After a wonderful first day of Royal Ascot, particularly for fans of John Gosden and Frankie Dettori who celebrated a terrific 87/1 treble, the view was somewhat gloomy through the prism of Irish eyes, more specifically those of Aidan O’Brien, which were decidedly not smiling! However the Coolmore challenge is too powerful to be cowed down for long and the rest of the meeting should hopefully see some vintage performances from representatives of that team.

Part 1 of this preview, which appeared here on Monday, covered four Group 1 events on the first two days of the Royal Ascot meeting. An equal number of events of this stature are lined up over the coming Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The first of these – due off at 4:20 p.m. BST on Thursday, June 21st (8:50 p.m. in India) – is the latest edition of the race which at one time was perhaps the most coveted prize on the English Turf, namely the Ascot Gold Cup, a true test of stamina given that it is run over 2-1/2 miles. Perusing the record books one sees such illustrious names as Isonomy, St. Simon, Cyllene, Bayardo, Gainsborough and Solario embellishing the scroll of honour.

In more recent times, the most famous winner has been Yeats, who was saddled by Aidan O’Brien to secure a special place in turf lore by landing the prize four times consecutively from 2006 to 2009. That same handler sends out Order Of St. George (by Galileo), who is poised to repeat his 2016 victory in this Group 1 race which has drawn a small field of just nine runners. The now six-year-old missed by a mere short ahead in the 2017 renewal, failing to catch the currently side-lined Big Orange after a fierce tussle. Had he won there, we would be writing about a possible hat-trick! Ryan Moore’s mount is the marginal favourite at 15 to 8.

However it would be a brave punter who ignored the improving Stradivarius (by Sea The Stars), whose odds have shortened to 2 to 1 (from 9 to 2), following support from backers who have taken keen notice of the achievements of M/s. Dettori and Gosden, the firm in charge of his progress, on Day 1. A possible chink in his armour could be the trip, fully half a mile further than he has essayed in the past. No distance-related qualms need be entertained regarding the Aga Khan’s Vazirabad (by Manduro), the epitome of consistency with 15 wins and 5 second-places from 22 starts, including a win over 4000 m. Rather, the last-named might not be fully at ease on the firm ground as Alain de Royer-Dupre’s ward prefers a surface with a bit of give in it. Look for Christophe Soumillon producing him late in the proceedings (he tends to idle in front) and thereby adding some spice to the finish.

It was as recently as 2015 that a new Group 1 sprint for three-year-olds, namely the Commonwealth Cup (6 fur.), was added to the traditional agenda. The race proved an immediate hit and its fourth running is set to be contested at 3:40 p.m. BST (8:10 p.m. in India) on Friday, June 22nd. This far out there are still as many as 28 engaged, although probably no more than 18 will line up at the start.

Aidan O’Brien fields Sioux Nation (by Scat Daddy), a 4 to 1 chance at the time of writing, and this is likely to be the mount of Ryan Moore. He showed himself to be a talented juvenile in 2017 and is by the same sire as last year’s winner, Caravaggio. Juddmonte’s highly-regarded Equilateral (by Equiano), prepared by Charlie Hills and with Australian rider James MacDonald pencilled in to sport the popular green, pink and white silks, could add some icing to what has already been a sugar-laden week for the outfit. The second favourite here, he began his 2018 campaign with an 8-lengths victory and could well improve. Better rated than him, though, is Invincible Army (by Invincible Spirit), never out of 1-2 in his career. At 7 to 1, he could make for a profitable “each way” play for the pairing of James Doyle and James Tate.

Eclipse Award winning trainer Todd Pletcher fields an Irish-bred, American-campaigned son of Frankel in Gidu, owned by Zayat Stables, who acquired him in France before shipping him across the pond. Victorious in 3 of his 5 starts, he seems out of it on ratings but adds colour to the proceedings.

Forty minutes or so later the Ascot executive will probably clink some glasses of champagne at their success in drawing the winners of the three 1000 Guineas, the English – Billesdon Brook (by Champs Elysees), the Irish – Alpha Centauri (by Mastercraftsman), and the French – Teppal (by Camacho), to take part in the Gr.1 Coronation Stakes (1 mile on the round course at 4:20 p.m. BST – 8:50 p.m. in India).

Punting trends point to success for the first-named, a half-sister to Mebajeona Stud’s stallion Tenth Star, hailing from the yard of Jessica Harrington. The Niarchos home-bred will have Colm O’Donoghue in charge, a rider very familiar to Indian racegoers over the past 13+ years, during which he has steered the winners of 108 races in the country.

The obligatory Aidan O’Brien runners could turn up in force here – he still has five of the 17 left in, including Clemmie (by Galileo), Happily (by Galileo) and the much-touted half-sister to Uncle Mo, namely Could It Be Love (by War Front), who has alternate entriesand may not start here.

After an exhausting week, we come finally to closing day and the Gr.1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes (6 fur., 4:20 p.m. BST on Saturday, June 23rd —8:50 p.m. in India), which has 18 potential runners left in at the time of writing. Shortest-priced of all is Godolphin’s Harry Angel(by Dark Angel), acquired last year just before the Royal meeting where he ran second to Caravaggio. Allowed to remain in the care ofClive Cox, with Adam Kirby at the controls, the bay has won 3 of his 4 starts in the blue silks, and 5 of 9 overall. Interestingly, all his four losses have come at Ascot, so 5 to 2 might be a bit ungenerous.

Runners from "Down Under" have made an indelible impact on the results of this race through the likes of Choisir (2003), Starspangledbanner (2010) and the undefeated Black Caviar(2012), although the second-named was trained in Ireland at the time of his Ascot triumph. This year Redkirk Warrior (by Notnowcato)has been shipped over by the Hayes/Dabernig training combine in an attempt to emulate them – he has the “magic touch” of Frankie Dettori to assist. Also bred in Australia, Merchant Navy (by Fastnet Rock), is now an inmate at Ballydoyle and was successfully introduced to the Northern Hemisphere by Aidan O’Brien in a sprint in Ireland last month – he could have a say.

Those hardy annuals in sprint races, Limato (by Tagula) and Librisa Breeze (by Mount Nelson), will try and record an initial success in 2018 here but far more interesting is an American-trained participant. Regular Royal Ascot visitor Wesley Ward, who scored in 2015 with Undrafted, relies on the lightly-raced Bound For Nowhere (by The Factor) to bounce to the winner’s enclosure. The Kentucky-bred is likely to be entrusted to Joel Rosario. He is undefeated in the USA, annexing all his four starts there, but unplaced from his two European efforts, though a fourth place in last year’s Commonwealth Cup hints at decent ability.

So competitive is the racing that it’s hard to nominate a “banker” in any of the Group 1 events previewed. Perhaps the best approach would be to try “each-way” bets where the odds allow (i.e. better than 4 to 1).