Day Three

In a similar style to day two, the third day of Royal Ascot starts with a blink and you’ll miss it five furlong sprint for juveniles. The Norfolk Stakes has not seen a winning favourite since 2008, with the last four winners all starting at 8/1 or bigger. Four winners in the last decade have gone off at double figure prices so it’s a tricky opening contest.

The Hampton Court Stakes is a Group 3 contest over a mile and a quarter, but the last three winners have been Time Test, Hawkbill and Benbatl who won three Group 1’s and five Group 2’s between them so a progressive type tends to score in this contest before going onto better things.

The Ribblesdale Stakes is the next on the card, a mile and a half contest for fillies. This is the Oaks of the meeting, though the Epsom contest that comes only a few weeks before tends to be a bad guide to this race. Both Lah Ti Dar and Sun Maiden had to miss Epsom but that should work in their favour at Royal Ascot, so it’s no surprise that the pair of them head the betting.

The day three feature is the biggest race of the entire week, the Gold Cup. Aidan O’Brien has won this race seven times since 2006, the favourite once more coming from Ballydoyle in the shape of Order Of St George. He found only Big Orange a short head too good in 2017 and with that rival sadly missing this time around, he will be a hot favourite to give O’Brien win number eight.

The 5.00pm is a fiendishly difficult handicap for the third day on the bounce, the Britannia Stakes over the straight mile is confined to those who are three. Four winners of 20/1 or bigger in the last decade, with Jamie Spencer the winning jockey in both 2016 and 2017 on a straight track that suits his patient style.

The day three card closes with the King George V Stakes, a mile and a half handicap that has been feast or famine for punters. Six of the last ten winners have started at 7/1 or shorter but with 20/1 and 66/1 winners in there over the same time period, there have been some shocks as well.