The opening week of June features the Betfred Oaks and the Betfred Derby at Epsom’s iconic hilltop course.
The Classics are closely followed by the most-anticipated five days in the Flat-racing calendar when the biggest stars from across the globe will battle it out for some of the sport’s top prizes at Royal Ascot.
Here’s a look at all the Premier Racing fixtures in June.
Epsom
Ladies Day Featuring The Betfred Oaks, Friday 5 June
The cream of the three-year-old fillies will tackle Epsom’s tricky turns in the Betfred Oaks.
Irish champion trainer Aidan O’Brien, predictably, has a strong hand as he attempts to win the Epsom Classic for an incredible twelfth time.
Irish 1000 Guineas heroine Precise and Cheshire Oaks winner Amelia Earhart are among his possible runners.
Epsom
Derby Day Featuring The Betfred Derby, Saturday 6 June
The world’s most famous Classic – the Betfred Derby – is still one of the most coveted races in British Flat racing.
It has been copied in every corner of the globe but the original Derby, and still the best, takes place around the iconic Epsom course, high up on the Downs, on the first Saturday in June.
This year’s race is shaping up to be a cracking Classic with British trial winners Item and Maltese Cross taking on the pick of Aidan O’Brien’s team headed by Chester heroes Constitution River and Benvenuto Cellini.
The top-class older horses will line up in the Group 1 Coolmore Coronation Cup over the Derby distance and the speedsters will scorch along Britain’s fastest five-furlong course in the Betfred Dash.
Ascot
Royal Ascot Day 1, Tuesday 16 June
Five unforgettable days of top-class racing and Royal pageantry starts in the best possible way.
The world’s most prestigious meeting kicks off with the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes – one of the top mile races of the season.
It’s followed by the two-year-old colts’ highlight in the shape of the Group 2 Coventry Stakes and the opening day is completed by two more top level prizes.
The sprinters go in the Group 1 King Charles III Stakes and the cream of the Classic milers battle it out for the St James’s Palace Stakes trophy.
It all makes for a stunning day of peerless Flat racing action.
Ascot
Royal Ascot Day 2, Wednesday 17 June
The Group 1 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes tops the bill on the second day of the Royal meeting.
Last year’s winner Ombudsman could face a huge battle to hang on to his crown from Arc de Triomphe hero Daryz and fellow French raider Calandagan.
The prestigious contest is supported by a trio of Group 2 prizes.
The two-year-old fillies go in the Queen Mary, the three-year-old stayers line up in the Queen’s Vase and the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes gives fillies a chance to shine over a mile.
One of the biggest betting races of the week – the Royal Hunt Cup – also features on a stellar card.
Rebel’s Romance was successful 12 months ago, while Stradivarius is also on the roll of honour three times.
Ascot
Royal Ascot Day 3, Thursday 18 June
Ladies’ Day is one of the highlights of the social calendar and it features one of the meeting’s greatest races.
The Group 1 Gold Cup – run over two-and-a-half miles – was first run 219 years ago and is the most sought after of all the staying prizes.
The long distance division has been in need of some fresh blood for some time and this season’s race promises to be more competitive than it has been for years.
St Leger winner Scandinavia, Yorkshire Cup hero Rahiebb and improving Caballo De Mar could all attempt to wrestle the Gold Cup crown from defending champ Trawlerman.
The Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes offers some quality support to the main event.
Ascot
Royal Ascot Day 4, Friday 19 June
Two Group 1 prizes – both confined to three-year-olds – feature on the fourth day of the meeting.
The top fillies take each other on in the Coronation Stakes and the pick of the sprinters will battle it out for the Commonwealth Cup.
The Group 2 King Edward VII Stakes is often referred to as Royal Ascot’s Derby and it is likely to feature horses that ran in the Epsom Classic.
Ascot
Royal Ascot Day 5, Saturday 20 June
The meeting draws to a close with the sprinters in centre stage.
The Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes is the day’s feature race and it is likely to have a distinct international flavour.
Japanese speedsters Satono Reve and Lugal could take on Australian raiders Joliestar and Overpass in a race that has a history of being won by foreign sprinters.
The race is supported by the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes, the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes and the Group 3 Jersey Stakes.
The Wokingham Stakes – one of the most popular handicaps – also features on the card.
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