Princess Of Wales's Stakes: guide to runners and tip

began his illustrious career on the July Course at Newmarket and his presence looms large in the Princess of Wales's Stakes (Sponsored By The Kingdom of Bahrain) on Thursday.

Arrest, Time Lock and

Outbox

represent half of the line-up and they were all sired by the equine goliath.

However, it is the prolific

Hamish

, seeking to give William Haggas a belated first win in the race, who heads the market.

It promises to be an absorbing edition. Here’s a guide to all the runners.

Official Rating: 116. July Course form: 1. Odds: 9/2. 

The two-time Yorkshire Cup winner is a stayer with speed, so a good test over this trip should not overly inconvenience him (his past dozen runs have been over a minimum of 14 furlongs). He was better than ever when retaining his crown at York last time, beating Vauban by the best part of five lengths despite being eased towards the finish. Giavellotto has raced mainly on a sound surface, although the ground was on the slow side when he was a good fourth (promoted to third) in the 2022 St Leger. He was an easy winner on his only previous run on the July Course, two years ago, and should make a bold bid to defy his 3lb penalty. 

Official Rating: 108. July Course form: 6312. Odds: 20/1. 

The veteran son of Frankel usually makes the running and Hollie Doyle will be alive to the prospect of him potentially getting an easy time at the head of affairs, as his rivals here are usually ridden with varying degrees of restraint. can be dangerous when getting the run of things, as he showed when springing a 50/1 surprise in the Jockey Club Stakes at Newmarket (Rowley Mile Course) in May, when winning at the main expense of Time Lock. However, he’s twice been below-par on foreign shores since then and a 3lb penalty also heightens his task. Connections are swapping his usual blinkers for cheekpieces to try and regalvanise him. He’s going to need a perfect storm to take this. 

Official Rating: 114. July Course form: --. Odds: 4/1. 

It’s difficult to escape the conclusion that he’s been something of an underachiever, not to mention expensive to follow with his Fan Club probably dwindling after his defeats at Newbury (not seen to best advantage and finished six lengths adrift of Hamish) and Chester (beaten a similar distance by Point Lonsdale) this season. However, Team Gosden now seems in better form than it was at that time and, even more significant, last year’s beaten Derby favourite is going to get the dig in the ground which clearly serves him well. His record on ground ranging between good to soft and heavy, as assessed by Timeform rather than the official going, is 1212. The wins have been achieved by wide margins with the defeats coming in Group One company. He’s got age on his side and everything looks in place for a big run. 

Official Rating: 117. July Course form: --. Odds: 6/4. 

He’s been a fabulous horse for the Haggas family over the past five years, winning 11 of his 20 races and being runner-up in five more – accumulating the best part of £800,000 in prize money in the process. Father Time is stalking the eight-year-old, but he ran as well as he has ever done when chasing home Luxembourg in the Coronation Cup at Epsom last time. In addition, the past two eight-year-olds to run in this have been Cavalryman (won at 9/1 in 2014) and Desert Encounter (third at 20/1 in 2020). is favoured by the conditions of the race and the likely easy ground will be right up his street as it’s a case of the wetter the better for him. 

Official Rating: 102. July Course form: --. Odds: 40/1. 

Looks the weakest link in this line-up, which is reflected by the official ratings. He beat one home in the Copper Horse Handicap at Royal Ascot last time, having previously found Group Three company at Newbury too hot to handle. His connections will no doubt cling to the fact that he revels in the mud and that more rain is forecast to hit Headquarters. But he’s not alone in that department and seems an unlikely candidate to give trainer Raphael Freire a first winner on these shores. 

Official Rating: 110. July Course form: --. Odds: 11/2. 

She’s not been the easiest to catch right and four defeats when 11/8 or shorter in the betting tell their own story. She put it altogether when routing her rivals in the Princess Royal Dubai Stakes at Newmarket in the autumn (Rowley Mile Course) but she spurned a good opportunity back at Headquarters on her return (unable to peg back Outbox) and ran poorly in the Coronation Cup at Epsom last time when equipped with first-time cheekpieces. The headgear is swiftly dispensed, and this more conventional track may also be more to her liking. Her three career wins have all been achieved on a sound surface, with question marks hanging over her ability to handle soft/heavy ground. 

Hamish is the worthy favourite and had Arrest well adrift in the John Porter at Newbury in late April. However, Arrest was not seen to best advantage that day – he raced wide, was keen and possibly short of peak fitness - and looks overpriced to turn the tables. 

1 ARREST. 2 HAMISH. 3 GIAVELLOTTO. 4 TIME LOCK. 5 OUTBOX. 6 MAXI KING.