Haafhd, brilliant winner of the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, gets the golden opportunity of another bumper pay-day tomorrow as he turns out in one of the feature races on the opening programme at Royal Ascot.

The £250,000 St James's Palace Stakes is the target for the Barry Hills-trained colt, who has ten rivals in this Group 1 contest, as he bids to complete a seasonal hat-trick.

Decisive winner of the Craven Stakes on his reappearance, Haafhd confirmed that ability in the 2,000 Guineas, where he had Azamour and Bachelor Duke behind him.

Those two rivals have since contested the Irish '2,000', with Bachelor Duke taking the spoils from Azamour in a thrilling finish.

Whether either of the pair can turn the tables on Haafhd tomorrow is debatable, while the presence of Antonius Pius, who would have won the French 2,000 Guineas, but for swerving into the rails inside the final furlong, adds further fuel to the fire, along with dual-winner Brunel.

A cracking race is guaranteed, and Haafhd, again the mount of Richard Hills, is fancied to underline his prowess as a top-notch miler.

In tomorrow's other £250,000 showpiece, the Queen Anne Stakes, Six Perfections can enjoy a return to the big time.

The French raider suffered a nightmare run when chasing home Russian Rhythm in last year's 1,000 Guineas and was also an unlucky loser of the Irish equivalent. She did, however, finish the campaign with notable wins in the Prix Jacques le Marois and the Breeders' Cup.

Overstretched by the extended nine furlongs on her reapperance at Longchamp last month, she can underline her star qualities here and is awarded my Nap vote.

Tuesday's tips:

Royal Ascot

2.30 Council Member, 3.05 Frizzante, 3.45 Haafhd, 4.20 Six Perfections (Nap), 4.55 Got One Too, 5.30 Bold Marc

Thirsk

2.15 Danehill Dairy, 2.50 Forfeiter, 3.25 Taaqaah, 4.00 Raphael, 4.35 Crathorne, 5.10 Yorkshire Blue.

Tomorrow's other meetings are at Hereford and Newton Abbot.

Tom O'Ryan's Nap for today's racing was: Goblin (8.30 at Windsor).

Updated: 12:27 Monday, June 14, 2004