All you need to know as famous faces come out in force at Ascot

With Haydock's Betfair Chase meeting no longer a two-day affair, Ascot has centre stage all to itself with a host of luminaries set to light up proceedings.

Aside from the six races at a meeting that will be attended by the Prince of Wales, much interest will focus on England goal-scoring legend Michael Owen as he makes his race-riding debut in the charity race at 12.15.

There is some competitive action on the card, with champion trainer Nicky Henderson looking to have a particularly strong hand, and it promises to be a big day for trainer Nigel Hawke as Speredek bids to extend his winning run to five in the £30,000 Coutts Handicap Hurdle (3.50).

Afternoon jumps fixtures at Catterick and Ffos Las and evening meetings on the all-weather at Dundalk and Newcastle complete the line-up.

Going report

Catterick - first race 12.20
Good to soft, good in places

Ascot - 1.00
Good to soft

Race distances:
Race 1: +12 yards
Race 2, 3 & 6: +4 yards
Race 4 & 5: +16 yards

Ffos Las - 1.10
Heavy

Race distances:
Race 1 & 5: +96 yards
Race 2 & 4: +83 yards
Race 3: +72 yards
Race 6: +66 yards

Dundalk - 5.30
Standard

Newcastle - 5.45
Standard

Market movers

12.20 Catterick: Dulce Panem into 5-1 (from 8)

2.15 Ffos Las: Pure Vision into 4-1 (from 5)

2.20 Ascot: Fortunate George into 5-1 (from 8)

What to back

Nick Watts delivers his best bet of the day in no time at all...

What to read

The BHA has come under fire for plans to amend the rules over anti-doping following a landmark case.

In his Friday column, which is available to members, Tom Kerr looks at whether it is right for a bookmaker to have access to a trainer's Twitter account.

What to watch

Scott Burton is in Tokyo and catches up with Aidan O’Brien’s travelling head lad TJ Comerford about the prospects of Idaho in Sunday’s Japan Cup.

The best of Racing Post Sport

The weekend Premier League action starts in earnest with West Ham hosting Leicester City and Mark Langdon flags up the game's standout wager.

Final thought

You can bet Michael Owen will be more nervous about his first ride in public than he was wearing an England shirt at a major international tournament. It's all for a good cause, so let's hope it's an enjoyable experience.

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