You could say that Royal Ascot is the closest thing to the Cheltenham Festival that we have on the flat, but it all depends on your perspective. For the flat purist, that’s a bit like saying that the Louvre is the closest thing to the National Gallery that they have in France.

What we do know is, like Cheltenham week, Royal Ascot is a special week, the best horses, prepared by the best trainers, ridden by the best riders in a week that spills over with top class horse racing. If Cheltenham is the Olympics of National Hunt racing, Royal Ascot is the Olympics of flat racing.

It all explodes into life at 2.30pm on Tuesday afternoon with the Queen Anne Stakes. No sense of easing your way into the week here, not with Royal Ascot. There’s no maiden or handicap or seller to start with, build up to the Group 1 races later in the day or later in the week. (The parallels with the Cheltenham Festival continue.) It’s on your marks with the Queen Anne, historically one of the best races of the week, one of the top one-mile races on the racing calendar.

It’s a cracking contest too this year, as it usually is, with a lot of it revolving around the international dimension that Tepin takes into the race. Mark Casse’s mare is monstrous in America, she has won her last six races, three Grade 1s, two Grade 2s and a Grade 3, and she won the Churchill Distaff Turf Mile as easily as she liked at Churchill Downs last month.

It is great that she is here but, from a betting perspective, there are lots of unknowns in there. She had to travel, she has to race outside of North America, she has to handle Ascot’s terrain, she has to race over a straight mile for the first time, and she has to race without her nasal strip. She may well win, but there are enough unknowns (known ones) there to allow us take her on at a relatively short price.

Endless Drama could represent some value against here. Ger Lyons’ colt ran a cracker on his debut this season to finish third in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury last month. He was a little keener than ideal through the early stages of that race, but that was understandable, on his first run in almost a year. And after racing keenly, there was a lot to like about the manner in which he ran all the way to the line to take third place behind Belardo and Euro Charline, going down by just a total of a length and a quarter, and finishing the same distance ahead of Limato in fourth.

The Lope De Vega colt was a high-class performer last season as a three-year-old. Winner of his maiden on his only run at two, he ran second in two listed races in the early part of last season, before stepping up significantly in the Irish Guineas, finishing second, just three parts of a length behind Gleneagles.

He didn’t race again last season, but his Lockinge run tells you that he has improved again as a four-year-old. He does have a length and a quarter to find with Belardo on their Newbury running, but it is not unreasonable to expect at least that level of improvement from his seasonal debut, his first run in a year. Belardo had run twice this season before the Lockinge, and Endless Drama is almost twice his price. Also, that was just Ger Lyons’ horse’s fifth ever run. He still has lots of scope for progression.

It is interesting that Lyons said after the Lockinge that he could stay 10 furlongs, and it would not be surprising to see the colt step up in trip later in the season, but stamina for 10 furlongs is no liability to carry into a Queen Anne Stakes, run, as it is, over a stiff straight mile usually at a good pace.

Tuesday will be a big day for rider Colin Keane, but he is a high-class young rider who has a cool head on his shoulders. If Endless Drama is good enough, he will not lack for assistance from the saddle. It is a top class race, but Endless Drama deserves his place among these top milers, and he looks over-priced at 10/1.

RED BARON

More immediately, Kimberella has a lot in his favour in this afternoon’s William Hill Scottish Sprint Cup at Musselburgh. He was unlucky in the Dash at Epsom, no question. He anticipated the start and lost about four lengths before he had gone 25 yards, yet he was only beaten a short head by Caspian Prince in the end.

The handicapper has raised him to a mark of 96 but, because this is an early-closing race, he gets to race off his old mark of 93, so he is 3lb well-in. As well as that, he has drawn stall 17 of 17, the best stall of all.

However, a lot of the value has gone out of him now, 5/1 looks just about right, whereas the 9/1 at which you can back Red Baron looks big.

Eric Alston has probably had this race in mind for Red Baron since the start of the season, given how valuable a prize this is and how well Red Baron goes at Musselburgh. His record at the Edinburgh track reads 21110272512, and one of those 1s was gained in this race last year.

He is 7lb higher this year, but he won with plenty in hand last term, and he is an improved horse now. He hasn’t won this season thus far, but his last two runs have been good. He ran well for a long way before eventually finishing fourth behind Duke Of Firenze in a good handicap at York’s Dante meeting, and he stepped forward from that to finish second to Judicial at Thirsk last time, with Kimberella behind him in fourth. He blazed the trail that day, as is his wont, but he kept on well after he had been headed to finish second place. He meets Judicial on 7lb better terms today.

That run should have brought him forward nicely for today. He is not drawn well, in stall two, but the market may have over-reacted to his low draw, and his front-running style should lessen the negative impact of it.

RECOMMENDED

ENDLESS DRAMA, 1 point win, 10/1 (Bet365, Betfair Sportsbook)

RED BARON, 1 point each-way, 9/1 (generally)