Promising three-year-old with Arc entry confirmed for Friday at Royal Ascot - plus Harry Wilson's early fancies for day four

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Friday's pair of Group 1s came into much sharper focus as the six-day confirmations narrowed down the potential casting for day four of Royal Ascot.

Scott Burton picks out the key newslines from the Coronation Stakes and the Commonwealth Cup, while Harry Wilson picks out a couple of fancies from among the entries for a supporting card which features the Albany Stakes, the King Edward VII Stakes and a trio of fiendish handicaps.

Balantina remains on track for the Coronation Stakes

The feature race on Friday has been somewhat unfairly written off this year as a private rematch between the two Guineas winners trained by Aidan O'Brien, True Love and Precise, with scant regard given to the chances of much else.

Ten fillies went forward at the six-day confirmation stage, with some notable names dropping by the wayside, as both Chantilly-bound Diamond Necklace and Godolphin's Abashiri were taken out.

But last season's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Balantina remains on track, following a positive bulletin as to the chances of her making her seasonal debut at Ascot in a Racing Post Stable Tour in recent days.

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Breeders' Cup heroine Balantina remains on course for her seasonal return in the Coronation StakesCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

While Donnacha O'Brien described the Coronation as "a nice place to get started", it should be noted that Inspiral (2022) and Alpine Star (2020) won this race on their first start of the season, for all that the latter case came amid the jumbled calendar of Covid.

Recent Wathnan acquisition The Prettiest Star also remains in the list, suggesting that it is not yet cut and dried that the 1,000 Guineas fourth will drop down to 7f for the Jersey on Saturday.

And while So Regal does not appear among the confirmations, Cheveley Park could still bid to add to their four wins in the race with the Sir Mark Prescott-trained Moon Target, who has not run since finishing eighth to Precise in the Fillies' Mile last October.

Full entries for day four of Royal Ascot

25 left in the Commonwealth Cup

Venetian Sun remains the red-hot favourite in the wake of her push-button success in the Sandy Lane Stakes at Haydock, though she looks likely to face a big field after 25 went forward at the confirmation stage.

As widely trailed by William Haggas, the colt that chased Venetian Sun home that day, Division, will be the sole representative for Somerville Lodge and owners Wathnan, with the yard's unbeaten Saber Strike likely to wait for the Jersey.

Saber Strike's owners Victorious Forever could field last season's Rockfel winner Zanthos, who had soft ground and a wide draw against her before the trip became an issue in the French Guineas.

Jim Boyle watches Into The Sky ridden by head girl Louisa Allen head out to the sand gallop on Oaks morning

Jim Boyle watches Into The Sky ridden by head girl Louisa Allen on their way to exerciseCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Among a clutch of potential runners dropping down in distance after running in a mile Classic, Venetian Sun could be joined by Into The Sky, who was a creditable if distant fourth to Bow Echo, the same spot filled at the Curragh by Power Blue.

Wesley Ward is the only trainer to have broken the British and Irish domination of this race since it was introduced in 2015, and his Outfielder adds an international dimension, as do Samangan and Kimi Rey (both trained by Francis Graffard) and My Calyx Cen, who trainer Patrik Olave Valdivielso sent out from his Pau base to win the Prix Sigy.

Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin and Brussels all stand their ground for Aidan O'Brien, as does Northern Champion, though the colt's trainer Ed Walker stressed in his RP Weekender column that the Jersey was a more likely target.

Harry Wilson marks your card for the rest of Friday's entries

Duke of Edinburgh Stakes

Emit

Irish-trained runners have won the last three runnings of this race, with Ryan Moore on board for two of those victories.

The first of those wins came aboard a Joseph O’Brien-trained runner and it’s interesting to see him provisionally jocked up at this early stage on that trainer’s Emit, who was an eye-catching fourth under the rider in a 1m6f handicap at the Curragh this month.

The four-year-old had been mixing it in stakes company, notably finishing a close third behind Gold Cup favourite Scandinavia at Navan in April, before staying on strongly from the back last time in his first handicap.

O’Brien’s 2023 scorer Okita Soushi also had form over further and, given Emit's Listed success last year came over 1m4f, the slight drop in distance is unlikely to be a negative.

Sandringham Stakes

Darn Hot Gallop

There are plenty of unexposed three-year-old fillies you could mention, but Darn Hot Gallop is the one who stands out.

The Too Darn Hot filly may have only beaten home two of her 18 rivals in the 1,000 Guineas, but she was unbeaten in three starts before that and her handicap debut success could hardly have worked out better.

The runner-up and third (two times) have both won since and are now 10lb and 9lb higher respectively, while the favourite, who finished sixth, bolted up next time and has gone up 11lb.

Darn Hot Gallop was given just a 3lb rise and remains with huge potential back in handicaps off a mark of 86.

King Edward VII Stakes

Water To Wine

Water To Wine may have missed the Derby, but this well-regarded colt holds an Arc entry and could well still prove to be one of the best three-year-olds around when lining up here.

Water To Wine sat second in our Derby power rankings following an impressive debut win at Newbury in April, when he produced a fast finish (he ran the last two furlongs in 23.25 seconds) in one of the fastest times on the card.

He missed the Chester Vase with a temperature but confirmed himself an above-average performer when bolting up by 11 lengths under a penalty at Kempton last month and looks to have Group-race potential.

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