Key events
Mickley is magic in the Britannia Stakes (5.05pm)
Result:
1 Mickley (Callum Rodriguez) 15-2
2 Skukuza (W Buick) 16-1
3 Native Warrior (James Doyle) 22-1
4 Mission To Moon (Oisin Murphy) 25-1
29 ran
Non Runners: 4,27,32
Britannia Stakes (5.05pm)
And they’re off … they are in three groups … it’s difficult to follow … Dragon Leader is prominent … Mickley is up there … Mickley kicks clear and wins in good style.
Gold Cup winner Kyprios is building quite a trophy cabinet
Kyprios – Ascot Gold Cup hero again
🏆🏆 Ascot Gold Cup
🏆 Irish St Leger
🏆 Goodwood Cup
🏆 Prix du Cadran
🏆🏆 Vintage Crop
🏆🏆 Saval Beg pic.twitter.com/ZB7IIG3UPT— Racing TV (@RacingTV) June 20, 2024
Britannia Stakes (5.05pm) market movers
Qirat 6/1 (was 7/1)
Mickley 15/2 (was 8/1)
Starlore 12/1 (was 10/1)
Full details at Oddspedia
Britannia Stakes (5.05pm) betting
Greg Wood
Britannia Stakes (5.05pm) preview
When it comes to a list of the most competitive races at any given royal meeting, the Britannia is rarely out of the top two or three and this year’s renewal will be no exception. Two of the 30 declared runners – Miletus and Bergamasco – have been scratched but punters still have 28 three-year-olds to pick from, most of which are lightly-raced and entirely capable of finding enough to land the spoils if everything pans out their way. Native Warrior, who finished fourth behind the subsequent 2,000 Guineas winner, Notable Speech, on his three-year-old debut in April, improved to win at Nottingham last time and is one for the shortlist, along with Qirat and Volterra, winners at Goodwood and Newmarket respectively last month. Mickley is also a springer in the market today, and I fancy he will go close to following up his win in a strongly-run race at Doncaster last time.
SELECTION: MICKLEY
Hot favourite Kyprios strikes in the Gold Cup (4.25pm)
Result:
1 Kyprios (R L Moore) 11-10 Fav
2 Trawlerman (W Buick) 7-1
3 Sweet William (R Havlin) 9-1
9 ran
Non Runner: 7
Gold Cup (4.25pm)
And they’re off … Trawlerman has the early lead … Enemy is at the back and the hot favourite Kyprios is prominent on the outside … and now taking second place as they pass the post with a circuit to go … Sweet William is now at the back … Gregory is in a good position in third … Caius Chorister is running too keenly and is pulling too hard and goes up to the leader … Kyprios is now in third as they start to head towards home … they are entering the home straight … Kyprios is coming with his challenge … and holds on to regain the Gold Cup after a mighty battle in the closing stages with Trawlerman.
Gold Cup (4.25pm) market movers
Kyprios 6/5 (was Evs)
Vauban 13/2 (was 6/1)
Gregory 7/1 (was 8/1)
Coltrane 12/1 (was 10/1)
Full details at Oddspedia
Just the 34 behind the great Lester now, Ryan Moore …
Gold Cup (4.25pm) betting
Greg Wood
Gold Cup (4.25pm) preview
The field for the meeting’s showpiece race is down to nine after – to no-one’s great surprise – the ground-dependent Trueshan was taken out of the race this morning for the fourth year in a row, but there is a still an intriguing mix of potential and proven form to weigh up as Kyprios sets out to become only the third horse to win the Gold Cup in non-consecutive years. The form of his win here two years ago gives him several pounds to spare on ratings, although the top-class hurdler, Vauban, is still relatively unexposed on the level and ran a very fair trial after six months off when second to Giavellotto in the Yorkshire Cup last month. Gregory, fifth in last year’s St Leger, is attempting to emulate Kyprios by winning as a four-year-old and looks sure to benefit from this step up to a marathon trip, while Trawlerman, the Ebor winner at York two seasons ago, also deserves close consideration following his close third in the Dubai Gold Cup at Meydan in March.
