A five-day feast of flat racing gets underway at Royal Ascot tomorrow.
We’ve looked at Tuesday’s Day 1 race schedule for Royal Ascot 2024 before Stu Williams is on hand for a quick rundown of the week’s biggest talking points.
Royal Ascot Schedule - Day 1
Here is how Day 1 at Royal Ascot will play out, headlined by Big Evs in the King Charles III Stakes.
| Time | Race | Price Money |
|---|---|---|
| 14:30 | Queen Anne Stakes | £750,000 |
| 15:05 | Coventry Stakes G2 | £175,000 |
| 15:45 | King Charles III Stakes (Group 1) | £650,000 |
| 16:25 | St James’s Palace Stakes G1 | £650,000 |
| 17:05 | Ascot Stakes Handicap | £110,000 |
| 17:40 | Wolferton Rated Stakes | £120,000 |
| 18:15 | Copper Horse Stakes | £110,000 |
Big Evs – New sprinting superstar?
Big Evs hasn’t looked back since running-out an impressive three lengths winner of the Windsor Castle Stakes last year and he will bid for a second Royal Ascot success in Tuesday’s King Charles III Stakes.
Micheal Appleby’s exciting sprinter went on to score in Group 3, Group 2 and Group 1 company last term culminating in a smart success in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. He made a successful seasonal reappearance at York last month and this race was quickly nominated as his next target.
The only real blot on his copybook, aside from his narrow defeat on debut, came in the Nunthorpe Stakes at York which can easily be forgiven when factoring in his age and relative inexperience.
Big Evs is naturally entitled to improve in just his second season of racing and his reappearance success - when conceding weight and race fitness - certainly adds weight to that theory.
A new sprinting superstar may be about to announce his arrival.
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Kyprios - Banker or Bust?
Kyprios enjoyed a stellar 2022 campaign that featured four consecutive Group 1 victories, beginning with success in the Ascot Gold Cup and culminating with impressive performances in the Goodwood Cup at Glorious Goodwood, the Irish St Leger at the Curragh and the Qatar Prix Du Cadran at Longchamp.
However, an untimely setback deprived Kyprios of the opportunity to defend his Gold Cup Crown last year and he could only manage a brace of runner-up efforts when returning to the track in the autumn.
The stamina-laden son of Galileo rediscovered the winning thread on his seasonal reappearance at Navan and further confirmed his well-being when scoring at Leopardstown last month. However, those victories were achieved at odds of 2/13 and 1/12 and Aidan O’Brien’s charge defeated the same rival on both occasions, namely stablemate Queenstown.
Kyprios will almost certainly need to be at the peak of his powers in order to regain his crown and it’s hard to know exactly what he is capable of at present, which makes backing him at short odds (5/6 best price on Betfred) a risky proposition.
Inisherin supplemented for the Commonwealth Cup
Inisherin looked like a sprinter of significant potential when dropping back to 6f in the Group 2 Sandy Lane Stakes at Haydock last month and connections were quick to state their intention to supplement the Shamardal colt for the Commonwealth Cup in the aftermath.
Inisherin had the previously unbeaten dual Group 1 winner Vandeek (making his seasonal reappearance) back in third on that occasion and there was plenty to like about the way in which he pulled clear in the closing stages.
His early exuberance may have ultimately cost him a place or two on his penultimate outing in the 2000 Guineas and he certainly seemed much happier with the early pace at Haydock.
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Kitty Rose given Sandringham assignment
Kitty Rose won two of her three starts as a two-year-old and again displayed promise when runner-up on her seasonal reappearance in April, so much so that she has was sold subsequently and will therefore be representing new connections this week.
The Invincible Army filly will be having her first outing for the Australian based training team of Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr and the duo wasted little time in securing the services three-time British champion jockey Oisin Murphy for the royal meeting.
The fact that connections have their sights fixed on the Sandringham Handicap clearly suggests they feel Kitty Rose is well treated off her current rating and she could go very well if the ground is decent.
Can Wesley Ward get back to winning ways?
Wesley Ward has saddled no fewer than 12 Royal Ascot winners to date with star names such as Undrafted, Campanelle and the mighty Lady Aurelia all plundering Group 1 prizes.
However, the American handler hasn’t tasted success at the Royal meeting since Campanelle landed the Commonwealth Cup in 2021 and he will saddle just three horses this week, namely Ultima Grace in the Queen Mary Stakes; Saturday Fling in the Norfolk Stakes; and Burning Pine in the Albany Stakes.
All three will likely attract interest given Ward’s previous success at the meeting. However, it’s worth noting that five of his previous victories at this meeting have been achieved in the Norfolk Stakes (2) and the Queen Mary Stakes (3).
It may therefore pay to focus on Ultima Grace and Saturday Fling.
