Royal Ascot Tips: 64/1 Frankie Dettori Treble on Day 1

Inspiral - Queen Anne Stakes

The curtain-raiser for Royal Ascot is the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes and Frankie Dettori has a good chance of taking the opener in his final Royal Ascot as he rides INSPIRAL, who is only rated a pound lower than the favourite Modern Games and will receive weight from Charlie Appleby’s charge, which could be the difference. 

She was last seen finishing only sixth in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes over course-and-distance but is clearly better than that and should instead be judged on her impressive win in the Group 1 Coronation Stakes at this meeting twelve months ago, where she beat a high-class field that was littered with Group 1 winners, winning by more than four lengths. 

Fitness will not be of issue, as when she won here last year, she was making her seasonal reappearance and is two-from-two on her first start or the season. She’s beaten former 1000 Guineas winner Cachet twice and her win in the Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois at Deauville was her third success at the highest level. 

Her task won’t be easy coming up against the race-fit Modern Games alongside other top-class rivals but she’s a classy filly herself, has the course form in the locker and has every chance of getting Frankie Dettori’s week off to a flyer. It will take a very good rival to see her beaten and is one of Frankie’s best chances of a winner for the week. 

Chaldean - St James’s Palace Stakes

Coincidentally, the whole treble comes on the opening day of the Royal Meeting and Frankie‘s best chance of the week, in my opinion, is the 2000 Guineas winner CHALDEAN, who is joint-favourite and been at the front of the market for the Group 1 St James’s Palace Stakes, ever since winning at HQ, in which he won quite a bit to spare under a confident ride from the Italian maestro. 

Andrew Balding’s charge firmly put any stamina doubts aside when winning that classic on his first try at a mile and in the process, bagged his second Group 1 success. He is a very straightforward individual, who travels well and has a turn of foot. His win at Newmarket looks more trustworthy than the Irish version Paddington had won at the Curragh. In theory, he should be clear favourite. 

Frankie Dettori knows the winning feeling of this race, who has been fortunate enough to have won it four times in his career. Three of those wins have come in the last seven renewals and this top-class horse, who should be very well-suited to this course, is most likely to give him one final victory in the contest. I cannot find any negatives within his credentials and should be extremely hard to beat. 

Saga - Wolferton Stakes

If Frankie Dettori was to succeed on either or both the other two, expect SAGA to attract even further support and go off favourite for the Wolferton Stakes in the famous King and Queen silks, who is currently second favourite behind stablemate Francesco Clermonte. He must have a great chance of going one better than he did when marginally denied in the Britannia Stakes last year when second of 30. 

He came from an unpromising position to be nearest the finish in that race last year, faring best of those that were held up and came within a neck of success in that highly-competitive contest, finding only Thesis too strong. His form somewhat tailed off slightly afterwards but he looked back to his best when a head second in the Suffolk Stakes at Newmarket on his return and that should have put him spot on for this intended target. 

The four-year-old has been on the receiving end of finishing second five times out of his ten starts in his career but it really is only a matter of time before everything clicks into place for the horse. A large-field scenario clearly brings the best out of him and he could be ready to strike. With Frankie Dettori already booked to ride him, this has undoubtedly been the long-term plan and one that could pay off nicely.