Royal Ascot champion to defend title as prestigious festival returns

The Independent

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• Ombudsman will defend his Prince of Wales’s Stakes title against rivals Daryz, Almaqam, and Minnie Hauk at Royal Ascot on Wednesday.
• The race is anticipated as a highlight of the five-day festival, which runs from 16-20 June; more than 286,000 people visited Ascot Racecourse in Berkshire over the course of last year’s event.
• Royal Ascot, which dates back to 1711, begins each day with the Royal Procession at 2pm before the racing timetable begins.
• Ombudsman boasts wins in the Juddmonte International and Dubai Turf, Almaqam is a recent Tattersalls Gold Cup victor, Daryz is a Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner and Minnie Hauk was runner-up to Daryz.
• Wednesday's card also includes the Queen’s Vase, featuring Aidan O’Brien’s Port Of Spain and the King and Queen's horse Point Of Law, alongside large fields for the Queen Mary, Royal Hunt Cup, and Kensington Palace Stakes.