Mystic Hill (5.30), an excellent third at Epsom on Derby day, appears to have been laid out for the Bessborough.. Henry Cecil, who has won the Queen’s Vase twice in the past five seasons, provides a problem for backers by saddling both Stelvio and Pedraza this year. If Freddie can avoid a similar nightmare today, Macoumba (3.45) has a serious chance, and at the likely odds it is worth the risk.The prices will be shorter about Shahid (2.30) and Marl (next best 3.05), but both provide impeccable CVs for their assignments. The vital jockey, however, could be Freddie Head, whose blind-spot with British tracks was again painfully apparent in the Newmarket Classic, in which Macoumba had no running room until far too late. Madly Sharp, the ante-post favourite, should be among them, but his lack of winning form over a mile is disturbing, particularly given the stern demands of Ascot. A better alternative is REALITIES (nap 4.20), who always goes well over this course and will have Michael Kinane steering him home.The man in the saddle may also be as important as the horse underneath in the Coronation Stakes, in which Harayir and Ridgewood Pearl, respectively the English and Irish 1,000 Guineas winners, meet in the decider of their best-of-three. Discover where the pace will be and your problems will be halved.This year, the smart money will be on the high numbers on the far side, with such confirmed front-runners as Chickawicka (drawn 31) sure to tow better-fancied runners from nearby boxes into a winning position.

There is no predetermined advantage to the draw on Ascot’s straight mile, but the quicker horses are often concentrated on one side or the other. At 36-1, the odds at roulette are slightly worse, but at least there is no chance that half the numbers have not been trying for the past three months.
Half of today’s numbers may be lost causes before they have covered two furlongs. Having seen Balanchine beaten 35 minutes later, it is easy to sympathise with the optimists who will pour enough money into the market on today’s Royal Hunt Cup to make it the major betting event of the week. Lined up against them are 32 runners, a handicap which measures 30lb from top to bottom, and the near certainty that most of the field have been saving their best for this afternoon. One hundred seconds later, as a 16-1 chance beat a 20-1 shot with Soviet Line only third, the familiar pursuit of losses had begun.

Soviet Line set off at 13-8 for the Queen Anne Stakes, a secure foundation on which to build the week ahead. It took less than two minutes for Royal Ascot’s punters to be reminded that a banker at this meeting has more in common with the type who plays the futures market in Singapore than the sort with branches on the high street. Kirwan turned professional and it is not just New Zealand but everybody in the world connected with union who will be praying that Lomu stays in the game By 1999, when the World Cup comes to Britain, he will be 24 By then he should be in his prime.. Lomu didn’t play against Japan and the All Blacks scored 145 points. If you wipe Lomu out they’ll still play enterprising rugby.”When New Zealand won the World Cup in 1987 they had a sensation on the wing called John Kirwan who was big, fast and strong He was not, however, as big or as fast or as strong as Lomu. The first time England got into the New Zealand 22 Rob Andrew kicked it.

The first time New Zealand were in their own 22 they ran it, and scored a try. We play it tight, kick it and hope for a penalty.”Lomu got his first pass after one minute, Rory after 60 minutes. It’s the kind of development England and Jack Rowell have had in mind but whether we can do it with the existing players is another matter They’re locked into a system. Our style is good enough to win the Five Nations but it was never good enough to win the World Cup. There may be a pair of rugby boots in every New Zealand loft but there is a boat in every other garage. Thus the All Blacks have been forced to play a 15-man game and they have the threequarters to do so, from the service of scrum-half Graeme Bachop to the pace of Glen Osborne at full-back.”They’ve got a whole range of talent and they’ve shown the most refreshing attitude in the tournament,” Tony Russ, coaching director of Leicester, England’s champion club, said “They’re more flexible than they’ve ever been They’ve changed, we haven’t. As far as the All Blacks are concerned it is not size that is important, it is pace.