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How to bet £20 on day three at Royal Ascot: Catch this Britannia beauty

Last Updated: Tue 5 Dec 2023

Nine horses in the past 40 years have won at least two runnings of the Gold Cup and few will be surprised if Order Of St George improves that tally at Royal Ascot on Thursday after his emphatic victory 12 months ago.

The staying showpiece is a good place to find multiple winners because so few horses stay the extreme trip, although that is not to belittle the exploits of Yeats who won it on four occasions between 2006 and 2009

Order Of St George is a step ahead of Yeats, having won his first Gold Cup a year earlier than him, and it is hard to imagine any of his rivals on Thursday having the pace to also finish third in a Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe - as he did in October when chasing home stablemates Found and Highland Reel.

His blend of speed and stamina are a potent mix but, regardless of the fact that he has officially declined 4lb since last year (no, I don’t get that either), I’m not sure he warrants being as short as Evens and would rather back Sheikhzayedroad each-way at 12-1 with Ladbrokes and Boylesports.

Sheikhzayedroad has proved a fantastic flagbearer for David Simcock and did well to run on and finish about five lengths third in last year’s renewal given he spent the majority of the race tanking along in the rear.

The exaggerated tactics were understandable given the gelding was a doubtful stayer beforehand but, stamina proven, he has since been ridden much more handily in a string of top staying races and run with great credit each time.

Highlights have included victories in the Doncaster Cup and Long Distance Cup (each time at the main expense of Prix du Cadran winner Quest For More), and he ran another cracker on his latest start when a staying-on length and a half third tio Vazirabad in the 2m Dubai Gold Cup.

Martin Harley’s mount will be hard to keep out of the frame and if Order Of St George does not bring his A-Game with him then he might just hit the jackpot.

The main supporting race on the card is the Ribblesdale Stakes, and if the race were awarded to the best bred horse then Mori would win by a street because she is a daughter of Frankel out of the six-time Group One-winning Midday.

Mori has been crying out for the step up to 1m4f but the form of her wins at Ascot and Goodwood is nothing special and, at a best price of 7-2, I’m happy to let her slide. That latter remark is also applicable to Alluringly, who is favourite despite being a distant third in the Oaks.

More interesting, at a general 12-1, is the unbeaten Naughty Or Nice, who could be pretty much anything.

Unraced as a two-year-old, she ended up winning convincingly on her debut over an extended 1m1f at Gowran Park after looking like she was treading water two from home and trading at 259-1 in-running.

John Oxx said afterwards the Irish Oaks entry had been very lazy at home but she certainly woke up in the closing stages and proved much too strong for a subsequent Group Three winner.

Naughty Or Nice showed the benefit of that experience when landing a Listed prize over 1m5f at Navan last time, showing a nice turn of foot to burst clear before repelling the late thrust of Grandee (good winner since).

The daughter of Fastnet Rock should go on improving and Oxx clearly believes she is still keeping something to herself because he is equipping her with first-time blinkers.

Mirage Dancer went into just about every notebook in Britain when fourth to Cliffs Of Moher in the Dee Stakes at Chester but the bookmakers did not miss him, either, and as a consequence he heads the market for the Hampton Court Stakes.

Favourites have a good record in the race - six have obliged since 2005 - but Benbatl boasts much stronger overall form and gets the nod at a general 9-2 to keep up Godolphin’s fine meeting.

Benbatl stayed on from well off the pace to be a highly creditable fifth in the Derby, having previously gone close in the Craven and Dante.

The one niggle is whether his busy schedule is catching up with him but, by the same token, you could argue he is thriving on it. On official ratings, he has 13lb in hand of Mirage Dancer and, while that is probably misleading, it does reflect what each have achieved.

Having backed Wesley Ward at 25-1 to be top trainer at the meeting in a market excluding Aidan O’Brien, I won’t be complaining if McErin keeps him in the game by winning the Norfolk Stakes.

However, Arawak, the horse who in Ward’s words “took McErin to the wire” in a workout at Royal Ascot last week, was well held in the Coventry on Tuesday and that suggests the favourite could be vulnerable.

Fast ground represents an unknown to Santry but this precocious colt impressed when winning a division of the Brocklesby on his debut and again looked a youngster going places when subsequently defying a penalty in commanding style at York.

Consequences (second) and It Dont Come Easy (fourth) have boosted that form with subsequent slick wins, so it is worth taking a chance that Santry will cope with conditions. Doubts about the ground for him are factored into his general price of 13-2 because, if it was on the soft side, he would almost certainly be half those odds.

I’ve filed the King George V Stakes into the too-difficult draw but will be backing Keyser Soze to win the Britannia Stakes at 22-1 with Sky Bet for Richard Spencer/Steve Donohoe - who were on the mark with Rajasinghe in the Coventry on Tuesday.

Keyser Soze showed fair form as a two-year-old but, gelded over the winter, has looked a Group horse in the making this term. Smooth winner of a maiden at Thirsk on his return, he showed fantastic acceleration from off the pace when easily following up off a mark of 83 at Kempton last time.

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