GLOBE-TROTTING Grandera (3.45) has the class to claim the £250,000 Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot today.

For sure it's a decent enough prize on offer, but there are much bigger bucks to be made abroad these days and this afternoon's pot is relatively small beer compared to the cool £663,569 Grandera picked up for winning the Grade 1 Singapore International Cup last month.

Since being bought out of James Fanshawe's Newmarket yard, the Godolphin-trained colt has also run well in France and Dubai, as well as landing his latest massive touch in the Far East.

And the fact that he can take on top-notch performers all over the world and still hold his own persuades me to think Grandera is the ace in the pack despite the known strength of the field.

Amongst the awesome opposition, Andre Fabre's Banks Hill, last year's Coronation Cup heroine will be popular with Ascot regulars, as will Nayef, so impressive when bagging the 2001 Group 1 Champion Stakes at Newmarket in October.

Nonetheless, Saeed Bin Suroor and Frankie Dettori know just the sort of firepower required because they teamed up successfully with Fantastic Light 12 months ago, and I believe they are one again the one's to follow, this time with Grandera.

In the opening Jersey Stakes look no further than Millennium Dragon (2.30).

Seven furlong specialists are few and far between, precisely the reason for siding with Micheal Jarvis's colt, twice successful at the trip on his sole two outings to date this season.

The following Queen Mary Stakes, a Group 3 event for two-year-old fillies, features the Dorset-based Bill Turner attempting to strike a blow for the minnows by taking the £60,000 feature with Dusty Dazzler (3.05).

Bill has been treading the boards for the best part of the last decade operating with largely second and third rate material.

His wheelings and dealings in the juvenile division, where he has carved out a profitable niche for himself, was bound in the end to throw up a potential star, and Dusty Dazzler fits the bill nicely.

She really does have speed to burn, roasting a fair field at Thirsk in April on her latest start where the winning margin of five lengths was quite spectacular by the standards of the extremely sharp five furlong North Yorkshire track.

The major betting heat on the card, the Royal Hunt Cup, has as usual attracted a maximum line-up of 32 runners.

In the lead up to the highly-competitive one mile race, Beauchamp Pilot has been the subject of substantial market support, in keeping with Sea Star (4.20), bidding to brighten up a second successive dismal season for Henry Cecil.

Recalling how throughout the 1980s and early 90s Cecil was always one of the leading trainers at the meeting represents a measure of just how far his fortunes have waned.

To many purists it would be great if Henry could bounce back with Sea Star, who galloped his rivals into a drunken stupor at York's May fixture.

If Ascot proves to be unprofitable, or more happily there are winnings to be played up, Ripon's evening meeting is the ideal place to go.

Of particular interest is Alan Dickman's two-year-old, Inter Vision (7.30), in the Middle Novice Mediam Auction Stakes. Although Inter Vision took a couple of races to warm up, he came good in no uncertain fashion last time out at Chester.

l Marcus Tregoning broke his Royal Ascot duck in spectacular style with a masterful training performance to win the King's Stand Stakes with Dominica yesterday, writes DAVID CARR.

His three-year-old had not raced since winning the Cornwallis Stakes on this course eight months previously and was a 16-1 outsider for her first race against older horses.

But she proved her trainer's judgement spot-on by showing fine speed to make all under Martin Dwyer - also riding his first winner at the Royal meeting - and hold off Continent by a head.

Red-hot 11-10 favourite Kyllachy gave punters their first major reverse of the fixture by finding trouble in running and finishing third, another half-length adrift.

''She shows blinding speed at home and the idea was to bring her here fresh and it has worked,'' said Tregoning, who was saddling only his second Royal Ascot runner.

''The plan was to let her tell us when she was ready and luckily the owners were very patient. It is difficult taking on the older horses but there is a fair swing at the weights and if they are good enough they can do it.

''She's only tiny but she has got a lovely big heart.''

Tregoning is now looking to all the season's top five-furlong contests, including the Nunthorpe Stakes at York and the Prix de l'Abbaye at Longchamp.

''As she likes cut in the ground the Abbaye could be a possibility at the end of the season, five furlongs is her best trip,'' he said.

''She is very quick. She cold be quite useful - I haven't trained many sprinters and she is certainly the best I have trained.''

Pat Eddery was banned for three days (June 27-29) for irresponsible riding of a minor nature on the fifth home Indian Prince after being judged to have caused interference to unplaced Misty Eyed around a furlong out.

Yesterday may have been a first for Tregoning but Sir Michael Stoute is no stranger to the winner's enclosure at the prestigious meeting.

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of his first Royal Ascot victory he landed the Queen Anne Stakes. A photo-finish revealed that Johnny Murtagh on 13-2 shot No Excuse Needed had held on by a short-head, to give Stoute his third straight victory in the curtain-raiser

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