The fifth and final day next Saturday will see nearly 70,000 head to Berkshire. In truth, it's not the strongest card of the meeting but there is a final Group 1. Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes - 1200m Straight Known many moons ago as the Cork and Orrery, it has enjoyed championship status since 2002 when it was the Golden Jubilee of the late Queen. Diamond and eventually Platinum followed but the renaming of the race in perpetuity is a nice touch. 33 have been entered and they go 5s the field. MILL STREAM won the Duke of York but I'm to be convinced he's a Group 1 performer. KINROSS was top class over 1400m last year and placed runs in the July Cup and the Champions Sprint showed he can be competitive at 1200m and his defeat of AUDIENCE in the City of York now looks really strong form. REGIONAL won the Haydock Sprint Trophy last year and we know he enjoys fast ground. The supporting Group 2 is the Hardwicke over 2400m for the older horses. The Coronation Cup winner LUXEMBOURG has been entered as has the globe trotting REBEL'S ROMANCE whose last two win s were in Dubai and Hong Kong. CONTINUOUS chased home KING OF STEEL in the King Edward VII last year and went on to win both the Voltigeur and the Leger before a fine fifth in the Arc. That's serious form but will be ready for this first time up? 

Been for a short break to Derbyshire with Mrs Stodge but back with the previews of the final two days at Ascot before the fuller preview of the opening day. First, then day four featuring two Group 1 races. Commonwealth Cup - 1200m straight This has quickly found a niche in the schedule and has proved hugely popular with trainers providing a serious race for the sprinting juveniles who are not up to the classic races over a mile or further. 22 have been entered and joint favourites at 4s are INISHERIN and VANDEEK. The two met three weeks back at Haydock in the Sandy Lane where INISHERIN, fresh from his sixth in the 2000 Guineas, put up a sparkling performance while VANDEEK, on seasonal bow and conceding the 3 lb Group 1 penalty, looked a bit moderate in third. VANDEEK's trainer, Ed Crisford, was adamant the horse could come on a ton for the run and he'll have to but the Haydock race was run on soft ground and conditions by the end of next week could be pretty quick. It was fast enough when VANDEEK won the Middle Park last autumn. Coronation Stakes - 1600m - Round One of my favourite races of the meeting, this is the equivalent of the St James's Palace but for the fillies. The first three from Newmarket re-oppose with ELMALKA, PORTA FORTUNA and RAMATUELLE only being split by three quarters of a length. The ground will be quicker and of the three I quite like PORTA FORTUNA - I remember her handling firm turf in America when second in the Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. Favourite is the O'Brien runner OPERA SINGER who was third in the Irish 1000 Guineas while ROUHIYA won the Pouliches and comes over to add to the real class of the race. The Group 2 supporting race is the King Edward VII over 2400m, often known as the Ascot Derby but BELLUM JUSTUM (seventh) and EUPHORIC (ninth) are the best of those who ran at Epsom - we know the winner is going to Sandown (as is the sixth) while the fifth is in the Queens Vase and the second, third and fourth are all heading for the Irish Derby. Favourite is the French challenger CALANDAGAN who won the Hocquart last time while Aidan O'Brien has entered no fewer than nine.

Having become his sire's first group 1 winner in the Southern Hemisphere, and second globally, when landing Randwick's Champagne Stakes (G1) in April, the Godolphin homebred Broadsiding took his form to even further heights June 15.View the full article

Massive run. Heart of a champion.

Not sure Rev, I think he was just getting in too a nice doze and out of a half open eye her approach seemed threatening and startled him.  The perfume theory could well be right though 🙂 Interesting about Ardee One and Swannys, certainly popular in their day - my school one was blue and black check which was outnumbered by the amount of red and black check options. A red and black Swanndri must surely have been highly offensive to the mare... 

Dynamite ....$5,500 per month is extortion! I had a horse with Mark Purdon a few years back and when he put his training fee's up to $92.00 per day I went white! (not that I was black before that 🤣) .....but even though he was the best of the best I still thought $92.00 per day was way over the top......but looking back he was worth it. I know its 2024 but horses don't win $5,500 per month unless they are open class..... and don't start me on Vet fee's ....they charge whatever they want.....even milage!! Its just getting way too expensive to race a horse unless you chop it up.

