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1748: Haggas warned that Sea Of Class might not be a definite runner, saying "I am keen to run her but I don't want to bottom her out on bad ground. We'll speak to the owners in the morning and make a call."

Fingers crossed we have a dry night but it seems unlikely.

1744: Danny Tudhope is having a fantastic season and ends Royal Ascot day one in the same vein as he started by book-ending the card.

He's built a fantastic partnership with trainer William Haggas - operating at a 30 per cent strike rate - and was relieved to see the rain come prior to this race.

"The rain came for him and he won really well. He's in a different league on his day, especially in soft conditions. I'm lucky to have got on him at the right time."

It's a bit of a monkey off the back of Haggas who had been a long time since his last Royal Ascot winner. A timely boost, no doubt, ahead of Sea Of Class tomorrow.

Haggas said: "He'd been really well for the past couple of weeks and he's done well as not everything has gone right for him. It's important that he's back to himself. This was like a Group Two in terms of quality and he's won well."

RESULT 5.35 – Wolferton Stakes

1st ADDEYBB (5/1)

2nd Magic Wand (9/2 favourite)

3rd Elarqam (5/1)

4th Latrobe (12/1)

Click here for full result and FREE video replay

1715: It's now Soft ground on all courses at Ascot.

The Wolferton Stakes brings day one to a close and it's a wide-open Listed race. The rain will definitely suit the likes of Addeybb and First Nation but the money is coming now for Magic Wand, who won the Ribblesdale on the Thursday at this meeting 12 months ago.

She gets weight from her male counterparts and is now joint-favourite along with Elarqam having been around 6/1 earlier today. She may ideally prefer fast ground, but her proven stamina is likely to come into play over this 10-furlong trip.

1712: Brilliant stuff from trainer Ian Williams who enjoys his first Royal Ascot winner. And it's been coming, especially given how well he's done with his stayers over the past few years.

Williams almost nailed the one-two as well with Time To Study his back in third. For a moment it looked like a Willie Mullins-Ryan Moore special in the Ascot Stakes but Buildmeupbuttercup couldn't quite bridge the gab in the home straight.

RESULT 5.00 – Ascot Stakes

1st THE GRAND VISIR (12/1)

2nd Buildmeupbuttercup

3rd Time To Study

4th Fun Mac

5th Ceur De Lion

Click here for full result and FREE video replay

1658: William Buick was a welcome visitor to the winner's enclosure today as he joined in the King's Stand Stakes celebrations following the victory of Blue Point. Buick, who was unshipped on the way to post from Sir Busker at Ascot on May 10, has been out of action since partnering the Charlie Appleby-trained two-year-old newcomer Expressionist to victory at the same track 24 hours later.

He missed his intended mounts in France the next day after reportedly feeling unwell.

The 30-year-old, who is retained by Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin operation, subsequently spent some time at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, where he underwent tests. A big part of the Appleby team, he was a delighted onlooker, as his close friend James Doyle proved an able substitute in the big showdown with Battaash.

Buick said: "You'd have been happy the whole way. It was good. He had to show his versatility today as well, because of the rain - his best form suggested he was a fast-ground horse.

"I thought he toughed it out really well. It was a really good performance. You want everything to go right and James gave him a wonderful ride. He gave him an uncomplicated ride. He just ran his race and did the same as last year. When he hit the rising ground, he saw off Battaash at the end."

He went on: "Of course you want to be here doing your job, but I'm not. The team is doing well and that's the most important thing. A successful Royal Ascot for the team is very important. I'm good. I haven't got a date yet (to return). I'm working away, recovering well and I'm leaving it in the doctor's hands.

"It's just a bit up in the air at the moment. Hopefully it won't be too far away. Weeks, hopefully. I'm keeping fit. I'm back in the gym now. People have been very nice to me and I've had lots of well-wishers as well."

1648: Coeur De Lion is the favourite for the next race - the Ascot Stakes - following his impressive win last time at Chester under today's rider Thore Hammer Hansen.

