Ascot

The season is here and at Ascot last week, rather than worrying about what hat to wear, the real pros were working out what drug to take. After a series of cubicle swabs, newspaper reports left no doubt as to racegoers’ consumption at 'As-ket': the coke consumed in the car parks alone probably financed the construction of at least three Medellin villas. It also explains the success of that ubiquitous pale blue Oliver Brown waistcoat – lined with two perfectly-sized little pockets.  Dealers’ menus, sent by WhatsApp and laden with emojis, reveal the astonishing array of exotic substances on offer to punters. We no longer live in an era of poorly cling-filmed coke (which turned out to be mainly speed) and hash pellets that look like rabbit poo.

When I announced to my American neighbour that I was going to Ascot for the first time in 20 years, she grabbed me by the arm as if I had just announced that I was running off with the gardener. Apparently Ascot and the Royal Enclosure have changed beyond recognition since the latest refurb and there is much to learn. ‘Which day are you going?’ she asked wildly, as I muttered something about Ladies Day. She turned around in shock, hand over mouth. If she were Hyacinth Bucket from Keeping Up Appearances, I was her nervous friend Elizabeth who spills her tea all over her saucer, shaking like a leaf. ‘We don’t have much time,’ she cried in no particular direction.  When she learned about my proposed outfit, she went pale.

Royal Ascot gets underway at 2.30 p.m. today with the Queen Anne Stakes, a fascinating Group 1 race over the straight mile. DOCKLANDS did this column a good turn this time last year when winning this contest after being put up at 25-1. Although he is not going to be anything like those odds this time, I am going to stay loyal to this likeable six-year-old. Admittedly this year’s contest is a hotter event than a year ago and the likes of Notable Speech, Opera Ballo and More Thunder are officially rated superior to trainer Harry Eustace’s course specialist. However, Docklands overcame both a slow start and his rider dropping his whip in last year’s race, and he comes into the meeting in good form.

As a general betting principle, the idea of ‘horses for courses’ is a good one. It is indisputable that some horses run better at one course than another. This may be because of the nature of the track – undulating or flat, sharp bends or straight – or simply the make-up of the ground itself, particularly if the difference is as striking as between grass and an all-weather artificial surface. I have no idea why DOCKLANDS runs so well at Ascot but there is no doubt he is several lengths better at the Berkshire track than anywhere else in the country. His form figures from seven runs at Ascot now reads: 1132221. Two of his three wins at Ascot came at the royal meeting, no less.

Ascot racecourse missed most of the rain that fell this week and, as a result, the ground will now almost certainly be on the fast side of good for tomorrow’s big race, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (4.10 p.m.). Despite a first prize of more than £850,000 for winning connections, just five runners will line up for this prestigious Group 1 contest. Calandagan and Jan Brueghel are vying for favouritism in a re-run of their duel in the Betfred Coronation Stakes at Epsom early last month when the latter prevailed by half a length. However, I see this as very much a four-horse contest with Kalpana and Rebel’s Romance both having live chances. Continuous is the only runner that I would rule out because he will probably act as a pacemaker for Jan Brueghel.

Evan Williams has not got as many ‘Saturday horses’ as he once had but he remains a trainer that I like to have on side when he targets some of the bigger handicaps. The form of his stable, with the Cheltenham Festival less than a month away, is good and he had a double at Hereford earlier this week with horses priced at 17-2 and 6-1. I am hoping he might have a winner or two at Ascot tomorrow as well because he brings two of his decent handicappers to the Berkshire course from his base in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. PATRIOTIK, who will be ridden by the trainer’s daughter Isabel, bumped into a well-handicapped horse last time in the shape of Red Dirt Road.