Royal Ascot - Day Four preview

If you haven’t found a winner by the start of day four, why not plunge on SANDIVA in the opening Albany Stakes (2.30) for two-year-old fillies? On all known evidence, she has pounds in hand of her rivals, who are headed by Richard Hannon’s ORIEL and the Godolphin duo, FIRE BLAZE and WEDDING RING.

Tangerine Trees (yellow shirt and red cap) ridden by Tom Eaves wins the Pearl Bloodstock Palace House Stakes during the The QIPCO Guineas Festival at Newmarket Racecourse. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday April 30, 2011. See PA story RACING Newmarket. Photo credit should read: Steve Parsons/PA Wire.

Derby fourth BATTLE OF MARENGO seeks compensation in the King Edward VII Stakes (3.05). But he might struggle to give weight to the likes of CONTRIBUTER, who is much better than he has shown so far, and MUTASHADED, who is a class act in the making.

The highlight of the day is the Group One Coronation Stakes (3.45), which provides a re-match between the first two home in the 1,000 Guineas, SKY LANTERN and JUST THE JUDGE. I wouldn’t rule out one of the Irish raiders, BIG BREAK or VIZTORIA, springing an upset.

The Queen’s Vase has been named in memory of Sir Henry Cecil, whose stable field a live contender in DISCLAIMER. If he stays, he is likely to be the biggest threat to the likely hot favourite, LEADING LIGHT, although SECRET NUMBER is an intriguing possibility for Godolphin.

Two more mind-boggling handicaps for older horses make up the rest of the card, starting with the Wolferton (4.25) Listed contest over 10f. Four lightly-raced, Newmarket-trained improvers to catch the eye are FIRST MOHICAN, RYE HOUSE, LAHAAG and ALBASHARAH.

The Buckingham Palace (5.35) over 7f is, in my opinion, the most difficult race of the entire week to solve. REDVERS is a course specialist who has been laid out for the race, while EMILIO LARGO would be an interesting candidate if meeting-specialist James Fanshawe plumps for this race, rather than Saturday’s Wokingham Handicap.