2026 Royal Ascot Tuesday Preview & Tips – DS
2026 Royal Ascot Tuesday Preview
Dave Stevos has already posted an e/w lucky 15 for the Royal Meeting, you can get those selections here. His 2026 Royal Ascot Tuesday preview is below.
2.30 – Queen Anne Stakes (Group 1)
This race has been kind to us in previous years. Accidental Agent won for us at 33s and last year, Docklands scored at 25s. The latter horse is back to defend his crown but this time, the bookies are well wide to his chances and he’s only a 7/1 poke.
I do think he has a huge chance again this year but we are in the business of finding horses at much bigger prices so we’ll have to look elsewhere.
The most obvious outsider is last year’s shock Champions Day winner, Cicero’s Gift. He won the QEII at 100s in October but he came into that race on the back of a string of placed efforts, while he comes into this having been well beaten behind Opera Ballo and Notable Speech on his first two runs of this season.
Ten Bob Tony would appeal if this were a 7f race and there was a bit of cut but over 1m on fast ground, he’s not for me. For the first time in a long time, I’ll be keeping the powder dry for the Queen Anne. No bet.
2026 Royal Ascot Tuesday Tip: No Bet
3.05 – Coventry Stakes (Group 2)
I’m gutted that Immortal Guard wasn’t declared for this. I was half-tempted to put up Robson De Aguiar’s confirmed runner Bull Shark instead given the yard’s record in this race (two previous runners third and fifth) but it is just too difficult to make a case for backing him on what he has achieved on the track.
One that looks potentially overpriced is the Lingfield runner up, Final Objective. Trained by Hamad Al Jehani, who also runs the seemingly more fancied Royal Heritage, this Sioux Nation colt ran a cracker for this rider on debut 15 days ago.
His inexperience told on the day. A step slow away from the stalls, he raced a shade keenly early doors before pulling his way into midfield. When the winner, Mrair, quickened for home Final Objective got a touch outpaced for a few strides but in the final furlong he picked up strongly and finished off well for second, 2.75l behind the winner.
Mrair had the benefit of previous experience at Lingfield, so I would expect Final Objective to close the gap this time. The latter horse is just 14/1 here, Al Jehani’s colt is 80s. At those odds, I know who I would rather be on. Final Objective is the e/w selection.
2026 Royal Ascot Tuesday Tip: Final Objective e/w @ 80/1 (4 places)
3.40 – King Charles III Stakes (Group 1)
I have already tipped up Ain’t Nobody for this race in our e/w lucky 15. You can now get 125s for 4 places with one firm and 80s for five places with a couple of others. Hopefully, he’s in the mood and if he is, we’ll get a good run for our money.
That being said, him being in the mood is far from guaranteed so we may as well have a go on another one at big odds here. These sprints are always prone to throwing up ‘shock’ winners but when you look at their form afterwards, there was usually a pretty compelling case to be made for them.
One that fits that profile here is the William Knight trained Frosted At Dawn. The booking of William Buick catches the eye and while this daughter of Frosted has run poorly on both starts in 2026, she may have needed the run on her return at Newmarket and last time, good to soft ground was hardly ideal at Haydock.
This mare is at her absolute best when the ground is like the road, just like it was when she was a close third in the Nunthorpe last year and, most interestingly, when she was beaten a neck in this race last season by American Affair.
Surely, she’s been trained for this, she’s had excuses for her last three runs and she’s gone well on two of the three previous occasions Buick has been in the plate. At odds of 50/1, Frost At Dawn looks well worth chancing e/w.
2026 Royal Ascot Tuesday Tip: Frost At Dawn e/w @ 50/1 (5 places); Ain’t Nobody already advised e/w @ 100/1 ante-post
4.20 – St James’ Palace Stakes (Group 1)
A poor turnout of just six. If there were eight or more runners, I’d be tempted to back Power Blue e/w at 100s given how well he ran in the Coventry last year but with just two places on offer and with Bow Echo and Gstaad at the head of the market, discretion may be the better part of valour here. No bet.
2026 Royal Ascot Tuesday Tip: No Bet
5.00 – Ascot Stakes Handicap (Heritage)
A 2m4f handicap. Not one of my favourite races of the week. Watching a load of slow jumpers plod around Ascot is best left to the winter months. No bet.
2026 Royal Ascot Tuesday Tip: No Bet
5.35 – Wolferton Stakes (Listed)
This 1m2f Listed race can be good for an occasional shock. Between 2021 and 2023 we had winners at 14s, 20s and 16s and in 2017 Snoano won at 25s. Will there be another surprise winner this year? I certainly hope so and the one that I think is capable of providing it is the Dr Newland and Jamie Insole trained 4yo, Dividend.
By Kodiac, this gelding enjoyed a productive spell at Meydan over the winter. After back-to-back handicap wins over 9f and 9.5f, Dividend was stepped up into stakes’ company on his next two outings. In the G2 Singspiel Stakes (9f), he finished a fine second, 2.5l behind the 114 rated Quddwah and a head in front of Holloway Boy (rated 113).
G1 Form
On his last outing, Dividend was stepped into G1 company in the Dubai Turf and he again ran with real credit in fifth after not getting the smoothest of passages, finishing 3.75l behind the winner Ombudsman and closing the gap to the runner up Quddwah to just 1.75l. He had the classy Facteur Cheval 1l behind in seventh.
This is arguably an easier race than the last two he has contested and while he has never run or won over a full 1m2f, his sole start at 9.5f in Meydan resulted in victory and at 1m1f, he has form figures of 125. I think odds of 25/1 look pretty crazy given the form Dividend showed the last twice, so he is the each way selection.
2026 Royal Ascot Tuesday Tip: Dividend e/w @ 25/1 (4 places) NAP
6.10 – Copper Horse Stakes Handicap (Class 2)
Another slow-motion affair, this time over a shorter, but still too long, trip of 1m6f. My initial plan was to leave this race alone but then I saw Paddy The Squire had been declared.
I’ve long fancied this horse to land a big one but when we’ve bet him in the past, he’s let us down. Of course, when we weren’t on, at Hamilton last August, he bolted up in the valuable Lanark Silver Bell (1m4f, gd-fm) at odds of just 9/4, which did soften the blow to a certain extent.
On his next outing, off a mark of 101, he ran another excellent race in the Old Borough Cup at Haydock, his first ever try at 1m6f. Given that he was a bit keen early and had to come wide in the straight, he did well to finish fifth, 3.25l behind the winner but just 1.75l behind Stressfree in third.
I thought Paddy The Squire kept on well all the way to the line at Haydock so I have no worries about this trip, once he settles early on and doesn’t race too exuberantly. His quiet comeback run at York should have blown away any cobwebs and he rocks up here with his yard amongst the winners in the last fortnight. At odds of 25/1, Paddy The Squire is the e/w selection.
