Fran Berry's Sporting Life blog: Royal Ascot

It's great to be at Royal Ascot and it could be a big day on Friday with three good rides to look forward to.

It's exciting to be back on Salouen in the King Edward VII Stakes and it would be great if we could provide some compensation for his trainer Sylvester Kirk and his owner Mr Balasuyira. They were so understanding about all the traffic problems that we encountered in the Derby and it would be wonderful if we were able to repay them on Friday.

Everything went according to plan for the first two-thirds of the race and I felt like he was travelling very well. I'm sure he would have got involved in the finish if he hadn't found that trouble from the three pole. I'd like to be able to ride him prominently and get a good position by Swinley Bottom as the order doesn't always change too much from there until the turn for home and it can be hard to make up ground. We're on a recovery mission and hopefully he can run a big race. 

I mentioned in my blog after Epsom that Desert Skyline could step up to a mile and a half or even further and David's (Elsworth) taking him up to one mile six in the Queen's Vase.

I'm really looking forward to riding him over this longer trip. He was sluggish from the gates the last day and was on his head the whole way but once he got himself organised, he finished really well and would have won in another hundred yards. He's run two really good races this season, is still unexposed and I'm hopeful this longer trip will bring about enough improvement to cope with the step up in class. 

Ideally I'd like to have been drawn lower in the Duke of Edinburgh but I won the race on Kinema last year from stall 19 so being out in 20 is not impossible. It does make life more difficult but sometimes in these big fields they can go too fast up front and that can suit the hold-up horses as long as you can avoid the traffic.

I've not ridden Master Carpenter before but he was very impressive at York and although he's up in the weights and got top-weight, this is a fairly compressed handicap with only 8lb between top and bottom. 

The only other time he's run over a mile and a half was in the Coronation Cup but he wasn't stopping last time and there's some stamina on the dam's side. If he does see out the trip, then he's definitely got a live shout.

There are two Group Ones on Friday and it's hard to get away from the favourites in both the Commonwealth Cup and the Coronation Stakes.

Caravaggio is short for a reason and he was electric in the Coventry last year. He was impressive on his comeback, the vibes are positive and it's hard to see beyond him.

Winter is a dual Guineas winner and was even more impressive at the Curragh than she was at Newmarket. I suppose you'd be looking at finding some value without the favourite and the French Guineas winner Precieuse, who was supplemented, merits respect.

She Is No Lady is a big price in the Gold Cup on Thursday but could outrun her odds. 

She's improving all the time and ran great at Sandown behind Big Orange which was a career best and the step up in distance might help her take her form to another level. 

She was a Listed winner in France last season and will enjoy the going and the trip so I'd be hopeful of further improvement and that she could have a say as outside the first two or three in the betting, there doesn't look to be that much strength in depth.

Order Of St George is a deserving favourite but I think the ground might be a worry for him and he could be vulnerable to Big Orange who impressed me at Sandown. I know some said he got an easy lead against lesser horses but he set a strong gallop and maintained it and could just be in the form of his life.

I have my first ride for Paul Cole in the Britannia Stakes. 

Medieval was a decent juvenile and was only five lengths off Caravaggio when fourth in the Coventry and beat a good horse in Defoe at Epsom in September. His last run wasn't the best but it was his first of the season so he's entitled to come on for it, he's dropped in the weights and clearly likes the track having run well last year - it would be great if he could do so again.

I'll be watching the Ribblesdale Stakes with interest and John Oxx's Naughty Or Nice might represent a bit of value.

She beat a useful filly of Jim Bolger's on debut and then won a Listed race at Navan despite not getting the run of the race. She still looked inexperienced that day and the blinkers might just help her concentrate.