Royal Ascot Day 3 Racing Tips – Whistlejacket can land Norfolk Stakes At Royal Ascot

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We came away with two winning selections on day two of Royal Ascot, with Illinois and Auguste Rodin winning in style under jockey Ryan Moore.

Ryan Moore's ride on Auguste Rodin was top drawer. He sat off the pace, picked up the pieces into the straight, and was strong in the finish to see off the eventual second Zarakem. I've been on the wrong end of some of Auguste Rodin's performances in recent times but when the horse turns up, he turns up and it's as simple as that.

Day three of Royal Ascot awaits and I've previewed three races that I fancy my chances of finding another winner.

Ascot 2:30 – Norfolk Stakes (Group 2) – Whistlejacket 11/10

The first race of Day three of Royal Ascot is the Norfolk Stakes, which is a Group 2 for two-year-olds over the minimum trip of 5f. There hasn’t been a domination from any trainer in recent years for this race, so following a certain name hasn’t been a good tactic, which is great for the game as it allows unlikely trainers to get Royal Ascot wins on their CV.

Arizona Blaze

Last year’s winning connections of trainer Adrian Murray and owner AMO Racing have Arizona Blaze for back-to-back victories. Last year’s winner for Adrian Murray came as a huge shock when Valiant Force won at odds of 150/1. Arizona Blaze has taken a similar route to last year’s winner, running in the Listed race and Group 3 that Valiant Force ran in before winning today’s race. Arizona Blaze managed to win the Group 3 whereas VF was 5th/6, so on paper, he’d have a better chance.

Being by Sergei Prokofiev, the fast ground should be up Arizona Blaze’s street as his father was very effective as a 2yo on similar ground, and he ran well on good ground last time out over slightly further. He probably can hit the frame, but I’m more than happy to look elsewhere.

Moving Force

Richard Fahey has done well in this race, as he managed to land back-to-back wins in 2021 and 2023, so both of his runners need to be checked. Loom showed an improved level of form from his first start when winning at Hamilton. The form of that race doesn’t look particularly strong and the stable jockey is onboard Moving Force, who appears to be their best chance.

Moving Force was beaten at Beverley by a Karl Burke newcomer who is in today’s race, and despite being 7lb better off, I can’t see a reverse in that form, so I doubt he is good enough to win this.

Shareholder

Karl Burke’s 2yo’s have been firing on all cylinders this year and he brings two winning debutantes to this race, and it’s probably hard to split them.

I thought Shareholder was impressive on debut when beating Moving Force at Beverley. He didn’t break well and was isolated on the wing, which meant he had no cover which is not ideal for an inexperienced horse, but he travelled brilliantly through the race and was probably idling when the runner-up tried to eyeball him. I’d say he is the best of the UK bunch, but I think he might struggle to beat Aidan’s horse.

Whistlejacket

Aidan O’Brien has also hit the ground running with his juveniles, especially in Ireland where he has been operating at a 42% SR on turf with his juveniles. To put that into perspective, he is normally operating at a 24% SR.

On figures, Whistlejacket is the best of the bunch, so it’s not a surprise to see the price being so short, but he was so impressive at the Curragh last time out when making all. He has to prove he handles quick ground as it was on soft ground last time out, but he is a full brother to Little Big Bear who was a superb two-year-old sprinter, shown when winning at Royal Ascot 2022 on good to firm ground.

Ascot 3:45 – Ribblesdale Stakes (Group 2) – Rubies Are Red 16/1 EW

For the third race of the day, we have the Ribblesdale Stakes Group 2 for 3yo Fillies running over 12f (1m 4f) and at a first glance, this doesn’t look like a vintage renewal.

Diamond Rain

On official ratings the Charlie Appleby trained Diamond Rain is at the top and she is a perfect 2/2 in her lightly raced career to date. She has course experience when winning on debut, showing a good attitude over a trip that was evidently too short, before winning a Listed race at Newbury in the middle of May.

Her recent run has produced a decent figure, but I’m more than happy to take her on at the prices as this is totally different than a five-runner race, so we don’t know how good the form is.

John & Thady Gosden

The father and son duo have a good record in this race, more John than Thady, but they are a joint training partnership now, so Thady has to be mentioned. John won this race in 2008 and then had a great spell when winning it in 2017, 2019, 2020, and then Thady won it alongside his father in 2021.

They send three runners for this race, and all seemingly need to improve if they want to get their name etched into the trophy. Siyola was behind Diamond Rain at Newbury, and it’s hard to see a reverse in that form. Danielle had every chance of winning the Oaks Trial at Lingfield but couldn’t get past You Got To Me and Queens Fort has done her racing at a much lower level and is a complete unknown.

Rubies Are Red

Ryan Moore has opted to ride Port Fairy out of the Aidan O’Brien pair, and I’m not sure he has chosen the correct one. Port Fairy wasn’t fancied to win the Chester Oaks Trial and I don’t really rate that form when finishing behind Forest Fairy.

I think Rubies Are Red is a cracking EW bet for this race, she looks slow as a boat but stays every yard of the trip and will appreciate the stiff nature of Ascot. She took an eternity to get going in the Lingfield Trial race when finishing behind You Got To Me, but she stayed on powerfully, and given the easy lead the winner had during that race, it was a very eye-catching run.

Rubies Are Red was disappointing in the Oaks at Epsom, but not every horse takes to that track and the occasion can often put them out of their comfort zones, so I’m willing to ignore that and give her a chance based on her strong staying performance at Lingfield.

Ascot 4.25 – Gold Cup – Coltrane 12/1 EW

Kyprios is a short-priced favourite to win the Ascot Gold Cup and regain his crown, but I think he has serious question marks hanging over him and is worth taking on in this year's Gold Cup. Kyprios emerged as an impressive winner of this race back in 2022, showcasing throughout the season that he was one of the best stayers in the business by securing six consecutive wins. Among these victories, four were achieved at the top level in Group Ones.

However, Kyprios had an injury setback and was out of action for nearly a year. Following his return from injury, Kyprios was unable to replicate his previous form when finishing second on two occasions behind both Eldar Eldarov and Trawlerman.

I'm not sure he's as good as he once was and if going by his most recent outings at Navan and Leopardstown, which on paper should have been straightforward, then I'd say the answer is probably not. He did win on both of them outings however the manner in which he did was far from impressive and at a current price of 11/10, I've opted to look elsewhere.

Coltrane

I finally decided on Andrew Balding's Coltrane, who at 12/1 could represent a good each-way angle into this contest. Coltrane is a strong stayer which ultimately is the first box that needs to be ticked when picking a horse to win in this race. He also has a great record at the track with form figures of 121251, one of which includes an Ascot Stakes win over this course and distance and a second behind Courage Mon Ami 12 months ago in this same race, which saw him go down by only a length and a half.

My selection's form somewhat dipped towards the end of last year but he returned to form when landing the Sagaro Stakes for the second time at this very same track. He won by a head that day when getting the better of David Menuisier's Caius Chorister.

You can argue the form of that run is particularly strong given Caius Chorister and Sweet William who finished second and third on that occasion have went on to finish first and second in the Henry II Stakes at Sandown last month. With that said, the Henry II Stakes is over 2m rather than the 2m4 that they will run over tomorrow and I feel Coltrane has the stamina edge of both them horses.

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