Time to sign off, but please join my esteemed colleague Tony Paley tomorrow for more live racing action. I’ll leave you with Greg Wood’s day four report.
Ten Carat Harry 22-1
“This horse is a beast,” says jockey Juan Hernández. “It means a lot, I’m very happy, I work really hard for my family back in Mexico. This is a dream come true.” He’s going on holiday with his wife after this, and it’s well deserved.
6.10 Palace of Holyroodhouse Miss Yechance gets away quickest, but Bacio is pulling away down the trusty stands-side rail –. Bacio wins by a distance! The favourite is a full four lengths clear of Sandal’s Song, another American horse, who comes home second.
6.10 Palace of Holyroodhouse There’s a delay to the start as Miss Yechance gets very uneasy on the approach to the stalls …
As all those top hats start to feel a little heavy in the heat – I’ll level with you. I’ve taken mine off – we gear up for Friday’s final race, a five-furlong dash in the Palace of Holyroodhouse Handicap.
Palace of Holyroodhouse odds
Ipanema Queen - 16/1
Bar 16/1; odds via Oddschecker
“He was just doing what he had to do,” Moore says of Causeway. “Every time I asked him, he’d give me a little bit more. He has plenty in the tank.”
It’s Ascot win No 98 for Moore,. a 102nd victory here for trainer Aidan O’Brien: he now leads his son Joseph 6-5 over the week. As for Causeway, he is developing a knack for narrow wins to rival his near-namesake, Giant’s Causeway.
5.35 King Edward VII Stakes: Ancient Egypt goes for home,. is holding off the favourite, Causeway – but Ryan Moore digs out the tiniest advantage, and gets there by a nose! Causeway wins the King Edward.
5.35 King Edward VII Stakes: It’s Golden Story and Ancient Egypt setting the early pace down the hill. Just five runners in this one …
Time for the day’s penultimate race, with shadows lengthening over the course. It’s still very warm out there, though, with both Golden Story. Ancient Egypt needing a cool down before slotting into the stalls.
5.35 King Edward VII Stakes odds
Causeway - 1/1 Water To Wine - 2/1 Golden Story - 9/1 Ancient Egypt - 10/1 Venetian Prince - 22/1 Odds via Oddschecker
It’s another winner for trainer Joseph O’Brien, who draws level with his dad at five wins each this week. A great ride from French jockey Mickael Barzalona, who says: “She did everything right … I just ended up there [on the rail]. it worked out.”
A solid return, too, for Rancho Temescal, a California thoroughbred farm who bought Green Carrera last Saturday.
Symbol of Majesty 18-1
Blingy’s Sister 80-1
5.00 Sandringham Stakes: Mubasimah leads Lyrics of Life in the larger group on the inside,. the field fans out at halfway … Green Carrera looks to have the edge, racing down the stands-side rail … Green Carrera holds off Symbol of Majesty with plenty to spare!
An interesting post-race interview with Touleen’s jockey, Saffie Osborne, who is “very frustrated” after feeling she had a clear line to chase down Precise. was “pulled back in” by Wayne Lordan on True Love – the implication being that he was creating traffic to help out his stablemate.
5.00 Sandringham Stakes odds
Symbol Of Majesty - 14/1
Passing Thought - 14/1
14/1 bar; odds via Oddschecker
… and if you’re planning ahead, here are Greg’s tips for Ascot (and beyond) on Saturday.
Newmarket 1.24 Timely Affair 2.00 Al Hudaiba 2.36 Alfaraz 3.11 Bintola 3.47 Sixpack 4.27 Mortubo 5.07 Court Drive
Redcar 1.42 Callisterra 2.12 Cosmic Mystery 2.47 Rubellite 3.22 Schrodinger’s Cat 4.00 Far Above The Law 4.40 Northern Tempest 5.18 Volenti
Ayr 1.48 Thebesthasyetocome 2.18 Ski Angel 2.53 Square Necker 3.28 Approaching Dawn 4.08 Rose Of Honour 4.48 Milford Grange 5.23 Parisiac
Royal Ascot 2.30 Force Noir 3.05 Kalpana 3.40 Satono Reve (nb) 4.20 The Prettiest Star 5.00 Far Above Dream (nap) 5.35 Sahara King 6.10 Le Destrier
Doncaster 5.48 Vegas Lights 6.20 Seven Sisters 6.55 Three Non Blondes 7.30 Master Richard 8.00 Ran Amok 8.30 Bulldog Spirit 9.00 Cranachan
Nottingham 5.55 Cyrano De Bergerac 6.35 Zowal 7.10 Towerlands 7.45 Palmeira 8.15 Ingleby Archie 8.45 Kalokalo
Here’s how Venetian Sun won the Commonwealth Cup earlier …
Winning jockey Ryan Moore says Precise got “an awkward start,”. “kept her going forward, it didn’t really matter about position. She’s a high-class filly. beautifully trained.” That’s about all I can pick up from Moore, who is softly spoken even by jockeys’ standards.
