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Jump in for all the action on day one at Royal Ascot, have gone the summary route rather than runner-by-runner with several big fields lined up! -------------------- Royal Ascot Notes Day 1 Queen Anne I’ve never rated Rhododendron that highly but it didn’t stop her winning the G1 Lockinge last start, but she only fell in. Had the benefit of a lead-up run so you could imagine she has less upside than some of her rivals. Have to take her on as favourite. Benbatl was impressive in Dubai but back to a mile here and Saeed Bin Suroor hasn’t won a British G1 since 2013. Not a Frankel year but even still, from a stable with bottomless cash reserves... The French raider Recoletos arrives in top form but is he up to the standard of Goldikova or Solow? He may not need to be. The most recent recipient of the “Looked like a superstar, now it’s just an oddball owner making excuses” trophy is Limato . Couldn’t have him over a mile down a 45deg slope. Paul Kealy made a good case ...

It's time for the third leg of the American Triple Crown, and hey presto, the forecast says it's going to piss down yet again! Absolutely charmed run for the mudlarks. Justify won't quite have the attention that American Pharoah did three years ago but it's still as big as it gets in the US across mainstream media. Over to esteemed form analyst Stephen Richardson for a quick summary of the race. ---------------------------------- Belmont Stakes 2018 This year's field has 10 horses on Saturday competing for the 150th running of the Belmont Stakes in Elmont, New York. After winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes in the last five weeks, the Bob Baffert-trained colt is attempting to become the 13th winner of the Triple Crown. Justify has drawn gate 1 and will race over the longest distance (2400m) of his racing career. There is a reason the Belmont Stakes is nicknamed the Test of the Champion, it is an incredibly tough race and has proved the downfa...

It's Derby weekend in Europe in case you hadn't noticed, and rather than focusing on the goat track that hosts the Investec Derby, I'll attack the French equivalent on a much fairer, flatter course at Chantilly. While the O'Brien stable seem to have their pecking order, it's difficult to line up the preferences of the local trainers. If you're not familiar with much of the French form, I've included replays for most of the major lead-up races. ====================== OLMEDO Had dream run early in the Poulains then got caught up in the middle of the interference when the mad early pace suddenly stopped. Boxed in and caught flatfooted when the pace went on, it was a tough, grinding win in the end. Highly rated his whole career, and with a top jockey-trainer combination, he'll be well supported but in a big field, drawn the rail and at a tricky track like Chantilly, I wouldn't be rushing to take the current price on him. 5/1 AL ADAID (scr) Won ...

The Harness Jewels meeting is quite literally, the jewel in the crown of New Zealand harness racing. Interest and turnover in racing is quite evenly split between the galloping and trotting codes in NZ, much like France, and thus it's this meeting which gets all the attention this weekend, every race is a Group One. Previewing the card is Kiwi odds analyst extraordinaire Stephen Richardson. Welcome aboard! ========================== Cambridge Harness Jewels Day Saturday, June 2. Cambridge, NZ Race day prize pool NZ$1,275,000 Race 1 - 2 Year Old Fillies 1609m #1 Platinum Revolution is an Australian raider who has the draw and the right form to win but will have to break the record book as no Australian-trained runner has won a Jewels race. The favourite #8 Princess Tiffany is the runner to beat having won all four race starts and while the draw is a major concern, her trainers Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen have dominated past Jewel races (won five from nine ra...