The elegance and formality of a bye gone era are briefly revisited each year in June at the premier flat horse racing event of the British Isles, Royal Ascot.

Top hats and tails and outsized millinery designs rival the sleek lines and regal blood stock of the finest thoroughbreds the world has to offer. Couple that with copious amounts of premium Champagne, the incomparable presence of Britain’s Royal family and a purse estimated to be over £3 million this year; then the stage is set for the unsurpassed centrepiece of horse racing in all of Europe!

The thunder and thrill of horse racing
From 16 – 20 June 2009, over 320 000 spectators are due to pour into Berkshire for the highly anticipated ‘Royal Meeting’, a meeting that successfully marries high society with the thunder and thrill of horse racing.

Since 1711, when Queen Anne steered her steed across a lonely heath, a heath ideal for thoroughbreds at full stretch, the who’s who of Britain have gathered in this south east corner of England to watch the equine charge and hopefully fill their boots with winnings too!

Group One races
 Thirty races, all named with a touch of blue blood, are run over five days at Ascot but the feature races, which arguably make for the best Royal Ascot betting and get both bookmakers and punters all in atizz, are the six group one races. These together with the 2008 results are:

•  The St James Palace Stakes(1mile),  won by HenrytheNavigator, ridden by Johnny Murtagh & trained by Aidan O’Brien

• The Queen Anne Stakes(1 m for four year olds and above), won by the O’Brien-trained Haradsun, with Murtagh in the saddle

• The Prince of Wales Stakes(1m 2F for four year olds and above), again won by a Murtagh/ O’Brien prodigy, Duke of Marmalade

• The Ascot Gold Cup(2m 4F for 4 years or older), captured by Yeats (Murtagh/O’Brien)

•  The Coronation Stakes(1m for 3 year old fillies), won by Lush Lashes ridden by K Manning and trained by J Bolger

•  The Golden Jubilee Stakes(7F for 3 year olds), won by Kingsgate Native, trained by J Best, with S Sanders in the saddle

A quick glance at the 2008 results will tell a story of dominance by the Irish trainer, Aidan O’Brien and his preferred jockey, Johnny Murtagh, the very same team that has cornered the Ascot Gold Cup market too. With constant competition and attractive odds, Royal Ascot is the consummate betting haven for both experienced and occasional punters.

The Ascot Gold Cup
The signature race is, undoubtedly, the coveted Ascot Gold Cup, traditionally run on the third day, Ladies Day. Together with the Doncaster Cup and the Goodwood Cup, the Ascot Gold Cup is an integral part of Britain’s imperious Stayer’s Triple Crown, where only horses with stamina remain in contention.

Ironically, it has been an Irish horse that has dominated on English soil in recent years. The indomitable Aidan O’Brien-trained Yeats has added the coveted Gold Cup treble to his impressive race resume, having won the premier sprint three years on the trot. What makes his consecutive triumphs even more remarkable is the fact that in all three races he has had a different jockey in the saddle – Kieren Fallon (’06), Michael Kinane (’07) and Johnny Murtagh (’08).

The incomparable Yeats in the running again
Yeats has been earmarked by the bookmakers yet again this year and when you consider his sterling record at Ascot in conjunction with his obvious propensity for longer distances, the 8 year old could very well re-write the history books, becoming the first horse to claim a coveted quartet.

As of writing William Hill bookmakers has Yeats the firm favourite at 3/1 to win on the Queen’s course yet again this year, whereas Stan James has him at 10/3, behind their Ascot Gold Cup pick, Patkai, at 5/2.