Fran Berry's Sporting Life blog: Royal Ascot

It was a busy day on Saturday and I was delighted that Golden Stunner ran so well at York but at the same time very disappointed that she got chinned on the line.

It was a much improved performance and she saw off two or three other challengers before being caught by Arabian Hope and she's definitely on an upward curve and very effective at tracks like York.

I went from there to Leicester where I was pleased to ride my first winner for George Baker aboard Mamillius. As I mentioned in Friday's blog, he'd come down a fair bit in the weights so wasn't badly treated despite carrying 10-1. He had to see off a couple of challenges and won by a neck but he might just have done it a shade cosily as I felt he might have idled a little in front. This could just do his confidence some good and help him step back up up to the form he showed early in his career.

Hopefully Dark Emerald's run at Salisbury on Sunday will have done his confidence some good too. It was his first start since having a wind operation and over a trip that was on the short side but I gave him time to find his feet and he finished the race off well.

Brendan (Powell) will have a few more choices with him as he hasn't got any penalties to carry now and he could drop back into a conditions race or something like that. If he gets his conditions over seven furlongs or a mile, he's worth keeping an eye out for.

I should be busier at Royal Ascot later in the week but I've only the one ride over the first two days and that's Baileys Showgirl for Mark Johnston in the Sandringham Handicap on Wednesday.

It's a nice ride to pick up for Mark and she showed decent form as a juvenile, winning twice and finishing third in a couple of Group Threes. She's not found her form this season but has a nice weight and being a Mark Johnston horse, she's capable of bouncing back and outrunning her odds and the fast ground should suit.

There's a wonderful start to the meeting and Tuesday looks to be all about the favourites. 

It's hard to see beyond Ribchester in the Queen Anne Stakes after his victory in the Lockinge. The vibes are very strong and there doesn't seem to be the strength in depth that you'd usually expect for this race. One runner that makes some each-way appeal is Deauville because of the quick ground and his connections. I don't think the drop back to a mile will trouble him and he's the pick of Ryan (Moore).

I'd love to see Brother Bear provide Jessica Harrington with a Royal Ascot winner in the Coventry as I've ridden a lot for her over for the years. He's got the best form in the race but you have to respect Aidan O'Brien's runner Murillo; his horses can improve so much from race to race and especially at this meeting.

The King's Stand is typically open although it's slightly unusual to have two fillies at the head of the market. You've also got last year's one-two in there in Profitable and Cotai Glory and they may have been slightly overlooked.

The St James's Palace promises to be a cracking race and I'm firmly in the Churchill camp even though Barney Roy didn't handle the track at Newmarket and had excuses in the Guineas.

Watching Churchill, I just get the impression that he's only going through the motions and doing what he has to do to win. There's a lot of strong talk from the stable about his work and I expect him to win for all that you have to respect Barney Roy.

I think there are two runners in the Windsor Castle that are worth a second look. James Nash's T For Tango won his maiden very impressively before finishing fourth at Naas and he might just enjoy this better ground while Dragons Tail won well at Chester.

The feature on Wednesday is the Prince of Wales's Stakes and it's hard to see beyond Highland Reel with the ground as it is and the drop back in trip shouldn't be a problem with his running style. He's only just beginning to get the credit he deserves and did so well to win the way he did at Epsom having only got off the plane about an hour beforehand. 

I'm also a big fan of Laugh Aloud having ridden against her a couple of times and she was so impressive at Epsom but I just wonder whether she might be better around a bend than on a straight track and that might make her vulnerable in the Duke of Cambridge Stakes.

You could do worse than have a look at an old ally of mine in Sibilance who's close to the foot of the weights. She won her first two starts at Kempton for me and ran well stepped up to Listed level at York last time on her first turf start and there should be more to come.