Prince of Wales' Stakes - Lord North looking for Love

Royal Ascot is under-way and the first day saw the 2 best European milers (excuses to St Mark Basilica!) come to the fore as Palace Pier and Poetic Flare dominated their races. The anticipation now is for those 2 to meet at some point later and if SMB can join in too, that would be a hell of a race.

The second day at Ascot sees the much-anticipated return of Love who had an utterly exciting and dominating Classic season last year. Softish ground has limited her appearances but the good to firm ground at Ascot will be to her liking. She will cut it out with colts for the first time and the outcome of the race will give us a good indication whether all the hype behind her was justified or not. 

Love is not proven on firm ground but she will definitely relish it to soft ground. Her return to the course after a 300-day absence means that she will not be at the peak of her powers. The Ballydoyle team are certainly bringing her up to bigger challenges during the course of the season. Her fans will hope that she is not under-cooked for the occasion.

The main opponent to Love will be Lord North, the winner of last year's edition. The John Gosden gelding is top-class and seems to be in top form at the age of 5. He won the Dubai Turf convincingly on his last start and the vibes are certainly positive from connections. He can be a handful in the stalls and provided he is well-behaved in that area, his chances of winning are legitimate. I think the Gosden stable have him primed for this race and deserves to be shorter odds than the current 9/4.

Armory and the other runners will be aiming for third place, nothing higher. It might be worth taking a winning punt on Lord North at current odds. I can't see him out of the first 2.  If Love can make a convincing winning return, she might be the next super filly racing is looking for and the upcoming big middle-distance races will be at her mercy.

Win/Place: Lord North

Juddmonte International - In pursuit of Ghaiyyath

Barring the absence of `the Queen` Enable,  York's Juddmonte International has assembled a high-quality field that promises to be one of the races of the season. The front-running monster Ghaiyyath is the deserved favourite, having gotten the scalp of no other than Enable herself in the Coral Eclipse. If the son of Dubawi has maintained his great form to date, he will be almost impossible to be headed. His camp certainly sound positive, which is not good news for the rest of the field.

Magical, the wonderful mare from Coolmore is unbeaten this year but her victories haven't been as eloquent as Ghaiyyath. The daughter of Galileo rarely runs a bad race but there always seem to be someone better than her in the top races. She might aspire to a placing.

Kameko, the Guineas winner, was oh-so-unlucky in the Sussex Stakes. He might still not have beaten the impressive winner Mohaather, but second place was ripe for the picking if he did not encounter traffic problems. Ten furlongs will be right up his alley and his weight allowance as a three-year-old gives him a live chance to be at the finish.

Finally, Lord North, this year's Prince of Wales Stakes winner, cannot be underestimated as he's also running an undefeated campaign this year. His progression from the handicap ranks to Group 1 winner is all the more remarkable and he should not be out of his league in this company. The way he won going away at Ascot was visually impressive and being trained by John Gosden gives more impetus to his chances. 

This is going to be a fantastic race to watch. Will Ghaiyyath falter in the straight or will the others be able to keep up with the torrid pace he customarily sets? The Godolphin star can put an exclamation point to his Arc aspirations with another dominant performance. I think he will.