OpinionJulian Muscat
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Four key Royal Ascot themes - including why so much rests on the Wathnan Racing runners

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Courage Mon Ami and Frankie Dettori (right) beat Coltrane to win the Ascot Gold Cup
Courage Mon Ami gave Wathnan Racing the perfect introduction to the sport but it's been slim pickings sinceCredit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

Royal Ascot is imminent, so without further ado here are four themes set to play out next week . . .

US leading the international challenge

Widespread lament greeted the news that runners from beyond Europe will be thin on the ground. Prohibitive travel costs and comparatively low prize-money make it tough for the visitors, but there is another obvious factor at play: the competition they would face.

The standard of racing in Europe is beyond compare. Six of the top nine horses in last year’s World’s Best Racehorse Rankings raced in Europe. If overseas horses cannot match those rankings in their own jurisdictions, the reality is they won’t be competitive at Royal Ascot.

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Published on inJulian Muscat

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