Delegator can take honours at last after trip to the Palace

Mastercraftsman is likely to go off a hot favourite to give Aidan O'Brien a third consecutive St James's Palace Stakes - and his sixth in nine years - as Royal Ascot gets under way tomorrow.

The colt was fifth in the 2,000 Guineas to subsequent Derby winner Sea The Stars, before running out a ready winner of the Irish equivalent at the Curragh.

The conditions could not have been more extreme. Just a shade firmer than the M11 on the Rowley Mile, the ground was heavy at the Curragh. Many a Guineas winner has been denied further glory when coming to Ascot and though the Irish mile Classic did not look a top race, Mastercraftsman could only beat what was put in front of him.

Ask anyone from the O'Brien stable and they will say that he is a colt with "bags of class and courage". Mastercraftsman also has a high cruising speed and is adaptable on any ground.

After Epsom, when the Ballydoyle pacemakers did not really do their job in the Derby, the riders of stablemates Born To Be King and Set Sail should ensure Mastercraftsman will have a truly-run race.

His form makes him the obvious choice, yet is there a case for opposing him with any of his nine rivals? Delegator is like a child who is being praised by his parents, just before he's caught stealing from the headmaster's cookie jar.