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IT’S the final day of the Royal Ascot meeting with everything from the top sprinters in action to the stamina laden stayers in the extended two and three-quarter mile Queen Alexandra Stakes, the finale to a week of amazing Festival racing.

There may well be a field of 16 set to line up in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at 3.40 but I fancy that the Australian raider ARTORIUS can improve on his third in the race last year when he got into all sorts of trouble.

That was due in the main to his lack of pace through the first half of the race, and also not getting the clearest passage through the final two and a half furlongs. His shrewd handlers, the Freedmans, also feel he has managed to up his game this year with a bit more tactical speed and that could be the screw turner, and at a top price of 9/2 he is surely going to be hard to keep out of the finish.

Highfield Princess will turn out here again following her close up second in the King’s Stand Stakes, but a bigger danger to the Oz raider could well be the four-year-old filly Sandrine. She has mostly been considered as a seven furlong specialist backed up by her success in the Group Two Lennox Stakes at Glorious Goodwood last August. But I think she has the basic latent speed to put it up to the sprinters here and make her mark in the frame at the very least at around the 25/1 mark. 

The other big betting race of the day is the Wokingham Handicap Stakes due off at 5.00 when a full fat field of 28 will go to post for this cavalry charge over six furlongs, with the betting likely to be headed by the hat-trick seeking course and distance winner Orazio.

However, I could also see several of these well backed on the day, notably Fresh, who has a tremendous record in this race and the well handicapped outsider First Folio. The last named probably did too much too soon when finishing a four lengths sixth of 26 here 12 months ago, and now finds himself 5lbs lower in the weights.

But I am going to overlook those players and instead have a hefty wager on the talented, but infrequent winner SAINT LAWRENCE. Winner of only two of his 18 starts to date, the five-year-old has shown glimpses of form in listed and group company that entitle him to serious consideration here.

A never nearer sixth of 16 to the brilliant Nature Strip in last year’s King’s Stand Stakes, he has solid claims here at a mammoth price. The key to his chance is Hollie Doyle keeping him covered up for as long as possible in mid-div before using his turn of foot to good use inside the final 220 yards. Make no bones about it, the selection is very capable of making his presence felt here, but make sure you find out the best each-way terms available as I am sure several bookmakers may go out on a limb and offer seven places for this cavalry charge.

If you want a back up to him also at big odds, I couldn’t put you off the claims of Spirit of Light who is way better than his recent form suggests and ran well until the distance in Thursday’s Buckingham Palace Stakes. If turning out quickly here, I fancy he will beat more rivals than beat him.

As far as the rest of the card is concerned, the opening Chesham Stakes at 2.30 looks a cracking renewal and I really like the claims of SAYEDATY SADATY. Andrew Balding’s charge is highly rated by the Kingsclere handler and showed abundant promise on his only career outing when running Lightning Leo to a nose at Yarmouth, where only inexperience stopped him from making a winning debut.

Take HOLLOWAY BOY to make up for a disappointing run in the 2,000 Guineas by landing the Jersey Stakes back over seven furlongs at 3.05, while that stamina blow out in the finale at 6.10 can see Stratum denied a hat-trick of wins, when I expect him to bow to the younger legs of DAWN RISING (nap).

A grade three winner over hurdles last jumps season, he tuned up nicely for this with a lovely third over a mile and three quarters in the Group Three Levmoss Stakes at Leopardstown and should be well suited to this deeper test of stamina.