Having made the annual pilgrimage to Blackpool on Tuesday night for the Stan James World Matchplay Darts at the Winter Gardens, an event marred by sickening sightings of all the usual shameless suspects attempting to drown themselves on the contents of the free bar in the players’ lounge, it’s a rather smarter affair in prospect this weekend with Ascot hosting a fantastic card on King George day.

Out go the shorts and flip flops (it just wouldn’t do to attend the arrers overdressed) and in come some the rather more stylish threads associated with any trip to the Berkshire venue. They might moan about the new stand and the course layout, but it takes some beating when there’s a decent sized crowd in there.

The punters might be a shade less raucous than on the Fylde coast, but they may well be tempted to do the conga up and down the members’ lawn if Sir Michael Stoute’s Desert Creek can resume the form that saw him rack up consecutive wins at Yarmouth, Windsor and Haydock by taking the Emirates NBD Cup over a mile at 3.15pm.
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