SELECTION: KYPRIOS
After that victory on Port Fairy, Ryan Moore becomes the second winning-most jockey in Royal Ascot history, registering one more than Frankie Dettori with his 82nd winner. The incomparable Lester Piggott still leads the way on 116 winners.
Fairy flies high in Ribblesdale Stakes (3.45pm)
Result:
1 Port Fairy (R L Moore) 12-1
2 Lava Stream (D Tudhope) 20-1
3 Kalpana (Oisin Murphy) 9-4 Fav
12 ran
Non Runner: 3
Ribblesdale Stakes (3.45pm)
And they’re off … Queen’s Fort was slowly away and You Got To Me, running very fresh, is in the lead in the early stages … and has gone many lengths clear … Port Fairy is in second as they turn for home … Lava Stream is going well and takes the lead … Port Fairy fights back and wins for Ryan Moore and Aidan O’Brien.
Celia Imrie is at the track to present a trophy on Gold Cup day.
Ascot crowds are up so far this week … which is bucking the trends for major race meetings this year. Maybe the toffs are splashing the cash before Labour gets in?
Ribblesdale Stakes (3.45pm) market movers
Diamond Rain 11/4 (was 9/4)
You Got To Me 4/1 (was 9/2)
Full details at Oddspedia
Ribblesdale Stakes (3.45pm) betting
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Kalpana 5/2
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Diamond Rain 11/4
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You Got Me 9/2
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Rubies Are Red 14/1
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Siyola 14/1
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Port Fairy 16/1
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Danielle 18/1
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Lava Stream 25/1
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Higher Leaves 40/1
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Queens Fort 66/1
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BAR 100/1 – (12 Starters)
Greg Wood
Ribblesdale Stakes (3.45pm) preview
Ascot’s version of the Oaks, a race for three-year-old fillies over a mile-and-a-half, and a chance too for Charlie Appleby, the champion trainer on the Flat in 2021 and 2022, to break a losing streak at the royal meeting that now stretches to 23 runners after the defeat of Notable Speech, the 6-4 favourite, in Tuesday’s St James’s Palace Stakes. Appleby drew a blank at last year’s meeting (and at Glorious Goodwood and York’s Ebor Festival too), and while a £500,000 gap to Aidan O’Brien, the current leader in the title race, is hardly unsurmountable at this relatively early point in the season, a winner or two over the next three days would be very welcome. Diamond Rain, his runner here, is unbeaten after two trips to the track and ran out an impressive winner of Newbury’s Fillies’ Trial in May, and while she had no fancy entries at the time, Appleby has opted to supplement her for today’s race. She could easily dot up, but there are several similarly unexposed types in opposition and Kalpana in particular could put up stiff resistance. She was a length-and-a-quarter behind a very promising type in Friendly Soul at Newmarket in May and while the winner did nothing to frank the form when well beaten in the Musidora at York, the time of the Newmarket race suggests that it is a very solid benchmark.
SELECTION: KALPANA
Going The Distance rules in King George V Stakes (3.05pm)
Result:|
1 Going The Distance (Rossa Ryan) 9-1
2 Neski Sherelski (J P Spencer) 33-1
3 Go Daddy (Lewis Edmunds) 25-1
4 Fouroneohfever (Billy Loughnane) 10-1
19 ran
King George V Handicap (3.05pm)
And they’re off … Warda Jamila and Highland Bling have got off to a good start but City Burgular has the lead as they settle down … Gilded Water is in a very good position on the inside behind the leading pack … turning for home … Assailant takes the lead but here comes Going The Distance comes from near last to first to win!
