PITY the pink T-shirts. We’ll not disrupt the Ascot Derby if racing does a TV debate! Ah, how easy they were forgotten.

“Quite a fun day, this!” Ed Chamberlin professed at the end of coverage on ITV, on a Thursday that provided feel-good story after story, and had them wondering which racing photo would make the front pages. The ‘new’ King Charles, or the ‘old’ king Frankie?

Ascot was blessed with great weather, success for ‘little and large’ operations, first time wins and winning connections from all around the world. And contrary to popular belief, when we see an NH store sell for €250,000, it did not cost a fortune to have a winner here.

There is often a pile-on when you say racing is known as the Sport of Kings and that can be a good thing. That so many aspire to be part of this bright and shiny occasion, including the pagentry, is a good thing.

You don’t need to dumb down to meet the ‘smaller’ players, the appeal is that they make it better stepping up, participating, enjoying it all.

A little-known Westmeath trainer in the big time; Valiant Force came from Keeneland to Westmeath for $100,000 and too much speed for his American speedster rival.

Givemethebeatboys went from €11,000 to £1.1million on the eve of the meeting.

King Charles, Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum, Sheikh Hamdan’s Shadwell, the Emir of Qatar, Coolmore were the elite owners but then Rouge Millennium cost only 35,000gns, Big Evs, 50,000gns, Docklands even cheaper in the sales ring and will go to chase millions in Australia, and Shaquille was a home-bred.

Winning stallions spanned from Frankel at the pinnacle to a Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist siring the Queen Mary winner and Docklands’ sire Massaat, standing for £4,000.

Ascot on Thursday on its own could not have presented racing in a better light. We had a few punter-saving even-money winners but Thursday began with a 150/1 winner and ended with a 50/1 shot! The scriptwriters played a blinder. Frankie Dettori was in the doldrums on Tuesday but riding high on Thursday.

International investors, bitten by the racing bug. We saw how much it meant to millionaire football agent Kia Joorabchian.

It came across as a festival of racing, enjoyed by all from the old to the new. And hail the King of Ascot on his farewell week!

THE missing element at Royal Ascot was that we expect the best of thoroughbreds, and there was no one real star. No wow performance a la Nature Strip, no great old hero like Stradivarius.

Courage Mon Ami was a new, unforeseen star in the staying ranks, a Gold Cup winner off just three runs, with his last one in a handicap.

The undoubted best performance of the week was an impressive four-length winner of one of the main Group 1s, but it was a surprise win, returned at 10/1, (and longer in the lead-up.)

Mostahdaf was a five-year-old and wearing cheekpieces and had won eight and lost six of his previous races, and never won above Group 3 level, so it was easy enough to think he was vying for a place at best.

But, an impressive looking colt, he was clearly much the best under his ideal conditions.

How good can he be? He was the second highest European-based horse on the World Rankings after his Saudi win and Dubai fourth, on 121, he was behind Equinox’s 129 and Westover was over three lengths ahead of him over that mile and a half.

Both Luxembourg and Bay Bridge were rated his superiors though he had beaten Dubai Honour last season, now ranked above him after his Group 1 wins down under. Auguste Rodin (122) was also a pound higher after his Derby win.

It’s a shame that from his trainer’s comments he will miss the Eclipse (perhaps the stable’s Emily Upjohn is as much a deterrent as it coming too soon) and York is the next step. Using the Eclipse as a random marker, for long the mid-season clash of the generations, his age should not perhaps be held against him.

It’s best winners in recent times were five-year-olds – Falbrav, So You Think, Enable and Ghaiyyath.

The upcoming clashes with the three-year-olds are something to whet the appetite.

FOR a major meeting like Royal Ascot, the detailed sectional times on the ATR Website offer much interesting musings (of course you have to know how to interpret them). Andrew Balding had said Chaldean might have lost the St James’s Palace Stakes by going too fast early but a look at the sectionals show Paddington was faster than Chaldean in almost every furlong after the first one (13.84 to 14.34, and from the six to the five there was only .01 sec between them.) So it hardly looks like something to expect a form reversal on.

The King George Handicap won by Desert Ben was hot, hot, hot early with amazingly, all of the field in the mile-and-a-half contest covering the early furlong from 11 to 10 furlongs going under 11 seconds. The fourth and sixth Codebreaker and Tagabawa were among the fastest and finished closest so might be worth noting.

FRANKIE Dettori’s farewell Royal Ascot had not gone so well on the opening day, and not only was he winnerless, he picked up a nine-day riding ban for careless riding, [when insufficiently clear] ruling him out of the Eclipse Stakes. On ITV Jason Weaver thought he would get it reduced on appeal.

A few serious interference offences in Britain have been highlighted recently, Marco Ghiani was suspended for six days for careless riding at Epsom on Derby day and Theodore Ladd for a rather bad-looking incident at Nottingham on June 7th, both highlighted on Luck on Sunday

Tuesday had similarities to the Lancashire Oaks ban last year that saw Rab Havlin win on Free Wind where initially he was found at fault for going into the gap which Jim Crowley then closed – “suspended for five days for careless riding as he persisted and committed for his run into an insufficient gap which was only briefly viable.” The overhead cameras at Ascot left little doubt this time.

It’s simple – if there is sufficient space for a horse to get half way in and upsides a rival, you cannot close that gap without causing an accident, it is improper riding.