It's one of the biggest Saturdays in the flat racing calendar - with the £750,000 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes the highlight of a superb card at Ascot, coupled with yet another chance to win a massive Scoop6 pot.

The King George is fascinating, with Godolphin superstar Sakhee deposed as favourite by stablemate Grandera as ground conditions continue to dry out.

The latter was a best-priced 15/8 with Coral midweek for the 1m 4f Group One showpiece (3.50). Sakhee may not even make it to post if the going gets too firm and the same may apply to the two Aiden O'Brien entries Bach and Della Francesca, both good ground horses.

Sir Michael Stoute's Golan (8/1) would need to scale new heights to land the King George. More interesting is Mark Johnston's northern raider Zindabad, who proved the "talking horse" midweek when cut from 14/1 to 8/1 by the Tote, though still generally available at 12/1.

Dark horse in the field could well be Marcus Tregoning's Nayef and while the four-year-old has not always lived up to his billing I have long been an admirer. If in the mood and given the run of the race, Nayef's odds of 12/1 could provide the value. But don't lightly dismiss the gutsy Grandera.

The King George is a fitting climax for four televised races on BBC1. The opener at 2.00 is a 1m 2f handicap, in which last year's winner Nadour Al Bahr should again run a big race, although Terry Mills' charge carries a stone more than when winning it in 2001. Sir Michael Stoute's Magnifico is on a hat-trick and can prove the best of the three-year-olds.

The Group Three Princess Margaret Stakes for two-year-old fillies at 2.35 is probably best ignored as a betting proposition, while the £150,000 Tote International Stakes over seven furlongs at 3.10 looks an exceedingly difficult handicap, but will still prove the big betting heat of the day.

Four-year-olds have a decent record in the race and John Gosden's Demon-strate, 7/1 second favourite midweek, appears to be on handy mark.

Four races from Newcastle and a brace from Redcar look likely to make up Saturday's record-breaking Scoop6 contests, all but one of them handicaps - just to make things difficult! Impossible is the word that again springs to mind, but it's there to be won - and a racing millionaire could well be created, given more than just a little bit of luck.

Having said that, here are my first and second suggestions for the likely Scoop 6 races, though check tomorrow's racing press to be doubly sure: 1.20 Redcar - Likely Lady, Drinkin Time, 1.30 Newcastle - Balakiref, Marsh-man, 2.40 Newcastle - Dance On The Top, Sarraaf, 3.15 Newcas-tle - Undeterred, Sir Sandro-vich, 3.45 Newcastle - Gem Bien, Free Will, 3.55 Redcar - Shararah, White Cliffs.

The first of Pontefract's two Sunday meetings of the year takes place this weekend, when the seven-race programme begins at 2.15. Gates open at 11.30 as there is a host of attractions for youngsters. There are also three other meetings on Sunday.