4.20 Coronation Stakes Precise makes a move, with True Love overtaking Moon Target,. unable to keep up with the favourite. Precise wins by a length, Touleen bursting through to grab second place.
4.20 Coronation Stakes An awkward start to this mile-long race, with Rode Ghaiyyath leading Timeforshowcasing. True Love at the back early on …
4.20 Coronation Stakes odds
Black Caviar Gold - 22/1
Timeforshowcasing - 33/1
50/1 bar; Odds via Oddschecker
Jockey James McDonald: “My only objective was to get this horse relaxed, get clear air. the race just panned out for me.” When it’s suggested to him that it’s nigh-on impossible to win this race from stall No 1, he quips: “It’s not impossible, it just happened.”
McDonald hails from New Zealand, and follows up a victory for Australia’s Zac Lloyd on Moonfall in Thursday’s Britannia Stakes.
3.40 Duke of Edinburgh Stakes Climbing towards the finish line, where Omni Man. Mondo Man are well placed – but Warrant Holder makes a move, followed by Opportunity – and it’s Opportunity who denies the royal runner with a fine run down the rail from stall No 1!
The rest are trailing behind the leading pair,. 22-1 shot Regal Ulixes picks up third, having been right at the back at the halfway mark.
3.40 Duke of Edinburgh Stakes Ambiente Friendly leads the early running in this 1.5-mile race, with Nightime Dancer. Serengeti in behind as they approach the turn …
3.40 Duke of Edinburgh Stakes Can Warrant Holder deliver a victory for the King and Queen? He’s set to go off joint-favourite alongside Hopewell Rock. Nineteen in the field for this handicap …
3.40 Duke of Edinburgh Stakes odds
Warrant Holder - 4/1
Nightime Dancer - 10/1
14/1 bar; odds via Oddschecker
Venetian Sun’s part-owner, Tony Bloom, says the win was “delightful, really happy for Clifford coming back after his injury, thanks to the trainer …. what a horse, such an amazing sprinter.” Another decent day at the races for the Brighton owner.
“This filly got me my first Group One in France, and she’s done it again,” says jockey Clifford Lee. “She’s just fantastic to ride. It’s fantastic when days like this happen.”
An incredible moment for Lee, who suffered a life-threatening injury on a cross-country bike ride last October, breaking a vertebra in his neck. spending two days in a coma.
3.05 Commonwealth Cup Away out of the stalls, the field splits into two packs. there’s plenty of jostling for position… Division moves towards the rail with Venetian Sun trying to reel in surprise leader Spicy Marg … and the favourite wins by a noise!
As you can see from the odds below. there’s a battle of great minds coming up as Albert Einstein goes up against Charles Darwin, like something out of TV Burp. The favourite is Venetian Sun, 22 in the field for this Group One race.
3.05 Commonwealth Cup odds
Albert Einstein - 6/1
Charles Darwin - 12/1
Wise Approach - 14/1
22/1 bar; odds via Oddschecker
Dark Issue 22-1; 25 ran
Billy Loughnane, the winning jockey, says Libertango handled heat well at Leicester. “I’m so hungry to ride winners, and be involved in these big races,” he adds.
Sun Goddess must settle for second place, with Light of Dawn third and 22-1 outsider Dark Issue grabbing fourth. Full result to follow …
2.30 Albany Stakes: Sun Goddess looks well placed, at the head of a trio of favourites – but while Light of Dawn is held off, Libertango finds the outside line. gets the better of the big favourite. Libertango wins the Albany!
2.30 Albany Stakes: Libertango. Jolivette have crept into single figures in the betting, but Sun Goddess will likely go off as an odds-on favourite.
Sun Goddess is a huge favourite for the opening Albany Stakes – available at evens. with the nearest challenger, Light of Dawn, at around 10-1. We’re off in 10 minutes …
The daily royal procession is well under way, the King. Queen leading it as they have done each day this week. A rough day for the horse riders in their heavy finery, with temperatures verging on 29 degrees. We also get to enjoy Ed Chamberlain chomping a “sconut”, and some hat chat with a group of milliners. Lovely stuff.
