The historic meeting is regarded by many as one of England’s last bastions of pomp, pageantry and tradition. In the royal enclosure, gentlemen are still required to wear top hat and tails.

But while many will use the event as a social occasion to continue the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, the equine action on the track is what matters most to racing fans.

Thirty-five races, including eight Group Ones, spread across five days (Tuesday to Saturday), with some of the best horses in the world competing for record prize money of £8.6 million. That adds up to the best week of racing on the planet.

For the first time since 2019 and the Covid-19 pandemic, capacity crowds will be back at Ascot this year. It is uncertain whether the Queen herself will make it, although she has two or three fancied runners, but the fields will include international raiders from France, Ireland, Australia, the USA, Germany and even Czechoslovakia.

You can watch every race on ITV or ITV4, and also Sky Sports Racing. And to give you a taste of what’s to come, we’ve picked out 13 horses to look out for. Not tips, but horses likely to steal the limelight as the week progresses.