Rachel Candelora's tops tips for Wednesday: Ronaldo ready to strike

The one thing that resonated with me at Royal Ascot last week was Frankie Dettori.

To me he was the overall headline of the Royal Meeting with his three wins on the opening day and then him reaching 60 winners overall when taking the Gold Cup aboard Stradivarius.

He didn’t win the overall leading jockey award, nor have any winners on three of the five days, but his laughing, smiling face when he received his commemorative saddle towel for that 60th win from The Queen was enough to make him the story of Royal Ascot.

Looking ahead towards this weekend I am really looking forward to Plate day up at Newcastle as that card, and now the Friday night before hand with a new Listed race, has really been stepped up in class and from the speedsters in the Group Three Chipchase to the stayers in the Plate itself it is a great day’s racing.

Also, good luck to Archie Watson and Corinthia Knight as they head over to Woodbine in Canada to try their luck in the Grade 1 Highlander over 6f on the turf on Canada’s biggest day of racing – Queen’s Plate Day.

In the spirit of the World Cup Rio Ronaldo has to be a player in this veterans’ handicap.

His three runs this season have all shown improvement and last time out at Sandown he was terribly unlucky as he broke slowly before staying on strongly and just missed going third on the line.

This hold-up horse will have plenty of early speed to shoot at with Zac Brown, Edged Out, and Silverrica in the field.

Oberyn Martell represents the Queen Anne winning team of Eve Johnson-Houghton and Charlie Bishop and comes into this race in great form having won his last start over 5f at Sandown.

This son of Charm Spirit was impressive that day as he made all of the running and never looked like being caught.

Oberyn Martell is stepping up to 6f today for the first time the way he finished off his last race, plus his pedigree, suggests that the added furlong will not be an issue and he can defy a 4lb penalty.

The Sandown race in which Thimbleweed made her debut looks strong form and, while she was an unconsidered 40/1 on the day, she stayed on well to take third - just missing second by a neck, with the fourth a few lengths behind her.

The winner, Elwazir, had a couple of solid runs as a two-year-old and the runner-up, Cross Counter, finished fourth in the King George V Stakes at Royal Ascot last week.

This daughter of Teofilo’s form is the best on show in this maiden with the main dangers being the well-bred newcomers Momtalik and Spirit Ridge. However, I prefer three-year-olds with form compared to debutants in the summer of their Classic season.

Spirit Kingdom is a two-year-old trained by Mark Johnston and on the basis of his season so far with his juveniles that should be enough to just back her blind.

But aside from her trainer, Spirit Kingdom has several other positives in her favour.

On her debut, against colts, she ran a good third over 6f at Brighton, sitting up with the pace before plugging on. The first two home in that race had previous experience and she will improve for the run.

Stepping up in trip on Wednesday will suit and she is now up against her own sex. The switch to all-weather is a positive, too, as her sire Animal Kingdom won twice on an artificial surface - including the Dubai World Cup.

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