King George V Handicap (3.05pm) market movers
Autumn Winter 9/1 (was 11/1)
Going The Distance 12/1 (was 10/1)
King George V Handicap (3.05pm) betting
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Gilded Water 11/2
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Chantilly 13/2
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French Duke 17/2
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Poniros 17/2
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Autumn Winter 11/1
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Gallantly 11/1
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Going The Distance 12/1
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Fouroneohfever 14/1
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Gasper De Lemos 14/1
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Persica 18/1
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BAR 25/1 – (19 Starters)
Greg Wood
King George V Handicap (3.05pm) preview
The first royal runner of the meeting, in the race that was memorably won by Desert Hero in the famous scarlet and purple colours 12 months ago – hats off, gawd bless ‘em, three hearty cheers, etc. etc – and Gilded Water deserves to set off as one of the favourites after a seven-and-a-half length success in a maiden event at Chester last month. That was over 10 furlongs, and as his dam was by the great Galileo, he seems sure to appreciate this step up to 12. Gilded Water was second-favourite overnight but has taken over as favourite with most bookies this morning, but plenty of his backers are unlikely to be too price-sensitive and the good news for the bookies is that there are plenty of opponents with the potential to puncture the patriotic fervour. Aidan O’Brien’s Chantilly, who finished third in the ultra-competitive London Gold Cup at Newbury, is sure to appreciate this step up to 12 furlongs, a comment that also applies to Poniros, who was in front of Chantillly at Newbury but is 1lb worse off here. French Duke, a maiden after three starts, another one to for money this morning, and while he has yet to register a win, he was mighty close to doing so when showing improved form in a warm maiden at Newbury.
SELECTION: CHANTILLY
Wathnan Racing’s retained rider James Doyle welcome the Emir of Qatar’s racing operation’s arrival on the racing scene.
Shareholder collects the cash in Norfolk Stakes (2.30pm)
Result:
1 Shareholder (James Doyle) 12-1
2 Tropical Storm (Oisin Murphy) 11-1
3 Arizona Blaze (David Egan) 14-1
13 ran
Non Runner: 5
Norfolk Stakes (2.30pm)
And they’re off … Whistlejacket is prominent in the early stages … Shareholder took up the lead on the far side and those in that contingent appeared to have the advantage and the Karl Burke-trained runner was never headed. Another success for the coming racing superpower, Wathnan Racing.
Non-runner alert
Grey Cuban will not run in the Britannia Stakes (5.05pm).
Norfolk Stakes (2.30pm) market movers
Whistlejacket 5/6 (was 11/8)
Tropical Storm 12/1 (was 14/1)
Arizona Blaze 14/1 (was 16/1)
Moving Force 16/1 (was 18/1)
Full details at Oddspedia
ITV Racing host Ed Chamberlin is thinking along the same lines (see the earlier post on this subject). “Does it need a Taylor Swift or the Obamas?” he mentions to Charlotte Hawkins and Brough Scott on the channel as the royal procession makes it way down the track.
Queen’s Hat Stakes (2pm)
1 White 100-30 fav
Norfolk Stakes (2.30pm) betting
Market movers update
2.30 – Tropical Storm 25/1 -> 9/1
3.45 – You Got To Me 9/1 -> 7/2
5.05 – Qirat 8/1 -> 5/1
Full betting details at Oddschecker
Greg Wood
Norfolk Stakes (2.30pm) preview
Aidan O’Brien is likely to saddle the favourite in three of the first four races on today’s card, and Whistlejacket, his runner in this juvenile sprint, is likely to set off at the shortest price of the trio, Whistlejacket, named after George Stubbs’s magnificent painting which can be viewed in the National Gallery, is a full brother to Little Big Bear, the winner of the Windsor Castle Stakes here two years ago, and arrives with a very similar profile, having been beaten by inexperience on his first trip to a track before the penny dropped second time up. It dropped in no uncertain fashion where Whistlejacket is concerned, as he powered nearly four lengths clear of the runner-up in a Listed race at the Curragh, and did so in a very quick time to boot. Today’s good-to-firm ground will be an unknown and there are plenty of lightly-raced types in opposition, but they all have plenty to find with the favourite on his latest form and Whistlejacket could well take another step forward, too.