2.30 Albany Stakes odds
Silent Beauty – 14/1
20/1 Bar; odds via Oddschecker
An hour until the first race – catch up with Thursday’s action and Friday’s tips here.
Back to the straight course for the finale,. a chance for the American trainer Wesley Ward, a regular winner at this meeting over the last 15 years, to get another on the board via Bacio, who has been handed the plum draw in stall 31. He arrives with three wins from four starts. the most recent of which was an easy two-length win on firm going at Churchill Downs. Jazl, the winner of his two starts this year including his handicap debut at Leicester last time, is also attracting support despite his low draw in stall five, while Gold Digger, in 10, is another big runner. recently described as potentially being a Group horse in a handicap by his jockey, Saffie Osborne.
Timeform top-rated: Jazl. SELECTION: GOLD DIGGER.
Just five go to post for the “Ascot Derby” in the absence of Echo Of Stars,. there has been a big market move for Aidan O’Brien’s Causeway, who has replaced John & Thady Gosden’s Water To Wine as the favourite since yesterday afternoon, at around 6-5. He arrives on the back of three straight wins this season, including a win in a well-run Group Three at the Curragh in May,. was left in the Derby by his trainer until the final declaration stage. Water To Wine is taking a big step up in class after two wide-margin wins in novice events but has obvious scope for major improvement, while Ancient Egypt, in the Amo Racing colours, was eighth in the Derby for Charlie Johnston. should offer an early test of the Epsom form. Golden Story too deserves a mention. not least because his form when third behind the subsequent French Derby winner, Constitution River, in the Dee Stakes at Chester was handsomely franked when Generic, who was just under three lengths in front of him, won the Hampton Court Stakes here yesterday.
Timeform top-rated: Water To Wine. SELECTION: CAUSEWAY.
Another huge field on the straight mile,. once again the realistic prospect that those drawn on the far side are starting at a significant disadvantage. Add in the fact that the pacey Lyrics Of Life, a front-runner on her last two starts, is drawn in stall 29. what already seems to be a strong bias towards the stands’ side could be further enhanced. It is no real surprise to find Glyfada, drawn in 31 with Oisin Murphy taking the ride, heading the market on 4-1, while Seet (stall 20), Bintaziza (32). Green Carrera (30) are popular too, but I’m going to row in with Gavin Cromwell’s Quiet Mutiny in 25, at around 12-1. Cromwell is better known to punters from his Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning exploits in the jumping game, but he has saddled two winners from just eight starters at this meeting. his runners here are always worth a close look.
Timeform top-rated: Darn Hot Gallop. SELECTION: QUIET MUTINY.
If Aidan O’Brien has not reached 101 Ascot winners already. this race will probably be the one via either Precise or True Love, though whether it takes Ryan Moore any closer to a Royal Ascot century of his own remains to be seen. Wayne Lordan, O’Brien’s No2 rider, has been aboard the winner in both the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket where True Love was five lengths in front of Precise in seventh –. the Irish equivalent at the Curragh, where Precise turned the tables and finished two-and-a-half lengths to the good. Moore has opted for Precise this afternoon. she is odds-on to prove him right, but there may not be quite as much between the pair as the market suggests. Outside the “big two”, Owen Burrows’ Touleen goes to post at around 12-1 to give Saffie Osborne her first Royal Ascot winner,. she may well be better suited to this track than Newmarket, where she was sixth, four-and-a-half lengths behind True Love, in the Guineas. Balantina, trained by Aidan O’Brien’s younger son, Donnacha, has not run so far this season. deserves a mention too given that her last start was a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies’ Turf.
Timeform top-rated: Precise. SELECTION: PRECISE.
All eyes will be on the royal runner Warrant Holder here, as John. Thady Gosden’s runner has as good a chance as any in the scarlet and purple this week, according to the market at least. The four-year-old son of Frankel is currently on offer at around 4-1 to follow up a comfortable success over 10 furlongs at York last time out,. he has winning form at this longer trip too. It is a highly-competitive event, however,. a duo in the Wathnan Racing colours – Hopewell Rock and Opportunity – both arrive with strong credentials along with Emit, whose trainer, Joseph O’Brien, is giving his dad a run for his money in the race for the top trainer prize this week. Ryan Moore, who had a well-backed handicap winner for O’Brien Jr on Thursday, is booked to ride. Further down the list, meanwhile, Christophe Soumillon is an eye-catching booking for Gary. Josh Moore’s Mondo Man, best known to British punters for his hurdling exploits over the winter but prior to that a useful performer on the Flat in France, where his best form included a four-length fifth in the 2024 French Derby.