Ben Linfoot highlighted the claims of Gunnery in his Value Bet column and he's still of interest having shortened into a current 12/1 for Jamie Spencer and jumps legend Nicky Henderson.

It's been a good race for the National Hunt trainers over the years and the likes of Willie Mullins, Gordon Elliott and Noel Meade are all represented this time around.

It's still raining at Ascot, for the record.

1624: Cheekpieces off, blinkers on, down half a mile in trip and it's an eighth victory in the St James's Palace Stakes for Aidan O'Brien.

Circus Maximus, a son of Galileo and daughter of Royal Ascot winner Duntle, proves all the doubters wrong by successfully returning to a mile after winning the Dee Stakes over 10 furlongs and finishing sixth in the Derby.

Sky Bet make the winner 7/1 from 20/1 for the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown on July 6.

RESULT 4.20 – St James’s Palace Stakes

1st CIRCUS MAXIMUS (10/1)

2nd King Of Comedy

3rd Too Darn Hot

Click here for full result and FREE video replay

1614: William Haggas isn't convinced that Skardu will be suited by this morning's rain but sounds fairly confident otherwise in his pre-race interview on ITV.

Punters are steaming into Too Darn Hot under Dettori and he's now clear favourite. Stablemate King Of Comedy is also popular under Adam Kirby and is now no bigger than 9/2.

At a monster price, German Guineas winner Fox Champion could be a fly in the ointment. He likes to lead but the question is can he get across from stall 11 under Silvestre De Sousa.

Before the rain came...

1555: That King's Stand has really set the pulse racing for the rest of the week and here's hoping the St James's Palace lives up to his billing.

As things stands there's plenty of support for Skardu who is into 8/1 generally after his Irish 2,000 Guineas fourth but he's clearly got something to find with Phoenix Of Spain and Too Darn Hot.

The general feeling on the Sporting Life racing desk is that Phoenix Of Spain simply has to be favourite here and represents an outstanding bet at 5/2.

Can Too Darn Hot bounce back to winning ways and give John Gosden and Frankie Dettori back-to-back victories in the race? Soon find out.

1545: Fairly cosy in the end for Blue Point who doubles up in the race and it's almost a repeat 1-2-3 from last year, with Soldier's Call just edging out Mabs Cross for third.

Battaash had to race away from the bulk of the action early on and Jim Crowley manoeuvred across to join Blue Point et al passing halfway but he was outstayed up the Ascot hill once again.

A great clash and the stars have clearly come to the fore.

Winning jockey James Doyle said on ITV Racing: "We've done plenty of homework about him and William (Buick) has helped me get to know him. It's a brilliant training performance from Charlie Appleby and a real team effort.

"It's very tough for William and he's here so it'll be hard to miss these winners but hopefully it softens the blow with his best mate riding them instead of him."

RESULT 3.40 – King’s Stand Stakes

1st BLUE POINT (5/2)

2nd Battaash

3rd Soldier's Call

4th Mabs Cross

Click here for full result and FREE video replay

1535: Battaash is a shade on his toes. Nothing much more, but he's clearly close to boiling point. He's walked into the stalls very calmly now though.

American speedster Imprimis looks "like a bull" according to Ben Linfoot, who will be cheering on Frankie Dettori's mount in the King's Stand.

1525: "Listen," says Aidan O'Brien. "He's a horse we always thought will be very comfortable getting seven furlongs. He's got a good mind and he'll stay a mile well next year."

Meanwhile, Donnacha O'Brien's wait for a first Royal Ascot winner goes on. Fran Berry thinks he'll break the hoodoo in the coming days and his latest thoughts can be found right here.

1521: Rain. It's setting in a little now and there's every chance we could see a going change by the end of the day.

"It's miserable out there at the moment," says Ed Chamberlin on ITV.

