Prince of Wales’ Stakes Trends

The Prince Of Wales’s Stakes is the biggest race on Day Two at Royal Ascot as a Group One over a mile and a quarter, and with a long list of top-class winners including So You Think, The Fugue, and most recently Highland Reel for Aidan O’Brien who has won this three times in the last ten years. £750,000 in total prize money is not to be sniffed at and the 2018 renewal has attracted an amazing field that includes Champion Stakes winner Cracksman, Coral Eclipse winner Hawkbill, and Mooresbridge Stakes winner Cliffs Of Moher to name just three. The formbook tells us most that we need to know, but do the trends back up the market view – let’s have a look.

You can also view our Prince Of Wales’s Stakes tips here.

• Odds – Not one winner in the last 21 runnings has started at odds bigger than 20/1.
• Age needs consideration – 20 of the 21 winners have been aged four or five with just the one older horse victorious
• Official Ratings – Just the one horse in 21 years has been rated below 117.
• Previous run – 20 of the last 21 winners had finished in the first four home on their previous outing.

Trends – All Runners

Cliffs Of Moher ✅✅❌✅

Cracksman ✅✅✅✅

Desert Encounter – ❌❌❌✅

Eminent ✅✅❌❌

Hawkbill ✅✅✅❌

Poet’s Word ✅✅✅✅

Royal Julius ❌✅❌✅

Trends Analysis

A top class renewal as expected though it does appear the odds on favourite Cracksman has frightened away a few and he looks likely to prove very difficult to beat. He fits every single trend we can find for this contest and with a record of seven wins from nine starts he clearly deserves his place at the head of the betting and sadly he looks very difficult to oppose for an in-form stable.

Trends followers will notice that Poet’s Word is the only other runner in this small but select field to get a four out of four rating though he does sit second in the market and therefore doesn’t really represent any each way value. He did take the Brigadier Gerard Stakes last time out which has often proved a pointer to this contest but needs to find more this afternoon.

Hawkbill arrives as an underrated horse who has never really caught the public’s imagination, but he is very decent at his best and first-time blinkers look interesting, though he does have twenty-five lengths to find with Cracksman on Epsom form. He may have to settle for a place here, though he does tick three boxes and won’t be too far away.

Aidan O’Brien horses are always hard to pass over and Cliffs Of Moher looks the last of the seven runners worthy of consideration, according to the trends at least. Yet to succeed in this class he needs a career best by some margin to be successful here though he is only four and may yet have more to offer over time.

With the possible exception of Eminent who has always been held in the highest regard (but still only ticks the two boxes), the rest look to be playing for the minor money at best.

See our Royal Ascot tips section for all our tips, previews and content.

Read the full race preview for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes here!