Timeform top-rated: Hopewell Rock. SELECTION: MONDO MAN.
Friday’s market movers from Oddschecker
Sun Goddess - 10/11 from 5/4
Causeway - 1/1 from 6/4
Albert Einstein - 6/1 from 8/1
Twenty-two runners is the joint-biggest field for this race since it was added to the Royal Ascot schedule in 2015, but there is a standout on form. Venetian Sun will set off at a short price to follow up her decisive success in the Sandy Lane Stakes at Haydock last time. She was down the field in the 1,000 Guineas prior to that win, when she clearly failed to get home,. it was a risk worth taking as she was already a Group One winner as a juvenile in the Prix Morny (narrowly ahead of Gstaad, this year’s Irish 2,000 Guineas winner). If she runs close to her Haydock form out of stall 13, she should win, but her price may persuade many punters to look for an each-way alternative, with Aidan O’Brien’s Albert Einstein, Charlie Appleby’s Wise Approach - the Middle Park Stakes winner last season –. Division, the runner-up behind Venetian Sun at Haydock, high on the shortlist.
Timeform top-rated: Venetian Sun. SELECTION: VENETIAN SUN.
Fresh from registering his 100th Royal Ascot winner here in yesterday’s Gold Cup. Aidan O’Brien will hope to set off towards his second century with Sun Goddess, his only runner in this year’s Albany. It would have been an obvious target for Wednesday’s Queen Mary winner, Victorious, but O’Brien was happy to let her drop back down to five furlongs. rely on Sun Goddess alone for this six-furlong contest. Many punters with winnings from Scandinavia’s Gold Cup will need no further invitation to get stuck in.
Sun Goddess was beaten on her first trip to the track, when a starting price of 6-1 suggested that she was expected to need the experience, but bolted up by five lengths at the Curragh a couple of weeks later. has been a firm favourite for this race ever since. The betting suggests that her biggest threat could be Silent Beauty. in the purple colours of Kia Joorabchian’s Amo Racing operation. She did nothing wrong when winning by four lengths at Yarmouth first time out,. is in a single-figure stall – not ideal given the “golden highway” against the stands’ rail for much of the week. Karl Burke’s Light Of Dawn, who was knocked down to Wathnan Racing for around £550k at the breeze-up sales, is another once-raced winner worth a second look,. Sun Goddess will take all the beating.
Timeform top-rated: Sun Goddess. SELECTION: SUN GODDESS
Greetings one and all, as we head into a sweltering fourth day at Royal Ascot. Here are today’s races:
2.30 Albany Stakes (Group 3) 3.05 Commonwealth Cup (Group 1) 3.40 Duke of Edinburgh Stakes 4.20 Coronation Stakes (Group 1) 5.00 Sandringham Stakes 5.35 King Edward VII Stakes (Group 2) 6.10 Palace of Holyroodhouse Stakes
Day four of Royal Ascot 2026. it’s going to be a scorcher, with peak temperatures of up to 28C forecast for this afternoon. A day for sunscreen, shades. plenty of hydration breaks between races, and also a chance for the punters to press home the advantage after the feature events on the first three days were won by a heavily-backed favourite.
Scandinavia (11-8), in yesterday’s Gold Cup, followed up the victories of Bow Echo (5-6). Ombudsman (11-10) on Tuesday and Wednesday, and there are three short-priced favourites in the first four races today that multiply out to an 8-1 treble.
The punters will look to Aidan O’Brien’s Sun Goddess (5-4) to get them off to a storming start in the Albany Stakes at 2.30,. move on to Venetian Sun (6-4) in the Commonwealth Cup at 3.05, before getting stuck into Precise (4-6) in the Coronation Stakes.
The going at Ascot remains good-to-firm after another 5mm of water was applied overnight,. an interesting point from the GoingStick readings is that there is an increasing disparity between the two sides of the track on the straight course.
The latest reading on the stands’ side – where the high-numbered stalls have been dominant in most of the straight-track races this week – is 8.3. while the far side is 8.9. Given that the stands’ rail has already held sway on the first three days. it is entirely possible that most or all of the runners will come down the near rail this afternoon. The 25-runner Albany will give an early indication.
Picks for the seven races on today’s card are here,. you can follow all the action as it happens here on the blog from early to late.
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