Declan Rix nominates ten horses to follow at the 2021 Royal meeting. The usual luck of the draw and pace dynamics will be needed for some of the below “horses to follow” at this year’s Royal Ascot meeting. With no declarations available for some races, we are somewhat shooting into the dark, but I’ve tried my best to stay away from favourites and hopefully those that made the list all can at least reward each-way support. The weather always plays a role in this game, too, but this year, from late Wednesday night on, maybe even more so given Ascot are forecast significant amounts of rain. Rain on top of quick, watered ground followed by warm sunny days often lends itself to horrible, tacky going; the worst surface to race on. Let’s hope this doesn’t happen. If it does, the show will go on and Royal Ascot is one of the greatest shows on earth. I hope you enjoy your week. Good luck! CHINDIT 4.20 Tuesday - St James's Palace Stakes The stiffer nature of Ascot’s round mile will hopefully aid 2000 Guineas 5th CHINDIT in showing he is a much better horse than his Newmarket run. The son of Wootton Bassett put up a brave display in the Guineas to be beaten just over 4 lengths, considering he looked flat out early in the first Classic of the season. A bump from Thunder Moon, seeing Richard Hannon’s inmate getting unbalanced, didn’t help either and all in all, it was a respectable run by a horse blessed with a good attitude. Poetic Flare and Lucky Vega finished ahead of Chindit in the 2000 Guineas, but with former being busy since and the latter maybe more vulnerable over this stiffer mile, Michael Pescod’s horse may be able to turn the form. He should be able to get into a nicer rhythm here at Ascot compared to Newmarket and that will help. ARTHURIAN FABLE 6.10 Tuesday - Copper Horse Stakes (Handicap) Despite having an awful trip in last year’s King George V Stakes at Royal Ascot, ARTHURIAN FABLE ran a huge race to be 5th in what turned out to be one of the warmest handicaps of the season; subsequent St Leger contenders Hukum and Subjectivist finished first and third, respectively, less than two lengths ahead of Arthurian Fable. Arthurian Fable himself went on from that Royal run; climbing 11lb in the ratings, but his return in a good Newmarket handicap 24 days ago suggested further progress is possible this season; the 4yo chestnut travelling sweetly through his race before getting tired late. By top-class sire Sea The Stars and out of a well-related unraced dam, a mark of 97 is not beyond him on breeding and with Brian Meehan’s inmate leaving a good visual impression in his prep run, in what looks a solid race, he may outrun his now price of 12/1. He has been well-backed. Watch every race of Royal Ascot 2021 live on Sky Sports Racing (Sky 415 | Virgin 535) from Tuesday 15th June to Saturday 19th June. AGINCOURT 3.40 Wednesday - Duke Of Cambridge Stakes With Champers Elysees (5lb), Lady Bowthorpe (3lb) and Queen Power (3lb) all set to carry penalties, they will need to be at the top of their games to fend off the David O’Meara-trained AGINCOURT; should she run her race of course. Second to subsequent two-time Group 1 winner Nazeef in last year’s renewal – with Queen Power 2½ lengths behind in third – a replication of that run will put her right in mix again, given the conditions of this year’s race. 3.40 Thursday - Ribblesdale Stakes Ribblesdale favourite Noon Star may not appreciate the step up to 12f if she is as keen as she was in the Musidora at York, but TWISTED REALITY is a strong contender to thrive over the trip, based on her lovely seasonal debut at Newbury last month. In the Listed Haras De Bouquetot Fillies' Trial Stakes, the daughter of Fastnet Rock could only finish fourth, but having been slowly away, she was on the back foot immediately in a race that was run at a sedate pace. To be fair, given her inexperience, she raced professionally and loomed large early in the straight travelling sweetly, but once the race started in earnest, she was either outpaced and/or took a blow before running on. Maybe greenness was a factor here, too. Twisted Reality’s dam Lady Dragon is by Galileo and was a stayer in her own flat career so the visuals of her recent run and pedigree suggest Ralph Beckett’s inmate will very much be at home stepping up in distance. At 12/1 (this is an ante-post price), I would much rather side with her at the current prices. AIR TO AIR 5.00 Thursday - Britannia Stakes We’ll need some luck with the draw and pace set-up here, but AIR TO AIR (10/1) has really impressed in his last two handicap wins at Newmarket and Doncaster; suggesting he may still be well-handicapped enough to win a race like the Britannia Stakes. A son of Toronado, Air To Air looks a long-striding, high-cruising sort who will enjoy the (hopefully) strong pace of a big field, straight track Ascot handicap. While a nice traveller, he certainly saves a little bit for himself in the early and middle parts of his races, but he tends to respond to pressure. With Jamie Spencer likely to do the steering, he will be in good hands. I just hope the ground doesn’t get too soft for him. His dam is from the family of the mud-loving Air Pilot so should the going deteriorate, he may handle it better than some. DANYAH 6.10 Thursday - Buckingham Palace Stakes A big field, strong-run 7f contest could prove the ideal test for the strong-travelling DANYAH, who has returned in good form this season. The son of Invincible Spirit kicked off his campaign with a sound run behind Haqeeqy when fourth in the Lincoln before taking his form to a higher level in finishing second in the Spring Cup at Newbury. His latest effort is surely worth upgrading given Jim Crowley, surprisingly, sought no cover for his partner; a tactic likely to play against the chances of the hood-wearing Danyah. Under the circumstances, I thought Owen Burrows’s inmate race credibility to finish just a length behind subsequent – and unlucky - Thirsk Hunt Cup runner-up Nugget. If getting some luck with the draw, and a strong pace to run at, I can the Buckingham Palace test bringing out the best in this Shadwell Estate-owned gelding, who can be backed at a price of 20/1 at the time of publication. CACHET 2.30 Friday - Albany Stakes We will need some luck with the draw and pace set-up here, but should those out-of-our-hands circumstances swing in our favour, I can see CACHET running a big race for the George Boughey team in the Albany Stakes. A daughter of first-season sire Acclaim, she heads to Royal Ascot on the back of an impressive Novice Stakes success at Newmarket; where she won by 5½ lengths. Having jumped well and got into stride nicely, I was taken with how easy she did it all under Nicola Currie; having many of rivals beaten a long way from home before she continued to go further and further away as the race progressed. A 60,000 Guineas Breeze-Up purchase, her breezing education will hopefully help in terms of experience for this once-raced filly who may be more at home with juice in the ground than some. Watch every race of Royal Ascot 2021 live on Sky Sports Racing (Sky 415 | Virgin 535) from Tuesday 15th June to Saturday 19th June. NOVEMBA 4.20 Friday - Coronation Stakes Should Ascot get some of the forecast rain from late Wednesday night onwards, it will inconvenience a fair few of the runners in the Coronation Stakes, but not so German raider NOVEMBA, who heads to Royal Ascot on the back of a 7½ lengths German 1000 Guineas success. I don’t confess to know anything about the German formbook, but have a look at her Classic victory on YouTube; the visual impression she left was quite taking. Quickly into stride and racing aggressively on the front end, she showed a tremendous engine to pick up well and still hit the line strong, despite her early running.