THE first day at Royal Ascot comes under the spotlight this week. A day that was headlined by the scintillating performance of Field Of Gold who destroyed the St James’s Palace Stakes field. This performance was a far cry from his defeat in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket where he failed to pick up when first asked. He was a lot sharper in winning the Irish 2000 Guineas under Colin Keane and was even better here, his response to his jockey’s urgings, instant and devastating. The ground on Tuesday was described as good to firm, good in places. The times were fast where an even pace prevailed, and it rode as described with horses prepared to let themselves down. The Race IQ Time Index scores for all races are set out below along with how they rank against the Race IQ par. The meeting average score of 6.1 out of 10 is lower than could have been expected but is skewed by the steadily run Queen Anne and Ascot Stakes which both produced poor figures.

Docklands: 3.1 (+1.92s vs Par)