James McDonald excited to ride for the Queen at Royal Ascot

James McDonald is looking forward to a big week of rides at Royal Ascot, headlined by Commonwealth Cup favourite Equilateral.

The jockey enjoyed a successful spell in Britain in the summer of 2016, and was a retained rider for Godolphin.

But after being found guilty of a betting offence, McDonald had to serve an 18-month ban, and returned to race-riding only last month.

He had his first ride back in Britain on Monday evening at Windsor when finishing second aboard Implicit for James Tate, and now turns his attention to Royal Ascot, where he is in line to have rides for all five days of the fixture.

Commonwealth Cup card and betting

Friday's Commonwealth Cup could offer McDonald his best chance of victory at the fixture, as he partners Equilateral for Charlie Hills, with the sprinter a general 4-1 favourite.

Speaking to sports radio station RSN927 in Australia, McDonald said: "I think Friday is my best day and obviously Equilateral is going around that day.

"He's a sprinter that everyone holds in high regard and hopefully he salutes, but he's got a bit of a task in front of him. It's not going to be an easy race but he's going really well."

In addition to Equilateral on Friday, McDonald will also get to don the Queen's famous silks when partnering Sir Michael Stoute's Elector in the King Edward VII Stakes.

"I'm pretty buzzing about having a ride in her colours in front of her," McDonald added.

"It's not about prize-money, it's all about prestige. Obviously the Queen turns up, and it's basically her meeting.

"It's just an incredible feeling. I think it's one of the best (carnivals) in the world, apart from a couple of ours. Every race feels like a Group 1 and there's not many carnivals in the world that feel like that."

Read The Briefing from 8.30am daily on racingpost.com with all the day's latest going, weather, market moves and non-runner news