The Group 1 Coronation Stakes and the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup headline the six-race Royal Ascot card on Friday as two more American horses try to land a punch in England. Wesley Ward, who saw his well-bet chances Lady Aurelia in the King’s Stand on Tuesday and Chelsea Cloisters in the Queen Mary on Wednesday go down quietly, runs the 2-year-old Stillwater Cove in the Albany Stakes, the first race on a program that begins at 9:30 a.m. Eastern on Friday. Todd Pletcher has a horse for the Commonwealth in Gidu, a 25-1 chance in early betting Wednesday. The Commonwealth (race 3, 10:40) drew 17 entrants set to run six furlongs down a straight course, with Equilateral and Sioux Nation tepidly favored in early betting. Charlie Hills trains the homebred Equilateral for Khalid Abdullah of Juddmonte Farms, and the Equiano colt is the mount of jockey James McDonald, who won his first Royal Ascot race Wednesday, guiding Expert Eye to a decisive Jersey Stakes score for Abdullah and trainer Michael Stoute. Equilateral takes a steep class rise from a minor race at Doncaster to the Group 1 level, but won last out over the same sort of fast ground expected for Friday’s card by eight lengths at the Commonwealth distance. Second favorite Sioux Nation might be more appealing, however. He won the Norfolk Stakes last year as a 2-year-old at Royal Ascot, enters in apparently strong form for trainer Aidan O’Brien, and has shown a preference for firm turf. Sands of Mali, already a two-time group stakes winner this year, would have rated a stronger chance over a more forgiving course. Gidu, the Pletcher horse, will have no issue with the course conditions but is probably not good enough to crack the top three. Clemmie, another O’Brien-trained horse, is co-favored with Alpha Centauri in the one-mile Coronation (which is run around a right-handed bend) despite the fact that Alpha Centauri beat her by almost eight lengths May 27 at The Curragh in the Irish 1000 Guineas. Clemmie, in her defense, was making her first start since September in that race, but she did not perform especially well in the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot a year ago. Alpha Centauri, a Niarchos homebred trained by Jessica Harrington in Ireland, has won half of her six starts and should be comfortable over fast ground Friday. The race includes two other Guineas winners. Billesdon Brook scored a massive upset in the English 1000 Guineas and was flattered when runner-up Laurens won the Group 1 Prix de Diane last Sunday. Teppal, who has started only three times, won the French 1000 Guineas in her most recent race. None of Ward’s horses have distinguished themselves at this Royal meeting, and Stillwater Cove won a Keeneland maiden race by just a nose in her only start. Her Albany rivals include a pair of O’Brien-trained horses who head the betting, Just Wonderful and Fairyland.