Royal Ascot day one: Circus Maximus wins Queen Anne Stakes – live updates!

  • 6/16/2020
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Ribblesdale Stakes (2.25pm) betting Frankly Darling – 11/8 Trefoil – 9/2 Miss Yoda – 6/1 Passion – 13/2 Ennistymon – 10/1 Hold Fast - 25/1 West End Girl – 28/1 Anastarsia – 66/1 Bharani Star – 80/1 So I Told You – 80/1 Golden Lips – 100/1 Normally a consolation for beaten Oaks contenders, this has become a trial for the Epsom Classic, to be held next month. Frankly Darling is easy to like after her Newcastle success, when she showed an impressive stride in the straight. She’s lightly raced and inexperienced but so are many of her rivals. Her stablemate, Miss Yoda, won the Lingfield Oaks Trial but the yard seem to be clear that Frankly Darling is the better prospect. Aidan O’Brien has won the 1,000 Guineas in England and Ireland this season but does not seem to have a strong hand here, Passion having proved rather a letdown at Navan last week. Ennistymon has achieved less so far but might be a better prospect for the Irishman. Trefoil needs to step up on a slightly disappointing return nine days ago. Hold Fast should appreciate the extra quarter-mile and could get involved. Queen Anne Stakes (1.50pm) result 1 Circus Maximus (R L Moore) 4-1 Fav 2 Terebellum (L Dettori) 5-1 3 Marie’s Diamond (J Fanning) 40-1 15 ran Also: 11-1 Roseman 4th Non Runner: 2 Queen Anne Stakes (1.50pm) Circus Maximus reportedly getting steamed up in the paddock ... it is a sultry day but can’t see that is his usual demeanour before the races ... and they’re off ... Circus Maximus is prominent with Marie’s Diamond ... the field moves towards the near rail ... Circus Maximus makes his move with Terebellum moving strongly ... Terebellum and Circus Maximus go past together .. what a race ... with Circus Maximus getting up on the line ... and avoiding more embarrassing reports about the Sheikh Mohammed/Princess Haya split if the second had won. Queen Anne Stakes (1.50pm) betting Terebellum – 9/2 Circus Maximus – 9/2 Mohaather – 6/1 Fox Chairman – 7/1 Skardu – 10/1 Mustashry – 14/1 Roseman – 16/1 Duke of Hazzard – 18/1 Plumatic – 25/1 Billesdon Brook – 25/1 Space Traveller – 28/1 Maries Diamond – 80/1 Escobar – 80/1 Accidental Agent – 100/1 Full betting here Queen Anne Stakes (1.50pm) preview It can’t be the strongest Queen Anne if the second, third and fourth in the betting don’t have a Group One win between them but the compensation is that it’s really competitive. Circus Maximus heads the market, having won the St James’s Palace here last summer and also the Moulin in September. It was interesting that he hung to his left on both occasions and he wouldn’t want to do that from a far-side draw in this straight-mile contest. A straight course is a new test for him and possibly not ideal for a quirky sort whose concentration may not be flawless. Speaking of quirky, Accidental Agent is back, having shocked us with a 33-1 success in this two years back. Last year, he refused to start. Which version of him will we see today? The bookies think they know, as he’s 80-1 in places. Terebellum travelled well and looked classy in landing a Group Two 10 days ago; this is her first race against males and also her first at a distance shorter than 10 furlongs. Fox Chairman was a slightly unlucky second in a Group Three here last year and has not been seen since the following month, leaving him plenty to prove. The form of Mohaather’s Greenham win is not entirely convincing, though his stable is hot just now. Duke Of Hazzard was going the right way after blinkers were fitted last summer and he has a useful turn of foot, though Monday’s rain was not ideal for him. Here’s the finish for the first race ... Buckingham Palace Handicap (1.15pm) result 1 Motakhayyel (Jim Crowley) 14-1 2 Jack’s Point (M Dwyer) 66-1 3 Mutamaasik (Dane O’Neill) 7-1 4 Cliffs Of Capri (D C Costello) 20-1 23 ran Also: 7-2 Fav Daarik Non Runner: 16 Buckingham Palace Handicap (1.15pm) Number 3, Blown By Wind has ditched his jockey at the start ... could be a delay ... he’s back on ... they’re off ... Keyser Soze slowly away with Gifted Master leading in the centre ... three groups spread across the track ... Jack’s Point is also prominent ... Documenting going well ... Motakhayyel goes on to win with Jack’s Point the runner-up. In the absence of the Queen the national anthem will be played each day this week a quarter of an hour before the first race. Buckingham Palace Handicap (1.15pm) betting Daarik – 7/2 Kaeso – 6/1 Mutamaasik – 9/1 Motakhayyel – 14/1 Glen Shiel – 16/1 Keyser Soze – 16/1 Cliffs of Capri – 18/1 Greenside – 20/1 Flaming Spear – 20/1 First Contact – 20/1 Firmament – 20/1 Ebury – 20/1 Blown By Wind – 28/1 Shelir – 33/1 Documenting – 33/1 War Glory – 33/1 Hey Jonesy – 40/1 Straight Right – 40/1 Gifted Master – 50/1 Jacks Point – 66/1 Alexander James – 100/1 Silent Attack – 100/1 Habub – 100/1 Full betting here at Oddschecker Buckingham Palace Handicap (1.15pm) preview This is a bit like an old friend, long since disappeared overseas, suddenly dropping in for tea. Killed off in 2015 to make way for the Commonwealth Cup, the much-lamented Buckingham Palace is back for one year only as part of this enhanced Royal Ascot. Quite possibly we will all wonder why we