Royal Ascot - Day 1 - Megastar sprinters and milers

Day 1 of Royal Ascot has produced a fantastic race card with a few mega star names on show. Never since the days of Frankel has there been such anticipation in the opening race, the Queen Anne Stakes, where the exciting Baaeed will try to cement his reputation as a mile god and the best since the afore-mentioned Frankel. The unbeaten son of Sea The Stars will start at prohibitive odds but should put all opponents to the sword as usual and bag the much-coveted mile race. Similar to the Lockinge, Real World should prove best of the rest. The son of Dark Angel looks set to be to Baaeed what Excelebration was to Frankel; a high-class deputy, vied for second place.

The mile race for the Classic generation, the St James' Palace Stakes, will also be an opportunity for Coroebus to add to his glowing reputation as a serious upcoming miler. The Guineas towers heads and shoulders towards a quality field, My only reservation is that Godolphin jockey William Buick usually gets turned over when riding odds-on favourites, so hopefully for Coroebus' backers, he'll ride the odds-on favourite judiciously. If the son of Dubawi runs his race, there should be no qualms on him winning.

Finally, it's Australia v USA for sprinting bragging rights as Nature Strip takes on Golden Pal in the King's Stand Stakes. Wesley Ward is as bullish as ever on the horse he considers the best he has ever had but such exuberance from Ward has usually led to considerable disappointment before. Sure, he's won at Royal Ascot so many times that his horses need to be considered seriously whatever the bullishness or lack of. Nature Strip doesn't quite bring the aura or anticipation of a Black Caviar but he's a legitimate Group 1 winner and the best sprinter from Down Under. Australian racing is filled with average stayers but their sprinting stock merit serious consideration; they can hold their own against anyone else on turf. This match-up will be refereed by the locals led by Man of Promise from the Godolphin operation. The son of Into Mischief was somewhat disappointing on World Cup night at Meydan but can have a legitimate shot here should the 2 favourites fail to fire.

Win: Baaeed, Coroebus, Nature Strip

Win without Baaeed: Real World

Second, Place: Real World