THERE’S a story told about a well-known Irish breeder and administrator, a man who passed away almost 10 years ago.

He had a British army background but was as Irish as any of his neighbours in an area which would have Republican sympathies, to put it delicately.

Anyway, one year this fellow gets a letter with the Royal stamp, inviting him to join Her Majesty in the annual procession of horse-drawn carriages up the Royal Ascot straight, watched by millions of people, before racing.

It would have been the ultimate honour for anyone in racing but our man politely declined. He allegedly told friends: “Around here, you could be shot for something like that!”

That story sums up for me why so many Irish people who adore at the altar of Cheltenham don’t have the same love for Royal Ascot. They don’t like the pageantry, the Royal association is too close for comfort, and the bloody names of those flat horses are too hard to spell!

Well, this scribbler is coming out of the closet. I’m no royalist but I enjoy Royal Ascot just as much as Cheltenham, maybe even more. It’s 36 races over five days and every one of them is classy. Even a handicap winner at Royal Ascot is a potential Group 1 horse.

Just like at Cheltenham, there is a very strong Irish team, and there’s the international aspect you just don’t get at Cheltenham, with unknown quantities flying in from America, Australia, and Hong Kong as well a few French challengers.

For me, the fact that other punters are struggling to figure out who’s who is an opportunity. While everyone else is focused on what Frankie Dettori is riding or what Aidan O’Brien is running, I’m keeping an eye on that sneaky one I saw finishing an unlucky fifth at Meydan last February. It rarely pays off but when it does it’s the best feeling.

Mullins team

Willie Mullins has had almost 100 winners at the Cheltenham Festival and he is certainly not turning his nose up at Royal Ascot, where he has had eight previous victories. He expects to have “four or five” runners there next week and they are all worth watching.

Stratum returns to bid for a Queen Alexandra Stakes hat-trick, having taken the 2021 and 2022 renewals.

Bring On The Night goes for the Ascot Stakes on Tuesday, having not run anywhere since being beaten three-quarters of a length in the same race last year by Ascot Gold Cup favourite Coltrane.

But it is the high-class Echoes In Rain and Vauban who will provide the most intrigue from the Mullins raiding party. Echoes in Rain has been well supported in the two-and-a-half-mile Ascot Gold Cup, the feature on Ladies’ Day, and is as short as 9/1 for the Group 1 prize.

Vauban, whose three Grade 1 wins last year included the Triumph Hurdle and the Champion 4YO Hurdle at Punchestown, holds an entry in the Copper Horse Handicap on the opening day.

Royal Ascot is live on Virgin Media One from 1.30pm to 5.30pm next Tuesday (June 20th) to Saturday (June 24th).