Will the Carnarvon Stakes again prove a key Commonwealth Cup trial? Keith Melrose has spotted a big discrepancy in the ante-post odds

Click here to add us to your Google preferred sources or find out more here

The Carnarvon Stakes is the first major Saturday trial for the Commonwealth Cup and, now that the Dante has cleared most of the main Derby trials from the schedule, it is an apt time to move on to the sprinters' Classic.

This year nine of the 11 entrants in the six-furlong Listed race hold an entry on the Friday of Royal Ascot, and between them they make up around a quarter of the book.

Were you to take the nine horses' prices for the Commonwealth Cup and turn them into a 100 per cent book, you could get a theoretical tissue for today. Albert Einstein would be 15-8, Wise Approach 7-2, Royal Fixation 9-2, Havana Hurricane 12-1 and 25s bar.

The big discrepancy at the time of writing is Royal Fixation, who is vying for Carnarvon favouritism. She had a strong two-year-old season for Ed Walker, finishing second to Venetian Sun (12-1 for the Commonwealth Cup) in the Duchess of Cambridge and third to 1,000 Guineas winner True Love in the Cheveley Park. In between those races she won the Lowther.

Those efforts give her a favourite's chance on her first start for Karl Burke, and she is 5lb better off with Wise Approach than she would be at Ascot next month. Albert Einstein is still priced up on reputation rather than achievement, and Royal Fixation's Commonwealth Cup odds may also hold an element of ante-post backers taking a watching brief.

Burke is the cock of the north these days and you can expect him to get the best out of Royal Fixation. More specifically, he trains the 1,000 Guineas runner-up Evolutionist, so he has top-quality three-year-old fillies to gauge Royal Fixation against.

How Royal Fixation fares, including tactically as she was often held up last year, and whether Albert Einstein can finally deliver even partially on the hype, will be two of the main questions to answer on Saturday. If Wise Approach can serve it up to both, carrying a penalty and with his yard only just starting to emerge from a slump in form, then maybe he is the one to shake up the Commonwealth Cup market this weekend.
Analysis by Keith Melrose

'We've been very happy with him' – Albert Einstein makes eagerly-awaited sprinting return

Plans to turn Albert Einstein, the early-season number one 2,000 Guineas hope for Ballydoyle, into a miler seem to have been shelved as he makes his eagerly-awaited return to sprinting, and a win could see him leapfrog stablemate Charles Darwin in the betting for the Commonwealth Cup.

A dual winner over six furlongs as a juvenile, Albert Einstein looked all speed last year, particularly when going with plenty of zest en route to landing the Group 3 Marble Hill Stakes at the Curragh.

In two starts over seven furlongs this season he's far from disgraced himself, but has given the impression that a return to sprinting would be beneficial having been too keen in the Gladness after a long layoff and then being beaten a length and three-quarters in a first-time hood in the Greenham last month.

Albert Einstein after winning the Marble Hill Stakes

Albert Einstein has been beaten in both of his starts this seasonCredit: Caroline Norris (racingpost.com/photos)

A crack at the Group 2 Sandy Lane at Haydock next Saturday was mooted earlier in the week. However, connections have opted for this Listed contest instead with O'Brien reporting Albert Einstein in fine form with the hood discarded.

Stable jockey Ryan Moore wouldn't be available to take the ride on him at Haydock due to being engaged at the Curragh, and Ballydoyle have an ideal replacement in Brussels to take up that challenge.

"We were going to go to Haydock with Albert Einstein and Brussels, but Albert Einstein was in this race and we've been very happy with him," explained O'Brien. "We left the hood off him and have been very happy with him at home, so we said we'd let him take his chance here and the plan is for Brussels to go to Haydock."

What they say

Charlie Appleby, trainer of Wise Approach
We felt there would be some improvement to come from him following his run at Ascot and he's definitely come on for it. He has won over the course and distance and loves a sound surface, so we wouldn’t want to see much rain. He still has to carry a penalty against some potentially smart sprinters, so he'll have to be on his A game, but he should be a player with that run under his belt.

Hugo Palmer, trainer of Ardisia
We're very happy with him. He's a much bigger horse this year and is improving with racing. He needed his first run and we saw the benefit of that on his second at Ascot when Wise Approach was behind him. We thought this was a sensible route.

Karl Burke, trainer of Royal Fixation
She looks tremendous. I wouldn't say she's working the house down at home, but from what I can gather she was a bit like that at Ed Walker's last year as well. We'll learn a lot about her here.
Reporting by Conor Fennelly

Read more Raceday Intel:

'He's ready to go' - Zeus Olympios targets Group 1 glory against stacked Lockinge field

Derby flop to star miler? Gosdens' powers of reinvention put to the test with fascinating Lockinge favourite

Kalpana's return plus Epsom and Ascot clues - three more races you can't miss on a belting Saturday

Evergreen 11-year-old Home By The Lee targets French Champion Hurdle with spring Grade 1 hat-trick up for grabs