1520: Back to Group One action now and the King's Stand Stakes. What a thriller it promises to be and the big news in the betting is that Blue Point has now joined Battaash at the 9/4 joint-favourite.

1510: Arizona storms home to bag a ninth Coventry for Aidan O'Brien. He wasn't brilliantly away and Ryan Moore was slapping him down the neck with two furlongs to travel but once again they've gone very hard up front and it's played into the hands of the closers. It was ever thus on the straight course at Ascot.

Sky Bet have cut the winner from 25/1 to 14/1 for the 2000 Guineas next year.

RESULT 3.05 – Coventry Stakes

1st ARIZONA (15/8 favourite)

2nd Threat (4/1)

3rd Guildsman (6/1)

4th Fort Myers (16/1)

Click here for full result and FREE video replay

1502: Coase goes for Value Bet in the Coventry and he's still 33/1. Ben Linfoot hit the crossbar in the first but managed to find fourth home Romanised who he tipped each-way at 33/1 for a guaranteed profit on the day.

Still time to read Ben's preview...

1500: More reaction from the Queen Anne.

Jason Kelly, O'Meara's assistant, bought Lord Glitters for current connections and said: "That was super. He was just touched off last year and came so close at Goodwood too and he deserves a big one. He loves it here and I'm glad he's won on the biggest stage.

"At Newbury in the Lockinge he found himself too far forward and he's a horse who needs to be switched off so we intended to miss the break a little and Danny executed it perfectly. We gave the field a length and got into a nice rhythm and settled. It was a super ride, as good as it gets.

"The Sussex Stakes will come into play and he's entered over ten furlongs too but this is the big championship race for the older milers and we'll have to go and take on the three-year-olds at Goodwood now. He's in the Juddmonte International at York, our local track, and we'd love a go at that too."

A disappointing footnote to the race is that Silvestre De Sousa received a seven-day ban for excessive use of the whip on runner-up Beat The Bank.

1455: The Coventry Stakes is next up and Aidan O'Brien is bidding for a ninth career win in the top Royal Ascot juvenile race for colts.

He's got three runners and Arizona heads the market at 9/4 under Ryan Moore.

Threat, Guildsman and Monoski head the home team with Arizona's stablemates Fort Myers and Royal Lytham next in the betting.

1450: Some serious disappointments in the Queen Anne there - certainly from the perspective of the market - but it's hard to escape the fact that there is no outstanding miler and, to be frank, there hasn't been for a few years now.

You'd have to imagine the division is open to the likes of Too Darn Hot or Phoenix Of Spain should they step up to the plate in the St James's Palace Stakes later today.

1445: David O'Meara, speaking on ITV Racing, said: "He loves the track. In the Lockinge he ended up with no cover and over-raced a touch. Today Danny gave him a peach of a ride. There was never a moment I thought he was in trouble.

"He'll have a similar campaign to last year I'd have thought."

1438: We really enjoyed the Our Friends In The North features we ran earlier this year and David O'Meara was particularly welcoming and generous with his time.

His single ambition for the year was to win this race with Lord Glitters and he's pulled it off with aplomb. Brilliant start for Yorkshire.

1435: Last year's second goes on better as Lord Glitters edges ahead of Beat The Bank close home to win the Queen Anne.

They got racing an awful long way from home and it played into the hands of the hold-up horses. The big eyecatcher was Romanised who did look unlucky not to finish closer having not got a clear passage in the final couple of furlongs.

Hard not to feel sorry for connections of Accidental Agent, who didn't go a yard after planting in the stalls. He beat Lord Glitters narrowly in this event last year.

RESULT 2.30 – Queen Anne Stakes

1st LORD GLITTERS (14/1)

2nd Beat The Bank (20/1)

3rd One Master (20/1)

4th Romanised (25/1)

Click here for full result and FREE video replay

1428: Barney Roy is getting a bit warm on the way to the start but punters haven't been put off. He's the 5/1 joint-favourite alongside Mustashry, closely followed by Laurens and Le Brivido (also sweating up) at 6/1.

