Nick Luck Daily Podcast

Nick is joined on the eve of Royal Ascot by The Mirror’s David Yates, and Nick at length speaks to the King and Queen’s racing manager John Warren about the chances of a Royal winner this week. Michael Mulvany looks forward to his two 2-year-olds in the Coventry tomorrow before Adam Mills previews the St James’s Palace, Prince of Wales’s and Gold Cup at Ascot whilst Harry Eustace shares whether he believes Docklands can go back-to-back in the Queen Anne. Finally, Henri Bozo discusses Diamond Necklace’s victory in the Prix de Diane yesterday, a race that was missing from Monceaux’s CV.

Eva O’Neill on the Saturday Edition this week, she speaks to Anthony Bromley about the Double Green horses entered for the Goffs London Sale on Monday along with Michael Bell and his Royal Ascot runners. William Haggas is on with Tom Stanley about Lilt and her Prix de Diane run at Chantilly this Sunday. Will Aitkenhead speaks to connections of Australian runners at the racecourse familiarity morning in Ascot ahead of the Royal Meeting.

Coming to you from Newsells Park Stud, in association with Fitzdares, Nick is joined by a power packed panel consisting of John Gosden, George Boughey, Roger Varian, Richard Brown & Charlie Fellowes. The panel run through all their key runners over the fives days and offer plenty of tips and each-way bets along the way. Who knew you could get ski goggles for horses... turns out Trawlerman will be showing his off in the Gold Cup prelims, this is a Royal Ascot preview not to be missed!

Tom in for Nick and joined at first by trainer William Haggas who sends Lilt to the Prix de Diane this weekend. William talks of her chance and also looks ahead to his big guns next week at Royal Ascot. Rishi Persad is the main guest today and he likes Lilt's chances this weekend. He tells us why before picking out his Ascot highlights. We hear from Billy Loughnane who rides favourite Bow Echo in the St James's Palace Stakes and Ascot clerk of the course Chris Stickels is along to tell us likely conditions come Tuesday afternoon. Bill Dwan of Castlebridge Consignment reflects on the Derby having sold Christmas Day at Tattersalls October Book 1 before we head back to Alistair Cohen in South Africa who tells us of record breaking rider S'manga Khumalo receiving a hefty ban for race-fixing. Plus Eva O'Neill checks back in from Goffs Arkle Sale.

Kicking off today’s show, Nick speaks to Haycock’s Clerk of the Course Dan Cooper who announces they have been forced to farm out their next four fixtures, as a result of the the findings from their investigation into the recent hole found on the outer track. We’ve got our Royal Ascot bulletin with Will Aitkenhead which includes some of the latest running plans for the Ballydoyle battalion. Harry Charlton runs us through his team for Royal Ascot and also touches on his link up with jockey Lewis Edmunds. Shark Hanlon is along to discuss potentially getting licensed in UK. Alistair Cohen has an update from South Africa before counting with the the international theme and getting the latest from Hong Kong with JA McGrath. Finally, Eva O’Neill, in situ at the Goffs Arkle Sale, catches up with Dave Futter who confirms the Goffs Yorton Sale will take place again in 2026.

Nick is joined this morning by the Racing Post’s Lee Mottershead to look again at the decision by the stewards at Epsom to declare Benvenuto Cellini a non-runner whilst Jason Tan, based in New Zealand explains why he believes we’re behind the times in the UK with this rule having not been in place sooner. Ahead of the Prix de Diane this weekend, Nick catches up with David Menuisier, who’s hoping Inis Mor can go close and Lee and Nick spin through the likely key contenders. Will Aitkenhead has the latest Royal Ascot update before Richard Langley, head groundsman at Brighton joins the show to discuss his attempt to break a world record, which would be a remarkable feat. Dan Barber is back again to look back on a handicapping performance from Epsom that could put this horse right up there in the big leagues and his trainer Roger Varian shares where we might see him next. Finally Greg Carpenter of the HKJC shares his delight at Ka Ying Rising receiving a rating of 130, putting him to the top of the tree and Oli Bell is at the GOFFS Arkle Sale catching up with Willie Mullins.

Nick joined this morning by Racing TV’s Lydia Hislop to reflect on the Betfred Derby Festival. They start with the controversial decision by the stewards to declare Benvenuto Cellini, the Derby favourite, a non-runner after getting his foot caught up in the stalls and crossing the line in 10th place. Simon Nott, who was reporting for Star Sports from the betting ring on the day, explained how this all went down and how punters were affected. Lydia and Nick also discuss the merits of Derby winner Christmas Day and how highly we can rank that performance given the attritional conditions with Dan Barber giving Timeform’s view, whilst William Haggas shares his delight at Maltese Cross finishing second and looks at what might be next for him. Francis Graffard drops in briefly to give an update on Calandagan, who was never going in the Coronation Cup, and then we review the action stateside with Adam Mills of Total Performance Data looking at the Belmont Stakes. Finally, Eva O’Neill is at the Goffs Land Rover sale speaking to Peter Molony about the two-year-old section.

Eva O'Neill brings you the Saturday edition this week with all attention to Saturday afternoon's Betfred Derby. Kevin Blake and Anna-Lisa Balding speak to both Charlotte and Eva on Wednesday at the Derby draw. Kia Joorabchian and Alex Elliott speak to Nick about Amo Racing's runners in the Derby along with Alex's thoughts about Bay of Brilliance. Following the Oaks Eva spoke to Joseph O'Brien after his success with Thundering On and Andrew Cooper updates about the ground conditions at Epsom.

Nick bringing you the show today from Epsom racecourse ahead of the Bedford Derby festival, kicking off later today. He’s joined by Racing TV is Lydia Hislop and first off Nick catches up with Jockey Club CEO Jim Mullen on track before CEO of the Horserace Betting Levy Board Alan Delmonte joins the show. CEO of the Tote, Alex Frost, looks at another big weekend for WorldPool before Ian Fortune is along to preview the greyhound Derby. David Johnson of Timeform looks at the Epsom Classics through the Timeform lens and Paddy Chesters shares his hopes for another big double at Epsom this year for Chester Racecourse. And just to add to the show, the wine tipster Neil Phillips has a new bottle for us to try.

The buildup to Saturday’s Epsom Derby continues as Nick, joined by RTÉ’s Jane Mangan, catches up first with Dylan Browne-McMonagle who will be aboard James J Braddock. Dylan also discusses his ride Thundering On in Friday’s Oaks, before Kia Joorabchian shares whether he thinks one of his two runners might be able to spring a bit of a surprise. Alex Elliot, also involved in the buying of those horses, looks at their chance along with Bay of Brilliance, who could be a lively outsider. Our Weatherby segment comes to you a little bit later this week as Nick checks in with Craig Bennett on the evolution of his Merry Fox Stud. The Royal Ascot buildup continues with Will Aitkenhead and Harriet Rochester has news of a new initiative from the ROA in partnership with Godolphin.