The rain has pummelled the racecourse at Ascot overnight which now means racing will be on soft ground today. Anyone who placed bets last night might be quaking in their boots now if they did not see this weather coming.
A total of 19mm fell on the track since Thursday and there could be more rainfall to come. Adrian Wall has sifted through the form book to find three horses that will relish the underfoot conditions today.
The heavens have opened and that will put a smile on Frankie Dettori’s face. With 75 Royal Ascot winners to his name, it could be 76 after the opener as he will ride the once-raced filly Flotus. Simon & Ed Crisford’s runner was backed off the boards on debut at Goodwood and duly obliged, scooting away to win by more than four lengths on soft ground. She will relish conditions today and is the one to beat.
The Irish have a glorious opportunity in the big sprint of the day. Last night it would have been difficult to tip A Case Of You but now that the ground has deteriorated, the Hot Streak colt is a massive player. Three of his four wins have been on soft or heavy ground (the other was at Dundalk) and he has the dream draw in stall 15. He likes to be up with the pace and he will relish every bit of this stiff 6f so this rapid improver looks overpriced at present.
It has been a quiet enough week for Aidan O’Brien and his team with just the one winner on the board from 23 attempts. Nonetheless, his filly here Empress Josephine will relish the mud. Her pedigree doesn’t get much better, a Galileo filly out of Lillie Langtry. She won the Irish 1000 Guineas on heavy ground and had the reopposing Pretty Gorgeous well behind on the day.