Royal Ascot antepost: go Double French on Day 1

The relentless rise of Francis-Henri Graffard shows no sign of stopping. His yard drips with talent, and he gets the most out of that talent. Having the two best middle-distance turf horses on the planet (our opinion, others may quibble) in Calandagan and Daryz is one thing, but who knows how good that pair would be in other hands? Still in his forties, he is a complete master of his craft.

Enough of the gushing praise. He's got a stable with many other hugely talented horses too, and at Royal Ascot we like two Graffard entries who are being clearly targeted at the opening day of the meeting: specifically, the King Charles III Stakes and the St James Palace Stakes:

King Charles III: It has taken connections an awfully long time to find out, but a fast pace over five furlongs – ideally on fast ground but manageable if there is some give in it – is exactly what RAJEVKA has been wanting to do all her life. Last time out on French Guineas day she sat comfortably behind a furious pace in the Prix de Saint-Georges over 5 furlongs, and waltzed to the front a furlong out as if doing an ordinary piece of work. Who knows how much more is to come after this performance, the best of her career to date. Only beaten 0.75 lengths in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot last year (too keen, wrong trip) so we know the course is just fine. 12/1 is crying out to be taken in a market where it is well established how weak the British/Irish sprinters are and doubts swirl over some of the foreign raiders at the top of the market (Lady Camelot already out with stingray trouble, which definitely beats "cat ate my homework" as an excuse, Joliestar is very short favourite for the QEII on the Saturday).

St James Palace: Superb horse, Bow Echo, but at even money he makes the market for an each-way play in a race that is nigh certain to cut up and feature a relatively small field. Step forward another recent Classic winner in RAYIV at 10/1. This colt won the French 2000 Guineas on his first start of the season and is judged by official French handicappers to be the (co-)best winnner of that race for a decade. What's more, he did this in less than ideal circumstances. Connections were keen to point out prior to the race that he had been forced to miss his intended prep and hence might not be at his peak for his first start in 210 days. Add to that the salient point that fast ground suits best: he didn't get anything like that in Paris on Sunday (officially "très souple", Timeform has rated it as G/S). So while the bare form points to him having a great deal to find to beat the Rowley Mile Guineas front two, we reckon he can take another big step forward and give them a battle at Ascot. Either way, placing looks a huge likelihood.

Recommendations for Day 1 of Royal Ascot, Tuesday 17 June:

King Charles III Stakes: Back Rajevka each-way at 12/1 with Paddy Power or Skybet. The 10/1 widely available elsewhere is tolerable.

St James Palace Stakes: Back Rayiv each-way at 10/1 with William Hill, 888, BetVictor, or Quinnbet. The 8/1 generally available elsewhere is tolerable.