Royal Ascot Day Four – Friday 17th June

It was a better day yesterday at Royal Ascot as I managed to steady the ship so to speak with a solid day. I was delighted to see Magical Lagoon get back up from an unpromising position, and there were a few places in some of the big handicaps which I was happy with. We go again and march on to Day Four, where hopefully there will be more success down the line for us. 

Again I am siding against getting involved in the opener, as I do quite like Mawj – but she has become quite short for a race of that nature. Instead, the 3.05 is the Commonwealth Cup over 6 furlongs and this looks a very open race and one that could be very tricky to pick apart. I am hoping that there might be a welcome change of fortune for the Michael O’Callaghan yard, who were so unlucky with Crispy Cat yesterday, and will be looking to make amends on the biggest stage with Twilight Jet – who has been an improving horse and was in fine form last time out. That would have to give him a big chance in this line up and some of his efforts last year don’t give him much to find with the majority of the protagonists in this race. He has not stopped improving yet and if not burnt into a pace battle up front, he should go close. At a price of 8/1 with Bet365, who are offering 5 places, he should be backed each way. 

The 4.20 race is the second Group 1 race on the card and the Coronation Stakes over 1 mile sees the eagerly anticipated return of Inspiral, alongside some of the main horses from the 1000 Guineas. Inspiral has had some injury setbacks and it doesn’t seem to have been an easy ride, so I will allow her win, while Cachet and Prosperous Voyage are more likely to run their race. However, it is the very well bred Discoveries that interests me the most in this race, with two of her siblings winning this exact race in the last five years. She is born to act well around here and she has shown more than enough to suggest she is a filly of high ability. She was not seen to best effect in the 1000 Guineas, but the yard’s horses are in better form now and she should be primed to run a massive race. At a price of 8/1 with Betfair, who are offering 4 places, she should be backed each way. 

The final selection from this tricky day comes in the penultimate race, which is the King Edward VII Stakes and this Group 2 contest over 1m4f looks like another really good race. I find it hard to get away from the first two in the market in this race and I would be very shocked to see the winner come from anywhere else in the field. I am going to side with Changingoftheguard, who is perhaps the more exposed – but the standard bearer of form in this race and if able to back up his last few efforts, should be rightly involved in the business of this race. He was fifth in the Derby last time out, which was more than respectable, and he looks like the type of horse to continue to fill out through this campaign. This smaller field should suit his strengths well, and if backing up the Derby effort from two weeks ago, he should be very close here. At a price of 15/8 with Paddy Power, he should be backed.