The going at Ascot is Good to Firm.

Chris Stickels, Ascot’s Clerk of the Course, said: “The plan tonight is to mow the track first and then put 5mm of water on everything afterwards.

“There may be a shower around this evening, but it’s not going to amount to much. There may also be a shower overnight, but again we’re not talking about any volume – just a splash of rain, probably less than 1mm.

“The plan is to apply 5mm across the track to maintain conditions. We will have lost about 4mm through evapotranspiration during the day, the figures are adding up to that, which is why we’re putting it back in.”

Attendance

The crowd figure for day one of Royal Ascot was 46,924, up 3 per cent on 45,551 last year.