SELECTION: WHISTLEJACKET
Market movers
We have the third of our regular daily market movers bulletin in courtesy of the folks at Oddschecker. These are the horses supported overnight:
3.05 – Chantilly 13/2 -> 5/1
3.05 – French Duke 9/1 -> 7/1
3.45 – Kalpana 9/2 -> 3/1
Royal Procession (2pm)
The runners are in for the first event, the one that the bulk of the crowd are perhaps more captivated by than the actual races. And Thursday’s list is hardly getting me excited. It’s mostly a Windsor family outing and overall pretty boring and predictable, apart from perhaps the Princess Zahra Aga Khan. I suspect when the Prince of Wales is king we might see more commoners in those carriages (nap) and might he do away with the ‘Mrs Mike Tindall’ styling for females in the carriages? That’s Zara to you and me.
1st Carriage
The King
The Queen
The Duke of Devonshire
The Duchess of Devonshire
2nd Carriage
The Duke of Edinburgh
The Duchess of Edinburgh
The Earl of Snowdon
Princess Zahra Aga Khan
3rd Carriage
The Princess Royal
Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence
The Lady Sarah Chatto
Mr. Daniel Chatto
4th Carriage
The Duke of Richmond and Gordon
The Duchess of Richmond and Gordon
Mr. Mike Tindall
Mrs. Mike Tindall
It’s almost that time again … the royal procession will make its way down the track is back, as ever, at about 2pm and we can expect the details of who will be in the carriages at 12 noon. The King is expected to return after missing the racing yesterday but those in the carriages who are entertained at lunch in advance by the monarch at Windsor Castle are never revealed each day at Royal Ascot until 12 noon.
There’s apparently a surprise for those guests this week for, as revealed in the Mail this morning, a disgraced royal has been on hand at Windsor. The Ephraim Hardcastle column states: “Prince Andrew, banned from being seen in public but still royally indulged … is currently on hand at Windsor Castle to entertain the King’s house guests. It apparently comes as quite a shock to some, assuming he’d been banished, to find Andrew gurning at them across the drinks table when they arrive.”
This is also the time when I mention the Serpentine gallery exhibition by artist Mark Wallinger I saw back in 1994 when one of his installations, called ‘Royal Ascot’, consisted of a series of video monitors on top of wheeled flight cases, each isolating the royal carriage’s leisurely progress down the track on the Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (respectively, as it was then) of the meeting with, as the British Council points out in their description of the artwork, “the difference from day to day is barely discernible, just as the four commentaries merge in a confused blather.”
Queen’s Hat Stakes (2pm) preview
There was always a lively betting market on the colour of the Queen’s hat when Queen Elizabeth II was attending the meeting and Ladbrokes are betting on what colour tifter Queen Camilla will be sporting. Our form guides are the team at BestofBets.com who always keep a close eye on this novelty market and they state: “Following two days of blue, and with a hat-trick of blue being unlikely, bookies are in disagreement about which colour hat the Queen will wear on Gold Cup day at Royal Ascot with cream/white and pink competing over the top spot. It’s well known that Queen Camilla tends to opt for a neutral colour palette with pale pink being part of her repertoire; and with Ladies Day today, many believe she’ll pick a pink number, another firm favourite of her late mother-in-law. The other two colours we are likely to see this week are green and purple.”
