No one will shed tears for him, but Ryan Moore’s luxury of choice when it comes to correctly picking the right Aidan O’Brien-trained horse to ride will resonate through Friday’s Group One Royal Ascot action.Moore has got it wrong already this week by ignoring Great Barrier Reef in Tuesday’s Coventry. That came on the back of Ronan Whelan getting Christmas Day home in the Epsom Derby and of Wayne Lordan twice benefiting from Moore’s incorrect pick in the English and Irish 1,000 Guineas last month.Both the Classic-winning fillies True Love and Precise give O’Brien a dominant presence in the Coronation Stakes. Moore, having stuck with Precise at Newmarket and subsequently ignoring her to his cost at the Curragh, has jumped back on board for Ascot.It once again leaves Lordan in a relatively stress-free position on True Love. He can expect a similarly enviable situation on Charles Darwin in the earlier Commonwealth Cup.Moore is on Albert Einstein in the big three-year-old sprint, hardly a surprise considering this really is “put up or shut up” time for a colt acclaimed by O’Brien as the fastest through his hands but whose record pales in comparison to such billing.Commercial stallion-making reality means priority focus will be on the colts, although in terms of sheer quality another clash between Precise and True Love is one to savour.Each is a top-flight winner at two, with the giant True Love even dominating last year’s Queen Mary. That sort of raw speed came to the fore in the Newmarket Guineas, where she ultimately won comfortably and showed the benefit of a prep race at Leopardstown.In contrast, Precise had her first start of the campaign there, off an interrupted preparation, and in hindsight Moore’s choosing her at Newmarket underlined her big home reputation. With a run under her belt, she subsequently proved too good for her stable companion at the Curragh.The range of Precise’s talents meant only testing ground conditions prevented her lining up in the Oaks a fortnight ago. The Coronation was immediately nominated instead – and a stiff mile around Ascot that could see Moore’s mount outstay her opposition.“I’m not sure which one is the best of them, but they’re both high class,” Moore said. “They both have outstanding chances.”Temperamentally, the Englishman is hardly disposed towards brash expressions of confidence anyway, although his judgment has been off-kilter enough times this season to reinforce those cautious tendencies.Irish-trained fillies have won the Coronation for the last three years, although not by a Ballydoyle runner. The last of O’Brien’s three winners of the race was Winter in 2017. His son Donnacha gives the Breeders’ Cup winner Balantina a first start of the year in this. Black Caviar Gold represents Paddy Twomey.As well as a Ballydoyle trio, Donnacha O’Brien’s Havana Anna is an Irish hope in the Commonwealth Cup. Albert Einstein will attract attention, but it could be worth forgiving Charles Darwin a flop on his last start. Last year’s Norfolk winner lost his action on that occasion, sports first-time time blinkers now and has a helpful looking high draw.Moore has no pick in the King Edward VII Stakes with the Gallinule and Tetrarch winner Causeway stepping up to a mile-and-a-half for the first time. He’s an admirably tough colt, but if there’s a future top-notch performer in this then it looks like being the unbeaten Water To Wine.Friday evening’s Listed feature at Limerick is the Martin Molony Stakes, where last year’s Melbourne Cup runner-up Goodie Two Shoes returns to action. The sole three-year-old in the race, New Zealand, was placed behind Limestone on his last start and has first-time cheekpieces.
Ryan Moore hoping to get it Precisely right in Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot
Commonwealth Cup will test theories about Albert Einstein’s relative greatness














