Royal Ascot tips: Your best bets and NAP for today’s racing at Ascot from Callum Jamieson

THANK God Ascot is here – it’s been a quiet couple of weeks but we’re finally ready to roll.

The rain could cause a few problems today, but I’ve got a few up my sleeve that should be fine and dandy no matter the weather.

We start with the trappy Queen Anne, which once again looks a real minefield and in turn, easy to make a case for half of the field.

However, a good few angles point to MUSTASHRY (Ascot, 2.30) off the back of his impressive Lockinge win.

Newbury can throw up some funny results on the straight course, but everyone looked rock solid on the clock and his rating of 121 following that win would have won him the Queen Anne last year fairly comfortably.

It can be hard to trust a horse at the age of six who improves so significantly in one run, but this is Sir Michael Stoute and the form of his Earl Of Sefton run also points to an improved horse.

He stays further than a mile and this stiffer track should suit better than at Newbury in the Lockinge.

Laurens and Barney Roy are the threats in my book, while I’ll also have a small win only on MATTERHORN who could make the most of a drop in trip and will definitely be a pace angle with Laurens the only other likely candidate to go forward.

I still think Mark Johnston’s horse has a big race in him, and his turf runs have been better than a cursory glance.

The Coventry is no easier from a punting perspective, but MONOSKI (Ascot, 3.05) will be of interest.

He chased home a good horse on debut, before routing his rivals at Pontefract on his next outing, a field which included the Brocklesby winner.

He’s been well found in the market now, but on numbers doesn’t have much to find with the favourite Arizona and looks a cracking each-way bet.

I also like KING OF ATHENS from an each-way perspective and will have a few quid on him. He made an ancouraging debut behind Arizone recently and should come on leaps and bounds for that.

He looks a wild price in a wide-open race.

It gets trickier from that point. And while I like Shaman and King Of Comedy – depending on the weather – in the Prince Of Wales’s, I can’t bring myself to back those just yet.

A bit of rain falls and Shaman becomes a terrific bet at current prices, while King Of Comedy should have the race run to suit with heaps of pace up top more than likely.

In the concluding Wolferton Stakes, ADDEYBB (Ascot, 5.35, NAP) is a confident selection.

He was given a howler at Chester and should have arguably won that day. He’s yet to find top gear this season but has been threatening to win a big race for a while.

Any rain would be more than welcomed and despite this being a red-hot Listed race, if he can return to the levels of when he won the Lincoln followed by his Sandown romp, he will be very hard to beat in this.

You can guarantee William Haggas will have him spot on for this and he should ensure we finish the day on a high.