Opening Day At Royal Ascot

There are three flat cards taking place this afternoon withthe obvious highlight being the start of the Royal Meeting at Ascot.  Thirsk and Brighton are on in support, while Newton Abbot plays host to the sole jumps card of the day.  The stable has two runners in the Ascot Stakes, Fiulin and Ashbrittle who are bidding to emulate the 2010 success of Junior.  David has left nothing to chance with jockey bookings - he has employed the services of dual champion jockey Paul Hanagan for Ashbrittle, while Richard Hughes takes the mount aboard Fiulin.  Over the sticks at Newton Abbot, Laustra Bad is our only runner and he will be partnered by Tom Scudamore.

There are three flat cards taking place this afternoon withthe obvious highlight being the start of the Royal Meeting at Ascot.  Thirsk and Brighton are on in support, while Newton Abbot plays host to the sole jumps card of the day.  The stable has two runners in the Ascot Stakes, Fiulin and Ashbrittle who are bidding to emulate the 2010 success of Junior.  David has left nothing to chance with jockey bookings - he has employed the services of dual champion jockey Paul Hanagan for Ashbrittle, while Richard Hughes takes the mount aboard Fiulin.  Over the sticks at Newton Abbot, Laustra Bad is our only runner and he will be partnered by Tom Scudamore.

Wonder horse Frankel takes in the first race of the day at Royal Ascot, the Queen Anne Stakes and Sir Henry Cecil's charge is a 1/6 shot and even that could be a spot of value...what a start to the meeting, the trouble is the standard can only get worse!

My favourite market normally involves the Queen's hat and what colour she will opt for.  Blue is the 11/4 favourite, but just think about it...I'm sure the ladies in waiting must know.  Does anybody know a lady in waiting?  If so, you could find out the colour of choice and have a little wager!  Does that count as inside information?!

With the stringent new dress code in place at Royal Ascot, one person I'm fairly confident you won't be bumping into is Hadden Frost and his barnet (pictured above).  Hadden has been growing his locks for some time now for the benefit of the Little Princess Trust who help children suffering from hair loss due to cancer treatment.  He will have it all cut off a little later in the season at Newton Abbot.  He may look a state, but I am sure that you will agree that it is all in a wonderful cause (for more information visit www.littleprincesses.org.uk.  Well done Hadden - you're worth it!

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It is a big night on the football front with England taking on the Ukraine tonight with a place in the quarter finals at stake.  The kick off is at 7.45pm and will be shown on ITV.  Wayne Rooney is back for England and I would imagine that he will be partnered by Danny Welbeck - both play for Manchester United so they should be able to find each other.  A draw would be good enough to suffice but the way we defended against Sweden last week, I really don't think we should be playing for a draw, do you?  At odds of 5/4 England look to be worth a bet.  France should also beat the Swedes at 4/6.

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I love this time of year as there is some fantastic sports taking place on these shores - England take on the West Indies in the second One Day International today and it is yet another day when my wife will be in another room watching the television!