2026 Royal Ascot Thursday Preview & Tips – DS
2026 Royal Ascot Thursday Preview
At the time of writing we had drawn a blank on Day 2. Kentucky Rain had no excuses, Noche Magicia wasn’t held up as I’d hoped and Excellent Believe was also ridden prominently before fading. Frustrating. Dave Stevos’ 2026 Royal Ascot Thursday preview is below.
2.30 – Chesham Stakes (Listed)
Day 3 kicks off with another 2yo race, this one over 7f. The Curragh maiden winner Alix La Chapelle, a Justify colt, is the clear favourite for Ballydoyle at 7/4. However, the form of that win was not enhanced by the runner up in the Coventry on Tuesday so the jury is out for now.
Charlie Johnston runs two here and the bookies reckon that Time For The Moon, who will be ridden by Billy Loughnane, is his main hope. However, I think his stablemate Sword Salute might go well at much bigger odds under Rowan Scott.
Masar
By Masar, who incidentally sired Venetian Lace who was fourth in this race last year for Johnston, this fine stamp of a colt was sent off the 11/8 fav on debut at Redcar (7f, good) and could only manage third, finishing 4.5l behind Revels, who is a 12/1 shot here. Ridden prominently, it looked like he didn’t quite know what was required but it looked certain he’d improve plenty for the experience.
That proved to be the case as he absolutely bolted up in a Lingfield maiden (7f, gd-fm) second time out. Yes, it wasn’t the strongest of races but he could do no more than beat what was in front of him and given his size and run style, he should be well suited to a big galloping track like Ascot.
Obviously, this is a huge step up in class but at odds of 40/1, Sword Salute is the each way selection. Hopefully he makes a bold bid from the front.
2026 Royal Ascot Thursday Tip: Sword Salute e/w @ 40/1 (4 places)
3.05 – King George V Stakes Handicap (Heritage)
This is a 3yo handicap which is usually won by a future stakes performer. To be honest, that doesn’t really help to narrow the field too much because the vast majority of these horses are well bred, with top owners and almost totally unexposed.
William Haggas and Ralph Beckett have been the trainers to follow in recent years, winning four of the last five renewals between them. Haggas has no runner this time but Beckett is double handed with Joulani (10/1) and Tierra Del Toro (15/2), both of whom are a shade on the skinny side for this blog.
At massive odds, maybe the Ger Lyons trained Genchev can go well off what looks a potentially generous mark of 86 on his handicap debut. As a 2yo, Genchev showed promise in maidens without actually winning.
Gelded
Gelded in the off-season, he got to within 2.25l of the now 97 rated Latin America on his seasonal reappearance at Navan (1m2f, gd-yld), keeping on well for second. Then, back at the same venue last time on yielding ground he shed the maiden tag at the fifth attempt, staying on strongly to beat the 85 rated Reynir by half a length.
Being by Without Parole, he should improve lots for faster ground and his dam, a 1m2f listed winner, is a half to two winners at around this trip so 1m4f is another possible plus. One thing that can’t be ignored is Ger Lyons’ atrocious record in the UK in the last 5 seasons (1/22) but with Keane on board, I am going to take a chance on Genchev at odds of 40/1.
2026 Royal Ascot Thursday Tip: Genchev e/w @ 40/1 (5 places)
3.40 – Ribblesdale Stakes (Group 2)
Having looked at this race for what felt like an age, I just couldn’t come up with a valid reason to back any of the outsiders. Dark Lucinda was good on debut but her pedigree suggests this trip may stretch her and the other one at big odds that may have some upside, Brilliant Star, ran disappointingly in a listed heat at Goodwood last time and will need to leave that well behind.
No bet.
2026 Royal Ascot Thursday Tip: No bet
4.15 – Gold Cup (Group 1)
This is a race I rarely bet on and I am not making an exception this year. I am simply not a fan of these marathon distance Flat races and I’m happy to just sit and watch. No bet.
2026 Royal Ascot Thursday Tip: No bet
4.50 – Britannia Stakes Handicap (Heritage)
We’ve got two options here. Back one that likes to be close to the early pace or back one that likes to be held up for a late run. There’s no shortage of horses that like to get on with things so I am going to go for the latter option and back one that should be suited by a strongly run race and a possible pace collapse.
Wechaad is an obvious one after his eye-catching run over 7f at Goodwood last time but the bookies are wise to him. One that was arguably an even bigger eye-catcher in the same race was Pathein, who actually finished in front of the Varian horse, and he is a much better price at around 20s.
Group 3 Form
By St Mark’s Basilica, this colt won his maiden on soft ground at Doncaster (1m) last September when sent off at 28-1. He proved that was no fluke on good to firm in a Newmarket G3 next time. Yes, he only finished fifth but he was only 1.5l behind the winner Hankelow, who is now rated 114.
On his seasonal return he was beaten in a four runner race at Goodwood (1m, good), a run that can easily be forgiven. Ed Dunlop decided to dip his toe in handicap company at the same venue over 7f last time and after meeting all sorts of traffic problems, he flew home when he found daylight for third.
The return to a mile looks a big plus for this colt, as is the fact that he got to experience the hustle and bustle of a big field handicap last time. If Wechaad is a 9/1 poke, there is no way that Pathein should be as big as 20/1 so back him e/w. Hopefully he gets the gaps this time and runs a huge race.
2026 Royal Ascot Thursday Tip: Pathein e/w @ 20/1 (6 places) NAP
5.35 – Hampton Court Stakes (Group 3)
Saeed Bin Suroor won this in 2017 with the mighty Benbatl and Tornado Alert finished runner up last year. He relies upon Mountain Cat in this renewal and this Teofilo colt looked an exciting prospect when winning novices at Doncaster (1m, gd-fm) and Wolverhampton (8.5f) last month.
The second and fourth from his Doncaster race have won since, as did the horse that chased him home last time out at Wolverhampton. Given that he is by Teofilo, the step up to 1m2f should pose no problems, even though his Dubawi dam was best over 7f-8.5f.
It is fair to say that Bin Suroor is no longer the force he once was in his heyday when wins at the top table were a common occurrence. However, when he does get a good one these days, he usually knows how to campaign them and Kieran Shoemark, who takes the ride, is 6-23 with six places when riding for the yard. Hopefully he gets a good tune out of Mountain Cat at odds of 14/1.
2026 Royal Ascot Thursday Tip: Mountain Cat e/w @ 14/1
6.10 – Buckingham Palace Stakes Handicap (Class 2)
A nice and easy get out of jail stakes. We backed Golden Mind in the Victoria Cup over C&D last month when he was sent off at 33/1. Drawn high, like he is here, he got to the rail early and ran an absolute cracker, beaten just 2l into fourth off a mark of 103.
Twelve days ago Fahey decided to give this son of Galileo Gold a go in stakes company at Epsom (7f, gd-sft) and he came up short, finishing last of 8, 12l behind the winner Ten Bob Tony. It was a below par effort but the return to a big field handicap at this venue may well elicit a much-improved display.
Royal Meeting Form
Golden Mind has previous at this meeting too. As a 2yo, he was beaten just 0.75l by Snellen when third in the Chesham over C&D (gd-fm) and as well as his Victoria Cup run here last month, he was also a fine fourth in the Moet And Chandon over C&D (good) last July.
Is he chucked in off his current mark of 103, no, but his last two handicap runs here and at Musselburgh have proved he can be competitive off that rating and given his C&D form figures on good or good to firm ground (344), Golden Mind is worth backing e/w again at odds of 28/1.
