably the standout, and I think there is loads more to come. He has been cut massively in the market after the recent rain but even at 8/1 currently available on Sunday evening this horse rates an absolutely cracking bet for the Queen Anne where one would imagine Tepin, market leader, will be vulnerable on softer ground. I can see him turning the form round with Belardo, who had the benefit of a recent run in the Lockinge,  and quite frankly I love his price.

Endless Drama going down narrowly to Gleneagles in the Irish 2,000 Guineas.

3.05 Coventry Stakes

Even though this race is only a Group 2 it is still one of the best races of the day, bring together some of the best 2 year old horses around this year. And after the recent rain the one I fancy the most is Caravaggio for the formidable duo of Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore. This horse is unbeaten in his 2 races to day, beating Lundy, who reopposes here, on debut and then running a stunning race the last day at The Curragh, where he routed the field in a Listed race and produced a stunning time-figure to boot. This horse can run, and run quickly! He is also proven on soft ground, something that will prove crucial in this race against young, inexperienced horses and I can't see the step up in trip being an issue looking at his pedigree. He will probably go off market leader but I really like him and think he has a great chance and a great bet at around 2/1.

5.00 Ascot Stakes

Jennie's Jewel is the bet here and I absolutely love this one. Will adore the soft ground that we will be getting at Ascot with all the rain about, all her form is on soft and heavy ground so she will be in her absolute element. Just watch her run the last day off a ten pound lower mark and tell me she isn't still well handicapped even off this higher mark; she absolutely laughed at her rivals that day. her mark of 93, for me, is so workable given she ran a cracker over hurdles at Punchestown off a mark of 137 (2nd to One Track Mind in a Grade 1, beating the likes of Alpha Des Obeaux and Diamond King) and can't jump! Take the hurdles away and she is a much better horse, her stamina is assured in my opinion having won over 3 miles over hurdles and she is clearly in good heart. I love this horse in this race and a price of 10/1 currently available at the time of writing (Sunday evening)

The lovely horse Jennies Jewel