Five days of glorious world-class horseracing lies ahead this week as Royal Ascot 2023 gets underway with the running of the Gr1 Queen Anne Stakes, the opening race of the fabulous five-day festival, today.
Modern Games – a big runner today (Pic – Newbury Racecourse)
Royal Ascot action commences at 15h30 today and can be viewed on Gallop TV.
Lockinge winner Modern Games faces 11 rivals, including Inspiral, Chindit, and Native Trail , in what will be a thriller to get the games started!
Modern Games is by Dubawi and trained by Appleby. A victory for him could set the tone for a week in which Appleby will no doubt hope the sire can propel him to glory.
Modern Games is a typical Dubawi. He’s tough, genuine and consistent to boot, and proved that he can do it at the top level in Britain when landing the Lockinge at Newbury last month.
That was his fifth Group or Grade 1 win worldwide, but many will argue that he still isn’t the horse with the most raw talent in this field, for all he is clearly the most reliable among them.
Frankie Dettori’s farewell tour rolls into Ascot as the legendary rider partners the John and Thady Gosden-trained Inspiral.
The daughter of Frankel last featured when finishing sixth of nine in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on Champions Day at Ascot in October.
She did, however, win six of her seven starts before that, including the Coronation Stakes 12 months ago. So horse and rider are both worth including.
The other two Gr1 features on day 1 are the King’s Stand Stakes and the St James’s Palace Stakes.
Remember – off time of the first is 15h30!