Hazapour - put up in Matt Brocklebank's Antepost Angle - and Value Bet selection Romanised represent the Sporting Life desk in the opener. Good luck with your own wagers and for the rest of the week.

1416: Still no significant rain at Ascot, one or two drops earlier but by no means enough to change the ground which remains Good on the straight course and Good, Good to Soft on the round track.

1408: The latest news looking at the betting for the Queen Anne Stakes (not long now, folks) is that Matterhorn has been backed into a general 16/1 for Mark Johnston and Oisin Murphy.

Barney Roy is back in to 11/2 generally while at bigger prices there are nibbles for Beat The Bank and Sharja Bridge.

Don't forget that fantastic Sky Bet offer with money back into your account if second, third or fourth. Marvellous.

1405: Ah, there she is.

1403: Cornflower blue, apparently. Weighed in.

(This is not the Queen)

1402: Queen's Hat!! Almost forgot. Looks mauve. The bookies always win, don't they. Unless they're paying out on blue, which was favourite.

1400: QIPCO British Champions Series have come up with the goods here. And by goods, I mean Game Of Thrones-based video fun featuring some epic victories for the likes of Big Orange and Estimate.

1345: 45 minutes to kick-off and courtesy of the QIPCO British Champions Series, here's last year's winner Accidental Agent.

1326: Dale and Michael are on hand to guide you through all the extra place races Sky Bet are offering this afternoon. The SIX places in the Ascot Stakes is a particular highlight.

1320: Laurens is one of Oli Bell's day one tips and all of his selections are available here.

1316: One could be forgiven for thinking Laurens was going to find life tough as a four-year-old this season, however her comeback second in the Lockinge was a massive performance and proved she was able to go toe to toe with the boys after one or two questions were raised after the QEII on QIPCO Champions Day.

She's a massive player and is likely to be right up there with the pace from the outset.

1255: LISTEN: ROYAL ASCOT AUDIO

The Two Mikes (Shinners and Vince) are live at Ascot with ITV Racing's Ed Chamberlin for a quick review of today's action as we get ever closer to the first race...

Click here for audio

1220: Watching Frankel reminds me we've got a more up-to-date video to watch thanks to today's Royal Ascot Daily.

Tune in below as Dave Ord finds his inner Gok Wan and Michael Fish with fashion and weather updates as well as some racing chat.

1200: SEVEN YEARS SINCE FRANKEL DID THIS #MONSTER

1135: Plenty of market movers for the Royal meeting today with TOO DARN HOT popular with punters in the St James's Palace Stakes.

Despite finishing second at York and the Curragh punters continue to give him another chance and he's been supported into 2/1 favouritism from 5/2.

Sky Bet are keen to take on both market leaders in the SJP and have boosted both Phoenix of Spain and Too Darn Hot - check out the latest odds by clicking here.

ROMANISED in the Queen Anne and THE GRAND VISR in the Ascot Stakes have also been popular.

Click here for the latest odds with Sky Bet!

Royal Ascot

14:30 Romanised 25/1 from 40/1
14:30 Too Darn Hot 2/1 from 5/2
17:00 The Grand Visir 14/1 from 33/1

Today's Royal Ascot Price Boost!

16.20 Royal Ascot – Phoenix of Spain & Too Darn Hot – Feature Price Boost

Click here for the latest odds with Sky Bet!

Trader Tip

16:20 Royal Ascot – Skardu

Won his first two career races before a well-respected third in the 2000 Guineas, 3¾ lengths behind Magna Grecia even with being drawn on the wrong side of the track. The betting suggests a strong two-horse race but if there was one in the pack to undo these it’s Skardu and James Doyle.

1100: Let's talk trainers. Sir Michael Stoute is still the daddy when it comes to this meeting but Aidan O'Brien is hunting him down in terms of leading current trainer. It's a decent gap still, though, and Stoute has a very strong hand this week including Mustashry, Crystal Ocean, Jubiloso and Sextant.

