Royal Ascot 2018: day four – live!

• The latest from day four, which includes the Coronation Stakes
• Move to modernise British racing | Chris Cook’s day four tips
• Email Tony or tweet him with your thoughts

12.31pm BST

I can pass on some good news about the carriage horses who smashed their way into a clothes shop on Ascot High Street yesterday. Both will recover form their injuries and there is no danger to their lives, according to two grooms I spoke to who were working with other carriage horses here on Friday morning. The grooms did not wish to be named because they work for a rival firm to the one whose carriage was involved in the crash. However, they say that the horses involved are based this week at the same Windsor-area stable as their team and report that both have survived with nothing more serious than cuts and abrasions.

The carriages are typically pulled by four horses and none of the four involved in Thursday’s crash are working on Friday; only the leading pair were apparently injured, when they collided with a shop window after bolting downhill and across a roundabout. A witness described one of the horses as lying on its side on the pavement while onlookers tried to stem the flow of blood from its side. A horse ambulance arrived soon after and it appears efforts to save the horse have been successful.

12.16pm BST

After three days of pointing backers in the right direction this week this could get tricky. My titfer tipster is plumping for purple but one thing is sure this has been a glum week for layers offering odds on the monarch’s Hat Stakes and apparently green is the colour of choice for backers today.

“Last year was one of the best ever but after three days of the public predicting the correct colour of the Queen’s hat, this has resulted in the most expensive for this particular novelty bet on record at Royal Ascot,” said Alexander Kostin of Bonuscodebets.co.uk.

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