Royal Ascot Day 3: Best bet, each-way selection and treble
Recommended bets include:
We have seven more excellent races to look forward to on Day 3 of Royal Ascot and Aidan O’Brien will be hoping to extend his lead in the fight for top trainer, after being in the winners’ enclosure across both the opening days.
Our race of the day is undoubtedly the Gold Cup, for which a field of 11 were declared. It should be a wide-open renewal and defending champion Trawlerman is in the line-up for John & Thady Gosden.
Fear not, as we have you covered with all the information you need to know about the racing at Ascot on Thursday, as well as some strong fancies to follow.
Day 3 - Key info
First race: 14:30 Chesham Stakes
Feature race: 16:15 Ascot Gold Cup
The schedule has had a bit of shake up this year and the Chesham Stakes (14:30), which used to be run on Saturday, gets us up and running on Thursday.
The Ribblesdale Stakes (15:40) is the Royal Ascot equivalent of the Oaks and there’s also the Group 3 Hampton Court Stakes (17:35), a 1m2f race for three-year-olds.
One of the week’s most prestigious races, the Gold Cup is a 2m4f Group 1 and it takes a special kind of horse to stay the trip.
Aidan O’Brien and John Gosden know what it takes and they train the first two in the market for this year’s renewal.
We’ve also got some handicap action, the first of which is the King George V Stakes (15:05), but there’s also the Britannia Stakes (16:50) and the Buckingham Palace Stakes (18:10).
Best bet of the day
Legacy Link to win the Ribblesdale Stakes (15:40) @ 7/4
Thundering On looked like a very special filly when breezing clear to win the Oaks as she liked but runner-up Legacy Link wouldn’t have appreciated the soft ground that day. With that in mind, she produced an excellent performance to finish second at Epsom.
John & Thady Gosden’s filly knuckled down well to win the Musidora at York before that, although there are some question marks with regards to that form. That was her first run of the season and she’s probably a fair few pounds better than that now.
This race looks a little easier than the Epsom fillies’ Classic last time and a similar performance could well be enough here. The yard’s three-year-olds tend to progress through the year and Legacy Link should follow suit in the hands of Colin Keane for owner Juddmonte.
Best each-way bet of the day
Arctic Dawn in the Buckingham Palace Stakes (18:10) @ 14/1
Daniel & Claire Kubler’s Arctic Dawn was very busy last season and managed to land a maiden at Ffos Las last June. Clearly the son of Blue Point is a 7f specialist and he also managed to land a couple of Class 4 handicaps in good style on the all-weather in the autumn.
He may well have taken a step forward this year too, as he produced a career-best performance to win a Class 3 with loads in hand at Doncaster earlier this month. It’s hard to argue with a 9lb rise from the handicapper and he’s one to keep on side for the time being.
Day 3 acca
We’ll have an accumulator for you every day of Royal Ascot and Thursday’s selections, including the day’s best bet, form a juicy 20/1 treble with LiveScore Bet.
Bet 1: Back Legacy Link to win the Ribblesdale Stakes (15:40) @ 7/4
There’s always the chance that her exertions in the Oaks will catch up with her here but the fact that she runs suggests that all the signs are right at home. She is the one to beat on that Epsom form and should be a tough nut to crack.
Bet 2: Back Scandinavia to win the Gold Cup (16:15) @ 13/8
Aidan O’Brien knows what it takes to win this race, having won it nine times with five different horses. Scandinavia landed the Goodwood Cup and the St Leger at three and his profile screams ‘Gold Cup winner’.
Bet 3: Back Endorsement to win the Hampton Court Stakes (17:35) @ 2/1
It would be very hard not to be impressed by Endorsement’s seven-length success in a 1m4f Listed contest last time out at Leopardstown. Such a dominant display at that level suggests the slight step up in grade should be more than manageable and the best is surely yet to come from him.