TOP CURRENT TRAINERS AT THE ROYAL MEETING:

Sir Michael Stoute 79

Aidan O’Brien IRE 65

John Gosden 47

Mark Johnston 43

Saeed bin Suroor 36

Paul Cole 21

Mick Channon 18

Dermot Weld IRE 17

David Elsworth 16

Roger Charlton 10

James Fanshawe 10

Wesley Ward USA 10

1048: I - Matt Brocklebank, for the record, though Ben Linfoot, David Ord and Richard Mann will all be contributing to our live coverage throughout the day/week - can't really understand how Too Darn Hot is now favourite for the St James's Palace Stakes.

He was a brilliant two-year-old but he's not a brilliant three-year-old from what we've seen in the Dante and the Irish Guineas and has three lengths to make up on Phoenix Of Spain from the Curragh.

John Gosden admits to campaigning him a bit oddly and now has his cherry-ripe but it's not like he'll be the only one right at his peak for the Royal meeting.

It's basically 5/2 the pair as I type but Sky Bet have the Gosden runner favourite and that's a surprise, to say the least.

1035: Sky Bet are offering a seriously wide range of Royal Ascot specials this week so whatever far-flung wager you can think of them they've probably got it priced up on their RequestABet page. If not, you can... You get the picture.

Aidan O'Brien is 80/1 to train the 1-2-3 in the Coventry Stakes, in case you were wondering.

Royal Lytham could be interesting of his trio. Obviously Arizona is the big main hope under Ryan Moore and Fort Myers got knocked about a bit when second at Newbury. But Royal Lytham showed a very good attitude to win first time up and it's not hard to see the son of Gleneagles going well under Seamie Heffernan who rode him first time out.

Heffernan said he goes into the "could be anything" bracket after that first time out success.

1032: That's the gates. And they're open.

1030: Talking of Summer Sands, he was third in a hot race at York's Dante Festival first time out and has since won nicely at Beverley. It's red-hot form by the looks of it and the runner-up Monoski represents it in today's Coventry.

Trainer Mark Johnston has had 15 juvenile winners so far in 2019 and it looks highly significant that Monoski represents the stable here. He was a bit inexperienced prior to the race at York and drifted out to 7/1 from around 4/1 as a result but still ran well and he was far more professional when bolting up by six lengths subsequently at Pontefract from Brocklesby winner Show Me Show Me.

If he's improved again ahead of the Coventry he looks capable of playing a significant role today.

1012: Richard Fahey has had plenty of success at Royal Ascot down the years and looks to have a particularly strong bunch of two-year-old horses in the yard this season.

We spoke to the Malton maestro to get a rundown of his contenders for the first couple of days, including Summer Sands in Wednesday's Windsor Castle.

0955: From the Queen to the King and today's King's Stand Stakes at 3.40 (I'll stick to that for race times simply because nobody in their right mind says 'fifteen forty' for a race time - nor the 'twenty to four' for that matter). I digress.

Dare we mention the B-word? Where do we stand? It's been bubbling away for the past couple of years and it seems a lot of people are still undecided, if not downright confuzzled.

No not Brexit, Battaash.

Something of a flat-track bully (downhill track if you count Goodwood!) but also clearly capable of the most amazing sprint performances when right on song. He's had his breathing done and he looked A1 on his comeback, but we've been here before haven't we, building him up as the Messiah before a big G1 race only for him to run like a very naughty boy.

And this is Blue Point's domain, last year's winner very much suited to the uphill rise to the line on this famous straight course. He's looked good out in Dubai earlier in the year too and Charlie Appleby holds him in the highest regard. Appleby is in brilliant form right now, for what it's worth (four winners from last seven runners).