pined for it, as 24-runner handicaps are not the easiest to pick apart. The market has latched onto Daarik, who impressed in scoring at Newcastle 10 days ago, his handicap debut and his first run since being gelded. He’s trained by John Gosden and it’s interesting that Gosden has crowbarred Dettori into the saddle rather than Jim Crowley, the retained first rider to Daarik’s owner, Sheikh Hamdan. The Sheikh evidently missed this race as much as anyone, since he has four runners. Mutamaasik has an obvious chance after four wins on the bounce last year; interesting, then, that Crowley is aboard Motakhayyel, whose form chance is less clear but who may have progressed since he was last seen in July. David O’Meara, who trained the most recent winner of this race, fields an interesting pair of runners in the slightly frustrating veteran Firmament and the ex-Irish Shelir, who will surely pop up in a big handicap one day. Glen Shiel was fourth in the handicap here on Champions Day and Monday’s rain was good news for Hollie Doyle’s only mount of the day. It would be about this time we would normally be getting the runners and riders in the Royal Procession Stakes .. this time all we have is the Queen’s broadcast to the racing nation via the Royal Ascot racecard ... and no tips! Top trainers at Royal Ascot Sir Michael Stoute 81 Aidan O’Brien 70 John Gosden 49 Mark Johnston 45 Saeed bin-Suroor 36 Paul Cole 21 Mick Channon 18 Dermot Weld 17 David Elsworth 16 Roger Charlton 10 James Fanshawe 10 William Haggas 10 Wesley Ward 10 This Royal meeting will have a markedly different feel, in terms of who is training the runners, the coronavirus having dramatically slimmed down the raiding party from Ireland. The Ascot Stakes at the end of today’s card has been won by Irish-trained runners in five of the last six years but this time it will be an all-British affair. Aidan O’Brien has six runners on the opening card, compared to 11 last year, and he will have five tomorrow and just four on Thursday. John Gosden (11 declared for Thursday) looks set to outnumber him for runners over the course of the week, so there’s a case for 7-4 being a fair price for him to be top trainer this week, a feat he has not achieved since 2012. Meanwhile, I believe Darren Bunyan is the only trainer other than O’Brien to be bringing a runner over from Ireland in the first three days of this Royal Ascot. He has Hit The Bid, an outsider in the King’s Stand today. There will be a modest French presence, as Francis Graffard runs two today and Fabrice Chappet has one in the Jersey on Thursday. Top trainer best odds: 5-4 O’Brien, 7-4 Gosden, 10-1 Appleby, Johnston, 25-1 Haggas, Stoute, 33-1 Andrew Balding, Richard Hannon, Roger Varian. Interestingly, the Frankie Dettori-ridden horses are the ones being backed on day one with Daarik (1.15), Terebellum (1.50) and Frankly Daring (2.25) the best supported at the meeting so far. If that trio win the first three races the bookies will be running for cover. Right on cue a spokesperson for BettingExpert.com sent me this: “Frankie is the go to rider for the public and with a huge stay-at-home audience likely to tune in, it’s no surprise to see a more casual audience turn to the jockey they know and love in the search for a Royal Ascot winner. Anyone who fancies him to have a good day is strongly advised to take early prices as despite his latter rides coming on currently less fancied horses, their odds should all collapse if he starts the meeting with a bang.” But will we see his trademark celebration? Dettori told the Mail: “I’m not sure about the flying dismount. It is very hard to jump off a horse when there is nobody in front of you, so at the moment I don’t think I will be jumping off.” I rather suspect TV viewers will get one if he notches a treble! Top jockeys at Royal Ascot Frankie Dettori 67 Ryan Moore 58 Jamie Spencer 26 William Buick 23 Olivier Peslier 16 James Doyle 13 There might be Classics in which Moore ends up riding the wrong one from his employer’s stable but things tend to go pretty well for him at the Royal meeting. He’s been top jockey here no fewer than eight times, including five times in a row until 2019. That run was ended last year by Dettori, whose seven wins made him top rider in Ascot week for the first time since 2004, when he was a stripling of 33 years. Can he do it again? He might be pushing 50 but he’s got so much ammunition that another title could hardly be a surprise. Meanwhile, other riders struggle to get a look-in. Neither Spencer nor Buick added to their totals last year, when Moore and Dettori won 12 of the 30 races and were also runner-up 10 times between them. Danny Tudhope had a good week, you may remember, with four wins. In case you need reminding, just two female jockeys have ever won at Royal Ascot: Gay Kelleway in 1987 and Hayley Turner last year. Hollie Doyle, Josephine Gordon and Megan Nicholls all have a ride each today. Top jockey best odds: 6-4 Dettori, 13-8 Moore, 12-1 Oisin Murphy, 16-1 Buick, 25-1 Andrea Atzeni, Jim Crowley, 33-1 Silvestre de Sousa, 50-1 James Doyle, Tom Marquand, Jason Watson. Very few racing scribes (reptiles as the late John McCririck was fond of labelling us) are currently being allowed into racecourses under the Covid-19 restrictions. Indeed, apart from the handful