| Venue: Ascot Racecourse Dates: Tuesday, 20 to Saturday, 24 June |
| Race times: 14:30-18:10 BST Coverage: Updates on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio Berkshire |
Racing’s great showman Frankie Dettori rides at Royal Ascot for the final time at the meeting which starts on Tuesday.
The 52-year-old jockey, who will retire this year, is on Chaldean in the St James’s Palace Stakes, one of three Group One races on the first day.
Racing mixes with fashion over five days at Royal Ascot which attracts 270,000 spectators – the first since Queen Elizabeth II died last year.
Organisers hope the event will not be disrupted by animal rights protesters.
Dettori will be forever associated with the Berkshire course where he rode his ‘Magnificent Seven’ winners on one day in 1996, and a statue marks the achievement.
There are seven races each day at the Royal meeting and the Italian will seek his 78th winner at the fixture in the opening Queen Anne Stakes at 14:30 BST which has equine greats Frankel and Baaeed on its roll of honour.
He is set to ride top-class filly Inspiral, victorious in the Coronation Stakes last year for trainers John and Thady Gosden, against Godolphin trainer Charlie Appleby’s Lockinge winner Modern Games.
Leading sprinters, including home hopes Highfield Princess and Dramatised, plus Australian raider Coolangatta, do battle over five furlongs in the day’s second Group One race, the King’s Stand Stakes (15:40).
The England and Irish 2,000 Guineas winners – Chaldean and Paddington – meet in the St James’s Palace Stakes at 16:20.
Other highlights
Wednesday – Prince of Wales’s Stakes: Godolphin’s 2021 Derby winner Adayar is on track to meet Aidan O’Brien’s Luxembourg and Champion Stakes victor Bay Bridge who represents Sir Michael Stoute in the absence of Desert Crown.
Thursday – Gold Cup: The big race on Ladies’ Day is a test of stamina previously won by the likes of Estimate, Stradivarius and Yeats.
St Leger winner Eldar Eldarov, named after the MMA fighter by Bahrain owner Shaikh Khalid, is a leading contender this time, alongside Coltrane for Andrew Balding and O’Brien’s Dubai Gold Cup winner Broome.
Al Asifah was a brilliant winner at Goodwood this month and is hot favourite to land the Ribblesdale Stakes for the Gosdens,
Friday – Coronation Stakes: Mawj and Tahiyra, first and second in the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket, renew their rivalry.
Little Big Bear, winner of the Windsor Castle Stakes at Ascot last year, is favourite to triumph in the Commonwealth Cup for O’Brien after an impressive Haydock victory.
Saturday – Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes: Australian sprinter Artorius returns again after finishing third last year.
Will the King have a winner?
Queen Elizabeth II celebrated 24 winners at the meeting over the decades, and there will be hopes of another Royal victory this week.
Her purple and gold racing silks now run in the ownership of King Charles II and Queen Camilla, who are expected in the Royal procession down the track before racing.
At least two of their contenders, Saga and Reach For The Moon, will be ridden again by Dettori, having both finished second at the meeting last year.
Saga is set to line up in Tuesday’s Wolferton Stakes with Reach For The Moon in the Royal Hunt Cup on Wednesday.
“A royal winner would raise the roof. It would be fantastic and I’m obviously really looking forward to the meeting,” said Dettori.
Royal racing manager John Warren said: “The King understands the bigger picture. He is more than interested in racing. It is something he’d heard in osmosis all his life.
“What with the Queen’s enthusiasm, racing is lucky to have two great advocates – people who are engaged in the sport we all love.”
Protests not ruled out
Animal rights activists say they are “not ruling out” protests and disruption at the meeting.
The Animal Rising group said it would not target Ascot if racing leaders accepted an invitation for a televised debate about the morals and future of the sport – but racing authorities have refused that request.
A delay of 14 minutes was caused to the start of the Grand National in April by activists, although attempts to similarly disrupt the Derby at Epsom this month were not successful.
A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police said: “We have a legal obligation to facilitate peaceful protest and we will be balancing the rights of any protestors with the needs of the local community and spectators.
“With sufficient policing powers from existing legislation, we will be able to respond to incidents of disorder or disruption in a proportionate manner as they occur.”
