The third day of the 2011 Royal Ascot horse racing meeting takes place on Thursday 16th June 2011, and will see another high-class crowd gather to witness horse racing of the highest calibre, at Ascot racecourse.
The Official Going for Thursday is Good, though there are some light showers expected, so there could be a little give in the ground by the end of today’s meeting.
Races today include a Group 1 event, two Group 2 races and a Group 3, in addition there are to be two high quality handicaps (one of which a heritage handicap) to fill out another card of six excellent races.
The feature race of the day is undoubtedly the remarkable test of stamina laid down by the Gold Cup (Group 1) event, which is run over the super-long distance of 2m4f and will provide one of the sternest Group 1 tests on the planet.
The Gold Cup has seen many great performances down the years, and this year will see a card of 15 take to the stalls to do battle. Aiden O’Brien saddles the likely favourite, Fame And Glory, which is to be ridden by Jamie Spencer, and will be looking for a Group 1 success to help him forget his hot favourite So You Think losing out in yesterday’s main event.
The opening race, the Norfolk Stakes, which runs at 14:30 BST, provides the opportunity to witness something entirely different: a 5 furlong sprint over the minimum distance – but a Group 2 race nonetheless. The Norfolk Stakes is perhaps the biggest race of the year for the speedy juveniles, as it’s for 2 year-olds only. This year’s race is extremely competitive, with 21 declared, and around 17 or 18 horses expected to run. The Mark Johnson trained Bannock or the likely favourite, and lightly raced, Bapak Chinta, appear to be capable of going close in this cavalry charge.
Full race times for Royal Ascot’s third day are listed below.
Royal Ascot 2011 Race Times – Thursday 16th June 2011
Below are the scheduled start times for each of Thursday’s Royal Ascot race. All times are in British Summer Time (BST).
- 14:30 – Norfolk Stakes (Group 2) Cl1 5f
- 15:05 – Ribblesdale Stakes (Group 2) (Fillies) Cl1 1m4f
- 15:45 – Gold Cup (British Champions´ Series) (Group 1) Cl1 2m4f
- 16:25 – Britannia Stakes (Heritage Handicap) (Colts & Geldings) Cl2 1m
- 17:00 – Tercentenary Stakes (Group 3) (formerly the Hampton Court Stakes) Cl1 1m2f
- 17:35 – King George V Stakes (Handicap) Cl2 1m4f
