Royal Rumbles: Day Four | Graham Cunningham's take on Friday at Royal Ascot

Three days into a baking Royal meeting. Your Moss Bros morning suit is fixing to walk home on its own. The top hat that gave you a rakish look on Tuesday is now toasting your head to the point of explosion. And the promise of a Friday relaxation in dress code – following the arrival of the royal procession, natch – must be weighed against a forecast that could make Ascot the hottest place outside of Hades. I get it. You don’t have time to waste. ‘Keep those Royal Rumble snippets tight,’ you say. I hear ye. So here goes with a few words on day three and a few more on a fascinating day four.

Big John and Brooding Bjorn v Frustrated Frankie

When people like Gosden and Nielsen start saying the quiet part out loud about a veteran superstar like Frankie Dettori you begin to wonder whether something serious is afoot.

You will be aware that Dettori copped flak for his handling of Stradivarius in last year’s Gold Cup and again on Champions Day – and a third troubled trip was never likely to go down well. “Let’s just say the horse wasn’t to blame,” said a stony-faced Nielsen after Dettori switched his triple Gold Cup winner outside to finish a never-nearer third.

The implication that Dettori had blundered was clear – and hearing connections give out in the heat of the moment is manna from heaven for media bods – but there is another side to this story. And it involves a thorough stayer who is habitually held up falling prey to the dynamics of a long-distance race that turned into little more than a three-furlong dash.

Look at the sectional data if you want proof.

Strad got clear daylight very soon after the two pole and covered the final quarter mile of this year’s Gold Cup in 23.6s – faster than all bar a small handful of winners over vastly shorter distances this week and only marginally slower than the mighty Aussie sprinter Nature Strip – but Kyprios and Mojo Star were slightly better equipped for the burn-up and the triple Gold Cup hero wasn’t gaining an inch on rivals who are half his age close home.

Hard though it may be to swallow for owner and trainer, this was simply a case of pace making and then breaking a race.

The leaders clearly went off far too slow for the elderly Strad. But Gosden and Nielsen might reflect that they went off a little too fast in giving an embarrassing public spray to another ageing champ.

Verdict: Let’s just say a Goodwood rematch would help further the debate

Inspiral v That Long Lay-off

Her dam finished second in the Coronation; she was flawless in four at two and beat several of Friday’s foes handsomely; and Timeform have her clear top rated with the possibility of further improvement.

But she hasn’t run for 252 days; the spring vibes were decidedly mixed as she missed the Guineas; and the entente between Gosden and Dettori must be far less than cordiale following a turbulent Thursday.

So pay your money and take your choice re the unbeaten INSPIRAL. She’s trading at ‘carpet’ and 3-1 is a very fair price on last year’s form. But winning G1 races after a long absence is tough. And this one, even without runaway Irish Guineas winner Homeless Songs, contains five other G1 winners and a sub-plot between connections that ratchets the tension up another notch.

Verdict: This is how it feels to be lonely

Cachet v Mangoustine and the rest of a stacked field

An English Guineas winner, a French Guineas winner, a Royal Ascot winner, a pair of Irish G1 winners, a BC winner and another good American filly walk into a bar. The champagne is on ice for one of them if Inspiral dips so let’s try to sum them up in short order.

Mangoustine was good at Longchamp but will she thrive on faster ground? Tenebrism failed to fire at Newmarket. Pizza Bianca may not be as good as her BC win suggests. Discoveries could come on a bundle for her HQ reappearance as she bids to emulate big sis Alpha Centauri. And Spenderella can go well at a price for Englishman abroad ‘Gram’ Motion.

But CACHET really impressed with the way she banged out a sequence of 11s furlongs at Newmarket and never stopped trying when going down narrowly in the French Guineas. She’s a hardened pro who can dig in when it gets tough and that makes her a solid each way option again.

Verdict: Rugged Cachet to roll and battle

Perfect Power v Fahey’s Elastic Band

The Commonwealth Cup was designed to help good three-year-olds unable to carry their speed through to a mile and the brilliant Muharaar and the less celebrated Advertise both jumped off the Guineas trail to win it.

PERFECT POWER attempts a similar feat this afternoon and Richard Fahey has been in lyrical form explaining how he thinks he wound the elastic a little too tight in trying to get a high-class speed horse to handle a demanding mile at Newmarket.

Fahey’s infectious confidence about PP being ready to blossom ahead of last year’s Norfolk acts as a clear warning to those inclined to doubt him this time around.

So why am I a little wary? In short, I can’t look at the way Perfect Power ran when seventh at Newmarket – unable to ever get quite on terms with several horses who had never shown his sort of G1 pace before – and think he was at his very best on the day.

Stall one shouldn’t be a major issue for Soumy if the jockeys continue to eschew the stand side. But, in a wide-open race with the top four contenders separated by just 2lb on Timeform ratings, there might just be at least one to stretch the elastic again.

Old Foes v A High-Flying Jet

Picking the bones out of two of the key British CC clues is no easy task.

Tiber Flow just held on from fast-finishing EHRAZ in Newbury’s Carnarvon Stakes but the runner-up came home powerfully and looks like getting cover in a strongly-run race back at Ascot should suit him ideally, while the admirable El Caballo dug in too hard for Flaming Rib, Wings Of War and Go Bears Go in the Sandy Lane at Haydock but is drawn 20 of 20 in a race that might just develop away from him if Thursday’s events are a good guide.

All things considered, the door could be open for a proven Pattern-race sprinter who is more exposed than most on the face of it but has come back better than ever judged on his G3 reappearance success.

On to the Ascot runway comes TWILIGHT JET, who thrived on aggressive campaigning from Michael O’Callaghan in 2021 and dominated a useful field at Naas last month. Stall 11 looks ideal for him to grab a good position under Leigh Roche and his hard-running style makes him an ideal candidate for a hard school such as this.

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