of TV broadcasters there’s only the Racing Post and the Press Association with journalists at the track. BBC commentator John Hunt, who was on the Radio 4 Today programme this morning at 7.25 am (listen back here), is at the track and at the gates! Today’s tips (full analysis here) 1.15pm Buckingham Palace Handicap Daarik 7-2 1.50pm Queen Anne Stakes Duke Of Hazzard (nap) 16-1 2.25pm Ribblesdale Stakes Frankly Darling 6-4 3.00pm King Edward VII Stakes Pyledriver 16-1 3.35pm King’s Stand Stakes Kurious 28-1 4.10pm Duke Of Cambridge Stakes Wasmya 7-1 4.40pm Ascot Stakes (Handicap) Summer Moon 11-1 You could win a £50 account credit from Betfair by proving your tipping prowess on today’s races. All you have to do is give us your selections for all of today’s races at Ascot. As ever, our champion will be the tipster who returns the best profit to notional level stakes of £1 at starting price. Non-runners count as losers. Please post all your tips in a single posting, using the comment facility below, before the first race at 1.15pm. There are seven races at Ascot today and you must post a single selection for each race. Our usual terms and conditions, which you can read here will apply, except that this will be a strictly one-day thing. If we get a tie after all the races have been run, the winner will be the one who posted their tips earliest out of those with the highest score. If you don’t win today, don’t despair. We are running an identical competition on each day of the Royal meeting, up to Friday. And please post your tips or racing-related comments below. The going news from the track this morning is that the course is now officially good-to-soft, following 10mm of rain in thundery showers on Monday evening. “The forecast is for a warm day but this may again trigger some thundery showers later,” Chris Stickels, Ascot’s clerk of the course, said on the track’s Twitter feed a few minutes ago. “The forecast remains similar for the remainder of the week.” A little more detail on this can be found here. The course has taken 10.2mm of rain in the last 24 hours, and lost 0.39mm to evapotranspiration since midnight, a rate which should remain fairly steady if the temperature (around 18C) and humidity (79%) do not change significantly and the wind does not get up. The unknown, of course, is how much rain, if any, is going to arrive over the next few days – but at least if it does, we will know about it in minute detail as soon as it appears. And Royal Ascot is never quite as much fun if you are casting nervous glances at the sky every 10 minutes, so perhaps “at home” will prove to be the best place to watch the action after all this year? It"s Royal Ascot ... but not as we know it In early May, the chance that Royal Ascot 2020 would open as scheduled on 16 June was seen as so remote by the backers on Betfair’s betting exchange that around £1,000 was matched on “Yes” on its “Will Racing Go Ahead?” market at about 25-1. Yet just a few weeks later, here we are. Or rather, we aren’t. For the first time in a history which is generally dated to around 1807, the grandstands will be empty as the runners go to post for the opening race just after 1pm today, a moment which was memorably captured by Lerner and Loewe in My Fair Lady (without ever explaining how Rex Harrison managed to evade the bowler-hatted dress-code police and get into the Royal enclosure without a morning suit). Racing behind closed doors is a necessity that the sport will hopefully not have enough time to get fully used to, as without paying spectators, the balance sheet does not even come close to equilibrium. A badge for the Royal enclosure would have cost £125 – which works out as around £4m in revenue before any of them have bought a bottle of champagne or some strawberries. With well over 200,000 tickets for other enclosures too, the drop in income is eye-watering. The only significant source of revenue from this year’s Royal meeting, in fact, will be from betting, and there are six new races – all tricky handicaps – for one year only, while bookmakers will be falling over themselves with special offers and enticements to new customers to try and get some money into their (mainly digital) satchels. Some betting shops started to re-open from yesterday, but with social distancing rules to enforce and many still shut, online is almost certainly the way to go for punters. The good news for backers is that everyone can access the online information hub on going, rainfall and so on, which Ascot has set up for owners who have been denied access to see their horses run for Royal glory. It offers probably the most extensive range of information on track conditions ever provided to the punting public, up to and including the rate at which the course is losing moisture. That should make winners at least a little bit easier to find. The lightning-fast Baattash’s attempt to finally lay his Royal Ascot hoodoo in the King’s Stand Stakes is the feature event on the opening day, since the St James’s Palace Stakes, which normally takes centre stage, has been shifted to Saturday as part of a re-arrangement which you can imagine becoming a permanent legacy of this year’s meeting as it puts three Group Ones on the most popular, closing day.

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