Throw in Mabs Cross, third behind the aforementioned duo last year, and three-year-olds Sergei Prokofiev, Fairyland, Signora Cabello and Soldier's Call, and you have yourself a horse race.

Not to mention American speedball Imprimis - another for Value Bet (sense we'll be mentioning him quite a lot this week).

And after all that, Royal Ascot-winning rider Fran Berry fancies something else entirely at a big price. Find out his thoughts by clicking on the image below.

0944: And in slightly lighter news, it seems that blue is the favourite in the very first big betting heat of the day - the colour of the Queen's hat...

0930: Never mind your slow, drawn-out build-up, something they seem to prefer in the States at least, Royal Ascot gets off to an almighty bang with three Group Ones and a Group Two forming the first four races.

One could argue that it doesn't quite match those dizzy heights as the week goes on but drawing people in right from the outset can't be a bad thing on the whole and it's hard to argue against a blockbuster start like the Queen Anne Stakes.

No Cape Cross, Goldikova or Frankel here, but a lovely race from a betting perspective as it's wide open and seemingly any one of eight could win it.

The great thing here is that Sky Bet are offering Money Back (as cash) if your selection finishing 2nd, 3rd, or indeed 4th. So it's a race worth betting in.

If you're still grappling with your own thoughts on the race, here are a view ideas from Oli Bell, Ben Linfoot and Michael Shinners who joined David Ord at York over the weekend to preview the big race.

0920: 'What's hot in the betting this morning', I hear you cry.

Well a quick scroll through today's six smashing races at Ascot throws up some interesting findings.

The money has come back in for Le Brivido in the Queen Anne Stakes, having been usurped at the top of the market by Newbury conqueror Mustashry last night.

Monoski and Guildsman are popular against Arizona and Threat in the Coventry Stakes and Blue Point remains really solid in the King's Stand, for all that Battaash holds onto favouritism. There's also money for Value Bet pick Imprimis here under Frankie Dettori.

Moving on and remarkably it's Too Darn Hot who now tops the betting for the St James's Palace Stakes with Phoenix Of Spain as big as 5/2 with one firm.

Gunnery - another for Ben Linfoot's Value Bet column today - has been backed from 20/1 to a best-priced 14s (11 in places) for the Ascot Stakes and Joseph O'Brien's Latrobe is a steamer in the lucky last, now trading at 7/1 across the board.

Latrobe features among Simon Holt's fancies and you can read why in his full article below.

0915: An early pointer towards our fine team of tipsters who have been poring over the form for weeks and months on end to try and provide you with a winner or two throughout the week.

The all-in-one article below pulls together selections from the likes of Ben Linfoot, Oli Bell, Simon Holt, Mike Cattermole and Alex Hammond so dive right in and see who you'll be following throughout the week.

0908: We have a plethora of tips, columns and videos buried away on the racing pages but we'll attempt to use this article as a main hub for them all through the morning, so you shouldn't miss a thing.

And then come race time we'll highlight all the key Sky Bet offers, last-minute tips and pointers from the preliminaries.

Stand by for video replays, links to in-depth reports and some essential snippets of reaction from the main protagonists too, while we'll also attempt to highlight the latest previews looking ahead to tomorrow's action.

So that's the plan. But there's no immediate rush so sit back, relax and enjoy a trip down memory lane with our very own columnist, Richard Fahey.

0900: Good morning Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen (can probably assume Her Majesty hasn't logged on from the hotel wi-fi) - it's Royal Ascot Tuesday and we have a lot to get through on this truly sensational day of Flat racing.

First things first though and a going update from clerk of the course Chris Stickels.

Straight Course: Good

Round Course: Good, Good to Soft in places

So it's nice ground. It's not proper summer ground, but this is England and if you'd assumed that would be the case then more fool you.

But be warned, the storms are coming. Due just before the first race, the severity of said storms is reportedly hard to predict. So we're still a little bit in the dark as to what the exact state of the ground will be for the opening Queen Anne Stakes come 2.30.

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