Sprinters and stayers provide the focus on this busy pre-Royal Ascot Saturday

Only days to go before the big show. Royal Ascot starts on Tuesday, with the usual parade of stars sure to light up proceedings. We're expecting to see Big Rock, Facteur Cheval, Notable Speech, Rosallion, Big Evs and Regional, and that's just the Group 1s on Tuesday.

Saturday can't match that and yet 'quiet' would be the wrong word for the weekend before Flat racing's most glamorous week. There is some quality but most of all there is plenty of action – four British cards plus Downpatrick, then another three in the evening.

That's a lot to keep track of, especially if you're liable to get distracted by football. But there are races you can't afford to miss, starting with the BetMGM: It's Showtime Scurry Stakes for some of the fastest three-year-olds around, flying along Sandown's sprint track. This is the race that revealed Battaash to be a star in the making when he kicked off his 2017 season by scorching clear at 11-1.