The 3-year-old filly Elmalka won the English 1000 Guineas at overlaid odds of 29-1, and thanks to the presence of Opera Singer could offer a fair price again Friday at Ascot in the Group 1 Coronation Stakes. The Coronation, a one-turn mile for 3-year-old fillies, takes top billing on Day 4 of the Royal meeting, with the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup for 3-year-olds at six furlongs a strong supporting feature. Also carded are a pair of Group 2s, the King Edward for 3-year-olds at 1 1/2 miles and the Albany Stakes, a 2-year-old sprint that includes the Wesley Ward-trained Burning Pine. Aidan O’Brien, who won the featured Prince of Wales’s Stakes on Wednesday with Auguste Rodin, trains Opera Singer, who at one point last fall was expected to travel to Santa Anita for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. That mission might have been aborted to let O’Brien focus on important early season 3-year-old races with Opera Singer, whose arc of development at age 2 might have somewhat surprised her connections. A tepid 7-1 shot in her first start, Opera Singer in her final outing last year set the pace and won the Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac by five lengths. Opera Singer didn’t debut this year until the May 26 Irish 1000 Guineas, where she tracked the leader and faded in the late stages to finish third in a race that O’Brien, both before and after, said the filly would need to reach full readiness. :: Bet Royal Ascot with confidence: DRF PPs Available Now A Coronation rematch between Opera Singer and Irish 1000 Guineas winner Fallen Angel fell apart Tuesday when Fallen Angel was taken out of the race with an undisclosed setback. That left Elmalka the second choice Wednesday in antepost wagering at about 4-1. Trained by Roger Varian, who won the opening-day Queen Anne with Charyn, Elmalka ran once at 2, winning an all-weather race at Southwell, and returned to action May 24 at Newbury in the Group 3 Fred Darling Stakes. Racing greenly and with her head cocked to the right most of the trip, Elmalka found herself stuck behind rivals with about a furlong left as her jockey tried to find clear passage along the rail. Steered outside, Elmalka quickly leveled off and finished with aplomb in a troubled, encouraging trip that presaged her 1000 Guineas upset at Newmarket. There, Elmalka settled near the back of a 16-runner field, followed Porta Fortuna into the fray, and despite still racing greenly, pushed hard to the line to win by a neck. She’s a Classic winner with upside Friday. Guineas runner-up Porta Fortuna returns for the Coronation, as does Guineas third-place finisher Ramatuelle, who held a lead with a furlong left before running out of steam at a one-mile distance that stretches her stamina limits. Porta Fortuna, second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, had a clean run in the Guineas and was outkicked to the finish, though she was making her first start of the year and could improve. Rouhiya ships from France, where she won the French 1000 Guineas by a neck with a late surge in what easily was a career-best performance. That race came on much softer ground than Rouhiya figures to encounter at Ascot, where the course Wednesday remained good to firm. Commonwealth Cup Inisherin held early favoritism Wednesday for the straight-course Commonwealth Cup thanks to a sterling showing May 24 at Haydock Park in the Group 2 Sandy Lane Stakes. Cut back to six furlongs after finishing sixth of 11 over a mile in the 2000 Guineas, Inisherin contested the pace in the Sandy Lane while traveling easily, accelerated when asked to kick home, and drew away impressively to win by nearly four lengths. Left in his wake was odds-on favorite Vandeek, Europe’s best 2-year-old sprinter of 2023. :: Bet with the Best! Get FREE All-Access PPs and Weekly Cashback when you wager on DRF Bets. Elite Status, the second favorite as of Wednesday, scored an equally sharp victory last month in the listed Carnarvon Stakes over a straight six furlongs at Newbury. He, too, raced near the pace, and like Inisherin ran along in hand with a quarter-mile left while his competition was being asked for more. Elite Status wandered about through the final half-furlong but won easily, looking like a colt who had progressed nicely into his 3-year-old season. ◗ Wesley Ward’s first runner of the meeting, Ultima Grace, fared poorly Wednesday finishing 20th in the Queen Mary Stakes, and hopes are not especially high for Burning Pine in the Albany. Burning Pine won well over dirt in April, turning in a fast time at Keeneland while never asked by jockey Joel Rosario. Her subsequent turf works have been solid, not great, and she faces 16 foes in a race that had the O’Brien-trained Fairy Godmother as a solid midweek favorite. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages. xxxxxx