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Ladbrokes bet:
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White/cream 10/3
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Pink 9/2
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Yellow 5/1
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Green 11/2
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Blue 6/1
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Orange 8/1
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Purple 9/1
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Red 14/1
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Grey/silver 14/1
Here’s your line-up for today’s sport, courtesy of a classy Ascot tweet, er X, oh you know what I mean:
Day 3 of #RoyalAscot 2024 has dawned, and it’s none other than Gold Cup Day. The excitement is electric as we gear up for one of the most prestigious days in the racing calendar. pic.twitter.com/uFh2USvNzR
— Ascot Racecourse (@Ascot) June 20, 2024
Here are the horses you can cross off today as they aren’t turning up
Royal Ascot non-runners
2.30pm Norfolk Stakes (Group 2)
5 Evening Saigon (declared in error)
3.45pm Ribblesdale Stakes (Group 2)
3 Forest Fairy (self cert – going)
4.25pm Gold Cup (Group 1)
7 Trueshan (going)
5.05pm Britannia Stakes (Heritage Handicap)
4 Bergamasco (other – sold privately and cannot take up engagement)
27 Miletus (will run on Saturday in the Golden Gates Handicap)
6.15pm Buckingham Palace Handicap
3 Awaal (vet’s cert – skin disease)
8 Ropey Guest (self cert – not eaten up)
The going for day three, as outlined in Greg’s preamble, is, wait for it, … still Good to Firm. We’ll be posting the going stick readings every day here at this time but it’s likely to stay the same given the weather forecast seems to be set fair. At present there still doesn’t seem to be any great advantage on either side of the straight track.
GoingStick readings at 8am:
Stands’ side: 8.3
Centre: 8.1
Far side: 8.2
Preamble
Greg Wood
Good morning from Royal Ascot on Ladies’ Day, the traditional highlight of the royal meeting with the Gold Cup – officially not the Ascot Gold Cup – as the feature race on the card.
The UK’s only two-and-a-half mile Group One is not quite the jewel in the crown that it was a century-and-a-half ago, when the Gold Cup was often seen as the automatic long-term target for a Derby winner in his four-year-old season.
But it has weathered a spell around the turn of the century when staying events in general seemed to be falling out of favour, and is once again a prize that every owner wants to win, not least because the reigning monarch will be handing over the trophy.
The late Queen Elizabeth II won every British Classic bar the Derby, but was still reckoned to feel that presenting the prize to herself after Estimate’s win in 2013 was the highlight of her many decades as an owner. And it is a race that remains very popular with the commoners too, as the winners often return year after year to defend their crown.
That is exactly what Kyprios seemed likely to do when he won the race as a four-year-old in 2022, and though he was denied the chance of a second success by injury last year, he will set off as a warm favourite to make up for lost time at 4.25 this afternoon. The King and Queen, meanwhile, do not have a runner in this year’s race, but they do have a live contender for the King George V Stakes in Gilded Water at 3.05, a race they memorably won last year with Desert Hero.
The weather forecast here remains fine and dry, and the good-to-firm going is perfect summer ground. Some picks for the afternoon’s seven races are here – showing a teeny-tiny profit for the meeting after two days, so no doubt downhill from now on – and the action is underway with the Norfolk Stakes at 2.30.
Quick Guide Greg Wood’s Thursday tips
Show
Ripon
1.35 Stellarmasterpiece
2.05 Lovely Spirit
2.40 Canaria Queen
3.20 Garden Oasis
3.55 Manila Scouse
4.35 Continuance
5.10 Mambha
Chelmsford
2.15 Foro Romano
2.50 Dark Side Prince
3.30 Qamari
4.10 Tarjeeh
4.50 Chourmo
5.20 Noodle Mission
Royal Ascot
2.30 Whistlejacket
3.05 Chantilly
3.45 Kalpana
4.25 Kyprios
5.05 Mickley (nap)
5.40 King’s Gambit
6.15 Bopedro (nb)
Wolverhampton
5.28 Pique’
6.00 Cavallo Bay
6.35 Synthesize
7.10 They
7.40 Muttasil
8.10 Baroque Buoy
8.40 Ustath
Lingfield Park
6.25 Bakersboy
7.00 Worrals
7.30 Pit Boss
8.00 Porfin
8.30 Secret Bid
9.00 Spring Is Sprung
