Aidan O’Brien’s Ascot may not be as royal as other years

Can Aidan O’Brien deliver for punters at the five-day Royal Ascot extravaganza, which starts next Tuesday? asks Pat Keane

We have written here of late about the manner in which O’Brien has been building his squad, but relatively recent events have diluted one’s confidence that the Ballydoyle maestro’s powerful army may not be quite as strong as it shaped some weeks back.

The O’Brien challenge was blown out of the water in both the Epsom Derby and the French equivalent at Chantilly and Ballydoyle’s four runners in the Irish 2000 Guineas at the Curragh were swept aside by Ken Condon’s shock winner, Romanised.