Royal Ascot

It will be interesting to see how the TV companies meet the challenge tonight of covering football behind closed doors.

I suspect initially that just to have football back will be sufficient for most fans but after Liverpool have won the title most games will be meaningless.

Horse racing is not crowd dependent.

However at Royal Ascot the racing itself is secondary, if not tertiary, as social frippery and flummery and for those who go boasting they go – and best of all are in the Royal Enclosure – are the drivers.

I used to go then, realising I was not enjoying myself, stopped.  This year I  was more disappointed not to be accepting Ivan Conway’s invitation for cancelled Arundel cricket week.

I did watch the opening day and ITV made a good job of coverage by concentrating on the races themselves.

Champion jockey over the week is important and the contest looked between Frankie Dettori, 47 years young, who missed playing to the gallery and the young tyro Ryan Moore.

They thrillingly went head to head in the Queen Anne Stakes in a photo finish between Cirus Maximus and Terebellum but it was Jim Crowley with 3 winners that led the jockey pack.  

I certainly did not miss the fashion commentary, the pageantry of the Royals arriving and Clare Balding gadflying about the parade ring as the coverage had to per force concentrate on the racing.

Richard Hoiles provided an informed commentary.

He does not have the voice of Peter O’ Sullivan but he read each race well.

The late afternoon is my least favourite lockdown period and this got me through it nicely.

Now for Manchester City v Arsenal …