Stars from far and wide come together to guarantee the most dramatic start to any race meeting

Here it is, the week when everyone in Flat racing wants to win, beginning with its strongest card. Packing three Group 1s into the first four races is the very opposite of orthodox thinking, especially considering the other one is the best two-year-old race of the year so far, but somehow it just works.

Royal Ascot starts all guns blazing. From the moment you step in the room, it grabs you by the lapels and shoves you up against the wall. It's like the first scene in Trainspotting, the first chapter of Enduring Love. The drama is immediate and if you're not hooked right away, this was never going to be the game for you.

The more normal thing is to have your big race in the middle to end of a card and build steadily towards it. But royal week has so many treasures, it can afford to be generous, or even profligate. It'll be tea-time before we get to a race offering less than £99,000 to the winner.