Sport is made for betting

 No detailed preview for the next two days as I'll be on the road, but some quick notes... Commonwealth Cup I was doing some research on successful and unsuccessful sires at Royal Ascot yesterday and notably found that both Kodiac (sire of Babouche) and Lope De Vega (sire of Shadow of Light and Jonquil) have terrible records at the meeting. Now, there are always exceptions to the rule and all three of these are very, very good... but I wouldn't be lumping on heavily. Coronation Stakes Zarigana from France looks the one to beat, but she only beat Shes Perfect on protest, and if you go by that horse's UK form, she's not top level, so I have a question mark on the depth of the form. I like Falakeyah , she ticks a lot of boxs - Shadwell, Crowley, Burrows, by New Bay... King Edward VII Amiloc would have been competitive in the Derby had the prudes not ruled him out because he's lost his nuts. Zahrann looks useful but not sure on the depth of form. SATURDAY Hardwicke Sta...

ROYAL ASCOT THURSDAY NORFOLK STAKES Another big field juvenile sprint, don't be put off by the odds, the last four winners have been 14/1, 50/1, 150/1, 12/1 and no favourite has won since 2008. Aidan O'Brien had an odds-on shot, Whistlejacket, turned over in this last year. 1. Afjan   - impressive winner in a newcomers' race at Chantilly in a good time. Bred to be quick, drawn near the inside which hasn't been an advantage as yet. 3. Charles Darwin - one of the shortest-priced favourites of the week and the stable is cleaning up in the 2yo races. Has won his last two starts conclusively, looking very hard to beat. 4. Clear Force - trained by Karl Burke, beat the future Marygate winner to win easily at Ripon, then disappointed in the National Stakes at Sandown. Unless there was an excuse, he's going to need a big lift to match these. 7. First Legion - won nicely at York on debut but was then beaten at Sandown, regressing slightly in rating. Cost half a million at ...

ROYAL ASCOT DAY 2 QUEEN MARY There's a lot of chaff in this race, I'd be here all night if I went through them all properly. 1. America - drawn the outside rail but struggled to win at Bath last time. 2. Caitlin G - squillions but will have to have a token bet on her after my daughter... 3. Cardiff By The Sea - ran well against one of the better Coolmore colts on debut, recording a decent RPR. Not out of it. 9. Harry's Girl - beaten in the final strides at York last time in the Marygate, by the 33/1 shot Secret Hideaway who held her cover into the stiff headwind until very late. The stable have a high opinion of this one but she's a bit of a worry in the barriers - could easily miss the start by three lengths. Rather handy, worth the risk at 15/1+. 11. Lennilu - US raider trained by the astute Patrick Biancone. Has won both starts comfortably so far, in rather different circumstances. She debuted at Keeneland on the dirt (slop, it was wet!), stalked the lead and ra...

ROYAL ASCOT DAY 1 Warm day, dry ground, cracking fields in the big races and a lot of people in ridiculous top hats & morning suits melting. Bring it on! QUEEN ANNE 1. Cairo - ran eighth in this race last year at 150/1 and hasn't miraculously improved in the meantime. No hope. 2. Carl Spackler - curious runner for the Yulong empire and leading Australian trainer Ciaron Maher, having just been purchased out of the Chad Brown camp in the US. He's won 8/12 starts, including G1 races such as the Fourstardave and the Maker's Mile Handicap. Loves to sit on speed and kick away. Champion American mare Tepin won this race back in 2016 when everyone wrote off the US turf form. His form measures up nicely against her and the history of this race. Barring Baaeed and Frankel's years, his best would be good enough to win this. If you were curious about the name - it's Bill Murray's character in Caddyshack. 3. Dancing Gemini - the David against Goliath prospect, running...