‘He’s head and shoulders above’ – Aidan O’Brien’s four best chances at Royal Ascot

Aidan O’Brien is arguably the greatest trainer of his generation and he has an unfathomable amount of winners at the top level. He’s also Royal Ascot‘s leading winning-most trainer of all-time with 85 successes, after surpassing Sir Michael Stoute’s total of 82 last year. It’s inconceivable that he fails to add to the tally this year so we’ve picked out his four best chances at the royal meeting. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.

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St James’s Palace Stakes

Henry Longfellow is out of the world-class mare Minding and is by Dubawi, one of the best stallions around. Unbeaten in three starts as a juvenile, he absolutely bolted up in National Stakes and the second went on to frank the form. Nothing went right in the French Guineas last time out and he’s miles better than that. A significantly improved performance is anticipated and he could be the best of the bunch.

Gold Cup

Kyprios was a gutsy winner of this race back in 2022 but injury prevented him from defending his crown. His most recent run over 2m4f resulted in a 20-length demolition job in the Prix du Cadran at Longchamp so he clearly stays the trip well. Last year’s winner is absent so he looks head and shoulders above his rivals here and the market knows he’s by far the most likely winner.

Coronation Stakes

Opera Singer blossomed in the latter stages of the season last year and she was an impressive winner of the Prix Marcel Boussac at Longchamp. A setback caused her to miss the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket and she made a belated reappearance in the Irish equivalent last month. She looked badly in need of the run and we should see a much sharper filly this time around.

Hardwicke Stakes

Continuous won the St Leger in impressive style last term and he backed that up with a more than reasonable fifth in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. He was a little short of room at a key stage that day and may well have finished closer. O’Brien’s four-year-old should be a force over 1m4f this season and this is a good opportunity to make a winning start.

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