Cecil and Stoute set for battle with their Yorkshire Cup stars

Old adversaries Henry Cecil and Sir Michael Stoute go to war once more, with Cecil chasing a remarkable sixth victory in the race – although his first since Paean scored in 1987.

The Warren Place maestro has not really had a genuine pretender to the Gold Cup crown for a few years now, but his Manifest burst on the scene when annihilating his rivals in the Emirates Airline Yorkshire Cup.

That demolition job propelled him to the head of the Ascot market and he has shortened ever since, with punters keen to latch on to the resurgence of the ever-popular Cecil.

"Obviously we are going into the unknown in terms of distance," said Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager to owner Khalid Abdullah. "The horse has been in good form and we are hopeful he will stay. He certainly looked like the further he was going the better he was going to be at York, but two-and-a-half miles is a totally new venture for him.

"We're hopeful and he seems to have done everything right since York."

Manifest's jockey, Tom Queally, would like nothing more than to give Cecil his 73rd Royal Ascot winner and, speaking on his Racing UK blog, he said: "Henry has a fantastic record in the race and it would be great to win it for him.

"Manifest was so impressive at York, and while I always thought he was a very good horse, his manner of victory certainly surprised me.

"This is obviously a big step up in trip from a mile-and-three- quarters to two-and-a-half miles, but on the evidence of his run at York, where he galloped all the way to the line, I think he'll stay. What's exciting is that he's still learning and, hopefully, there's more improvement in him as he's only run five times.

"I think we've got a massive chance."

In contrast to Cecil, Sir Michael Stoute has only one Ascot Gold Cup on his CV – lifting the prize with Shangamuzo way back in 1978 – but he remains at the top of the training tree and is still on a high from Workforce's Derby romp.

The horse that flies the Freemason Lodge flag this afternoon is Ask, like Manifest a winner of the Yorkshire Cup, and classy enough to lift last year's Coronation Cup before filling third spot in the King George.

He has not been seen since winning the Prix Royal-Oak at Longchamp in October and his stamina has not been tested to this extreme, but Yeats – another previous Coronation Cup hero – took this on his seasonal debut when tackling the trip for the first time in 2006 so there is a precedent.

This is by no means a two-horse race, though. Godolphin's team is spearheaded by St Leger runner-up Kite Wood and Frankie Dettori prefers him to Cesarewitch winner Darley Sun.

Age Of Aquarius tries to carry on the legacy left by four-time winner Yeats for Aidan O'Brien, with Kasbah Bliss and Bannaby adding further international spice.

Cecil could saddle Manifest with a winner already in the bag, as he runs Principal Role in the main supporting race, the Ribblesdale Stakes.

Owned by Khalid Abdullah, she won the Oaks trial at Newbury but swerved a tilt at the Classic itself with connections having Aviate and Timepiece in their armoury already.

That decision should pay dividends because she arrives here fresher than Epsom also-rans Gertrude Bell and the Mark Johnston-trained Bikini Babe.

The Middleham handler aims no less than five arrows at the ultra-competitive Britannia Handicap, with Frankie Dettori's mount Sea Lord probably the pick. The manner in which he knuckled down to fend off up-and-coming handicapper Haatheq at Doncaster suggested there is plenty more left in the three-year-old's locker.

Johnston is also mob-handed in the King George V Handicap, a race he has won three times since 2002.

Dancing Dude, Bowdler's Magic and Rawnaq would appear to be in the assessor's grip, but Bay Willow won with his head in his chest at Leicester and his confidence will be sky-high after breaking through in such a fashion.

The Norfolk Stakes has been the target for Excel Bolt, trained at Sutton Bank by Bryan Smart, since an impressive Musselburgh debut and although he was made to work hard when returning north of the border, the resolution he showed to maintain his unbeaten record will stand him in good stead against the likes of National Stakes winner Dinkum Diamond.

Although most eyes were understandably on Epsom on Derby day, Afsare treated Doncaster racegoers to a performance brimming with promise and he takes the next step up the ladder in the Hampton Court Stakes.