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The English weather is nothing if not fickle and Tuesday’s forecast involves rain and thunderstorms.

Plus there’s a train strike otherwise it is Royal Ascot time and some great racing on the cards.

The traditional opening is the Queen Anne G1 for the 4y+ down the 1600m straight with 16 runners.  At present the fav is the Irish raider Le Brevido from Ballydoyle on 4/1 just ahead of Barney Roy for Godolphin Appleby-Doyle on 9/2.  Mustashry on 5/1 represents the Stoute stable with Jim Crowley riding the Sheik Hamdan runner and Laurens for Karl Burke and PJ McDonald is 13/2.  Our roughie is the globe-trotting Stormy Antarctic for Ed Walker and Gerald Mossé who has wins in Germany and Italy from his recent travels and is on 33/1.

The G2 Coventry Stakes is G2 over 1200 for the 2yos and it has a field of 17.  Arizona for Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore is on 5/2 having had 2 wins from his outings to date.  Threat won on debut but this is his second start so 7/2 could be skinny.  Guildsman is 8/1 and our roughie is another AP O’Brien runner in King of Athens on 25/1 with Wayne Lordan riding.

The Kings Stand is G1 over 1000m and has 12 runners.  Battash is favourite on 2/1 for Hills-Crowley just ahead of Blue Point Appleby-Doyle on 2/1 and the defending champ.  O’Brien’s Sergei Prokofiev is on 6/1 for O’Brien-Moore and Mabs Cross is not the worst here on 9/1.  Australia is represented by the Queensland mare Houtzen who will have Kerrin McEvoy on board. They are at 25/1.

The St James’s Palace Stakes is G1 for the 3yo colts over 1600m with 11 scheduled to line up.  Phoenix of Spain is 13/8 for Charlie Hills and Jamie Spencer, Too Darn Hot 9/4 despite some less than memorable results from recent starts and his stablemate King of Commedy is on 11/2, and we quite like Circus Maximus O’Brien-Moore on 10/1.