Bill Autridge,  Bob's dad and Steven and Toby's grand father  always told me as a kid to beware the dozing, sleeping horse. Bill had the Black Smith cauldren of hot shoeing and anvils in Matamata. He shod thoroughbreds and giant Draft horses. As a kid about 1955 I used to watch him . He taught us all to be cautious around dozing horses.Some could doze off andrespond to smells. Like a perfume. And foals who have a lethal kick . Years later Bill's advice probably saved my body many injuries. My brother trained a mare called Ardee One. She reacted negatively to Red colours and swandrys.Put her ears back and stretched the tie ups at Cambridge to any male wearing a swanny! He also had another Group One mare, Fleur de Lune who loved my wife's perfume.Chrystel Noir. Fleur was a gem but near her peak fitness could be very colty .Caution was needed . After her Foxbridge Plate win and Railway Victory she loved being soothed  with that Chrystel Noir fumes.  Maybe the Kings Horse reacted the way he did because the lady in the video had a cheap perfume ??   Thought s??     .

A mate of mine said the comments were generated by a data entry company most of whom are non racing people. 

No music here apart from the sweet sound of the Bike. Bruce Anstey, one of our greats and somewhat of an unsung hero (possibly due to his nature) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Anstey  

Deep Sooth this sounds like a very unfortunate situation that ends badly for both parties…. A friend of a friend in Christchurch has a share in a horse that raced today , trained by the leading stable in NZ, and they had to give the senior training parter a share in the horse as the monthly bill, including vet bills, were well in excess of $5500 per month….  

https://harness.hrnz.co.nz/gws/ws/r/infohorsews/wsd06x?Arg=hrnzg-Ptype&Arg=RaceVideo&Arg=hrnzg-RacehdrID&Arg=C5694EDC-D064-457B-BEC6-C22D38F98627&Arg=hrnzg-rSite&Arg=TRUE Beauview Topaz - Hard to know if John Dunn is a mind reader or if the starter has a dollar or two on the horse. Bang go and the Beauview Topaz has a length on the field and travelling. Yes it didn't show much fight but highlights again how weak the starter is when the field are not on the same level. Donkey Donnelly has learnt well off his teacher Mr RIGHTTTTTTTTTT  While I am on the moan Alan Clark put a professional driver on and your horse will win a race or two (George Eliot for example) - your respect on the track is nil - you will never be given the lead doesn't matter how much you want it. 

Yes, you are right Mike each to their own, my mother liked the Seekers as well as Jim Reeves and other old ladies' music. But not liking AC/ DC you need to make sure that you do not express your opinion on them if you ever visit The Tron or Mullet Hutt.

Yes, in the end you're dead right. In this case "being right" has cost him a long time owner that had varying sized interests in about 6 other horses in the stable as well, and the word is he isn't the only owner affected heading for the front gate when the lease in question ends next month. Doing the "right thing" will always trump blindly doing what you have the "right to do" in the long run!  

zelda keep your tips to yourself, or just back horses with J McDonald (nz) on board. or dig up another kero tin, n0?

FF….. I do agree as C Hart does it here better than anyone… But certain NZ drivers “jerk” on the reigns…. And you see the horses heads get thrown into the air…. D Dunn  and C Dalgety are identical and are extremely kind on the horses and it’s mouth and go with momentum of the horse…

Dynamite....leaning back on the horses bit in the mouth kids it into thinking its going better than it is if that makes sense...... the horse feels stronger if its up on the bit rather than those drivers that throw the reins at it. Dexter Dunn was (and still is) the master at it.....and going way back to Maurice Holmes (one of the greatest of all time) he used to 'knot' the reins for a stronger grip so he could do it.....and boy didn't they respond over the last furlong.

I attended Menangle last night and witness young gun drivers like J Callahan… I watch NZ races and some drivers , Williams,Dunn , keep pulling back on the horses mouth up the straight and I wonder why……..? You notice the horses head jolt and must stop their momentum….. Hart, Trainor , Callahan , Grima , McCarthy all sit balanced and do not do this on the horses mouth….

Of course you can.  Happens every day of the week in the Courts and laboratories around the world.

The grounds for divorce in many celeb splits are simply ‘irreconcilable differences’.  In this case I believe there was some suggestion of inappropriate workplace behaviour of a historic nature, but ultra high net worth individuals like Bill Gates are more at risk from people who make those allegations in the hope of a payout.

You can’t prove a negative Gruff, the onus of proof rightly rests with the person making the allegation.  He may or may not be a wanker.  From his Wikipedia page he doesn’t appear to be in that category, quite the opposite in fact.