RACH IS FLAT OUT FOR MORE GLORY

RACHAEL BLACKMORE seeks to light up Royal Ascot — as she has illuminated Cheltenham and Aintree in 2021 — with the mount aboard Cape Gentleman in today’s Ascot Stakes.

The Emmet Mullins-trained five-year-old carries top weight in the two-and-a-half mile test.

And the marathon distance was instrumental in the booking of Blackmore (above), the leading rider at the Cheltenham Festival before making history in the Grand National aboard Minella Times.

“Rachael rode a few flat horses for me last year, so she’s got experience on the Flat,” said Mullins. “But the real reason we went for Rachael was the trip.

“It’s a huge advantage for her to be riding over two and a half miles every day of the week, whereas the average distance the other boys are riding over every day is a mile.

“It only takes that little couple of inches to save somewhere and it could be the difference between winning and losing.”

■ LOVE will make her return to action when Aidan O’Brien’s 1,000 Guineas and Oaks heroine crosses swords with defending champion Lord North in the Group 1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot tomorrow.