Macca

Ran well but just missed Nature Strip ran 1:02.26 for the 1100m which is a quick enough time on a good track but this track is graded as a Soft5. In the Weir stable now - Nature Strip is back.

That is good odds Wadda ... gotta be worth $5 each-way. I'm on!

Here are the replays of the 2 Group 1's from Royal Ascot raced overnight ... the Commonwealth Cup & the Coronation Stakes It all wraps up later tonight with the Diamond Jubilee Stakes featuring Redkirk Warrior & Merchant Navy. The race is on the free-to-air channel at 1.20am.

Alright, here are our 5 choices for the Tiara (3, 4, 5, 10, 15) ... good luck all and lets see if we can snag a decent collect before the break. Of course the racing goes on and we can still nominate our best bets to keep the thread moving along. My main interest for the next 2 months will be with the flat racing from the UK and following the fortunes of Redkirk Warrior & Merchant Navy. Oh, and Pounamu in the Strickland Stakes next Saturday! No.4 Prompt Response $6.00 No.5 Super Cash $12.00 No.15 Champagne Cuddles $5.50 No.3 Daysee Doom $14.00 No.10 Savanna Amour $9.50

Brazil really turned it on in the finish ... mesmerizingly good in the last 10-15 minutes. Their tournament just kicked into gear and they'll be hard to stop now.

Good choice Wadda Over to BM to finish things off ... Prompt Response .......... No.4 $6.50 Super Cash ................... No.5 $10.00 Champagne Cuddles ..... No.15 $5.50 @binman @binman

Demons go down against Port ... no legs in the greater part of the 2nd half and we were under pressure for a lot of our possessions. Hard to win when that happens. Not disgraced though but we do need to regroup. Trifecta Strike Rate 2 from 10 < $138.90 > Best Bet Strike Rate 64: 28 - 13 - 4 Australian Group and Listed Races n.b. I've based our trifecta money result on boxing the 5 picks but with an outlay of only half a unit ($30.00) Each time we win, I will halve the dividend to correspond with the outlay. Also thought up some names for our trifecta picks just for some added interest. Let me know what you reckon of the descriptions or if you've got your own thoughts on what we might call each choice. In order as for this week ... The Lead ............ Prompt Response No.4 (Dee Zephyr) The Value .......... @Wadda We Sing The Steadier ...... Champagne Cuddles No.15 (Macca) The Cruncher ..... @binman The Clincher ....... @binman

Couple of Group 1's at Royal Ascot tonight Race 3 features the 3yo's over the 1200m - Commonwealth Cup whilst Race 4 involves the 3yo fillies over the mile - Coronation Stakes And here's a replay of the Group 1 Gold Cup (4000m) from last night ...

Stole my thunder DZ but it's a wide-open betting race ... I'll jump in early just because if I choose a horse that Wadda was going to pick he gets another choice. And so on and so forth - I guess that's how it kinda works hey? The last 2 picks are the all-important ones in a way as the early picks are the more obvious standouts that tend to pick themselves. Wadda will occupy those 2 spots when we resume proceedings in the early Spring. Anyway, I figured someone was going to choose Champagne Cuddles so it may as well be me ... drawn an inside barrier just like Prompt Response plus both horses are in very good form. As well as that, I've snagged the last 2 winners in our trifecta combo's so I'm in for the 3peat! So here's how we sit ... Prompt Response (No.4) @Wadda We Sing Champagne Cuddles (No.15) @binman @binman

We were the better team but just couldn't finish things off ... but that's the game. Arzani looks a real player and he made a difference when he came on. Anyway, the good news is that we are not out of it. It would be better if Peru were to defeat France later on but I don't like their chances. What we do know is that we will have to win our last game and probably need to win by more than 1 goal. It's do-able especially if we play as well as we played tonight. If Peru lose tonight then they will be out of it and would have nothing to play for in their 3rd game against us - except pride.

You make your own luck EH. That type of penalty is rarely paid - we got very lucky. I do have a problem with the inconsistent VAR rulings though ... as we know, they've got oodles of time to get the right outcomes but what we get is inconsistent outcomes.

Thank goodness for VAR hey! ha ha

My best bet is another horse that Dan Zephyr ran against along with Lite 'n' In My Veins in the same race! The form line from that race back in December has been quite impressive. Flemington Race 7 No.1 Ozi Choice $2.70 (boosted) Ran a very quick time (1:20.96) over the 1400m at its last start win and is ideally suited here at Flemington again. 3 of the 'Get On' crew have it as their best bet and 'Gator' declared it as the best bet Australia-wide for Saturday!

While I think of of it, here are the 4 Group 1's from Royal Ascot decided so far ... tonight see's the Group 1 Gold Cup run over 4000m - the 3 popular fancies are all a chance to visit our shores for the 2 big cups (or at least the Melbourne Cup) What I like about the uploads from 'Racing UK' is that you won't necessarily know who the winners are - they simply just upload the races.

Ha ha! Too true BM! For what it's worth, here is my 2/4/6 trifecta combo for Saturday's Diamond Jubilee Stakes 1200m Group 1 $1Million ... 12, 14 / 3, 8, 12, 14 / 1, 2, 3, 8, 12, 14. The 2 Aussie horses are right in it and I've marked them on top with just a smidgen of bias. Anyway, the Tatts Tiara 1350m Group 1 $500k it is then. Here's the order ... @Dee Zephyr @Wadda We Sing @Macca @binman @binman

@Dee Zephyr @binman @Wadda We Sing Trifecta time again and this week we see the final Group 1 for the season ... and our last go at it in terms of putting together a winning combination until we start up again in the Spring (or late winter?) Anyway ... here are 2 choices or there might be another race that takes your fancy ... Doomben Race 8 Tatts Tiara 1350m Group 1 $500k Royal Ascot Diamond Jubilee Stakes 1200m Group 1 $1Million

The main interest from Tonight's racing from Royal Ascot centres around 'Cracksman' in the 2000m Prince of Wales Stakes Cracksman is at prohibitive odds (4-7) so I'll be just taking a look only as I can't see it being beaten ... stranger things have happened though with a number of the favoured runners from last night not getting amongst it (notably Benbatl, Rhododendron, Lady Aurelia & Romanised) Cracksman is one of the invites for the Cox Plate and with the increase in prizemoney it would be great to see the horse measure up against the mighty mare Winx. Is it unusual (these days) for a horse to run in a Cox Plate & a Melbourne Cup in the same year? Back in the day it used to happen a lot. All 3 on the rare occasion (Caulfield Cup included)

The diving element I haven't noticed ... same as usual really. It is a part of the sport that is probably here to stay - especially the accentuation of contact. In Serie A a player can get a 3 match holiday for diving. I know a couple of people who follow that league and they are very pleased with the crackdown.

All the Royal Ascot news & replays from last night can be found here ... Racenet.com.au

A straw poll could see a majority of real fans against VAR but many who want the technology (myself included) would prefer to see the technology used whenever applicable. However, out of it all we may see the sport completely changed with a large increase in penalties and red cards ... we could also see teams becoming adept at milking penalties for minor infractions. Be careful what you wish for hey? I'm flicking between the soccer and the Royal Ascot preview and both events have got my attention tonight ? Japan should be able to turn their man advantage into a win you'd reckon.

I would argue strongly that the French defenders handball against Australia was far more deliberate than the Colombian's hand ball. The former could have even been premeditated whilst the latter was a reflex motion. It should also be noted that Jedinak was ready to strike with his head if that cross wasn't deflected with a deliberate hand ball (goal scoring opportunity?) Anyway, one player gets a red card whilst the other player was not even given a yellow card (was he even cautioned?) Meanwhile, VAR intervenes in a totally obtuse & random fashion. Go figure. I realise nothing can be done about it and in many ways I'm howling at the moon but FIFA has a got a great chance to bring about more consistent outcomes with a video review system but it's as if they want the technology to fail and then be scrapped. I'm not one for conspiracy theories but how about that one DZ? ?

It had to happen didn't it? ... deliberate hand ball in the penalty box by the Colombian defender. Red carded and sent off and the penalty converted. Japan 1 Colombia 0 ... 5 minutes in. You've got to feel for the bloke as it seemed like a reflex motion in many ways. But the rules are the rules - oh, hang on ...

Here's the full race card for Royal Ascot tonight ... Royal Ascot Tuesday 19th June 3 Group 1's but I may just have a couple of doubles involving Race 1 (The Queen Anne Stakes) & Race 4 (St James Palace Stakes) Aiden O'Brien has 5 runners all-up in both Group 1's and at least 4 of the 5 could feature in the finish. Race 3 (King's Stand Stakes 1000m) is the race that Merchant Navy & Redkirk Warrior were withdrawn from so as to race in Saturday's Diamond Jubilee Stakes 1200m $1Million ... 'Kachy' at $12 represents decent each way value in the race - was beaten less than half a length to Battaash in a Group 2 at it's last start. The favourite (Lady Aurelia) is a very speedy horse though.

I've got 'Fetch TV' so no issues my way. Got it super cheap too as I was already an Optus customer with internet & home phone. But I sympathise with those using a streaming service - they should be offering refunds as well as a written apology. But I do have a real issue with VAR ... use it for everything or don't use it. The adjudicating has already reached farcical levels and we're less than a week into the tournament. Don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming the match referee on the ground and I'm all for video replays in any sport as long as it's feasible (you wouldn't bother with AFL on everyday decisions) It's like VAR has its own limits as to how many incidents it wants to take a close look at ... obvious penalties are ignored whilst minor infringements are brought to light. It is all over the place.

What we do know now DZ is that the winners of at least 5 or 6 groups will probably be undecided going into the 3rd round of games in the Groups ... Spain, Portugal, Germany, Brazil, Argentina and a few other countries may well have to win their last game's in their respective groups to progress or win their group's. And if Belgium and/or England & Sweden don't win tonight those teams will be in the same boat. Of course, all the round 3 games are played at the same time within each group so there's no room for any shenanigans or skulduggery ?