2025 Royal Ascot Friday Preview & Tips – DS
2025 Royal Ascot Friday Preview & Tips
Dave landed a 25/1 winner on our blog on Tuesday and he is back in action with us today. His 2025 Royal Ascot Friday tips are below.
2.30 – Albany Stakes (Group 3)
Seventeen fillies will line up in the stalls for the opening race of day 3. There’s quite a few at big odds you could make a solid case for. The form of Oh Cecilia’s win at Cork wasn’t done any harm by Rogue Legend in the Windsor Castle on Wednesday and a similar sentiment applies to Bibi Dahl, who chased home the Queen Mary runner up Lennilu on debut.
They should both be suited by the step up to 6f but so should Fairy Oak, who made a very eye catching debut behind Warsaw in a Navan maiden just thirteen days ago. The winner could only manage a midfield finish in the Coventry on Tuesday but in his defence, he didn’t have the best of draws and 6f might just have stretched him.
Fairy Oak, a daughter of rookie sire A’Ali, was held up in that Navan race and 2f out it looked like she was going to finish nearer the back than the front. However, once Jamie Powell administered a couple of smacks of the persuader she picked up really strongly and stayed on to be best of the rest in second.
On that evidence (and on the dam side of her pedigree) this step up to 6f is really going to suit her and this time, she’ll have the considerable assistance of Colin Keane in the saddle. Ascot has not been a happy hunting ground for Michael O’Callaghan in the past but hopefully Fairy Oak can change that for him at odds of 40/1.
2025 Royal Ascot Friday Tip: Fairy Oak e/w @ 40/1 (4 places)
3.05 – Commonwealth Cup (Group 1)
We are already on Leovanni for this 6f Group 1 and you can read why I fancy her here. Thankfully, she has a nice draw and James Doyle, as expected, takes the ride. Hopefully she goes well but in case she doesn’t, I am also going to take a chance on Arizona Blaze.
This horse very nearly got the nod in my ante-post preview but he was entered in both the King Charles and this race so I left him alone. Amo have decided to let him take his chance over 6f rather than 5f and given how he ran over 5f in the Norfolk last year, it may well prove to be the right call.
This son of Sergei Prokofiev is a hardy sort and he raced nine times as a juvenile. He signed off for the season with an excellent second at the Breeders’ Cup (we backed him). He’s had four runs this season, winning a conditions race over 6f at Dundalk, finishing 1l behind Henri Matisse in a Leopardstown G3, winning a 5.5f G3 at Chantilly and then disappointing in the Sandy Lane at Haydock.
I am willing to forgive him that run and I expect to see a much better performance from him here. He has form figures of 3322 on good to firm ground, he was only beaten 1.25l at this meeting last year and hopefully he’ll run another big race for us this year at odds of 25/1.
2025 Royal Ascot Friday Tip: Leovanni already advised e/w @ 33/1; Arizona Blaze e/w @ 25/1 (5 places)
3.40 – Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes Handicap (Class 2)
A high draw is usually advantageous in this 1m4f handicap but that being said, the last two winners have come from stall 4 and stall 9. The fav for this race, Ethical Diamond, is drawn in seven so it won’t be easy for him but as the last two victors have shown, it is not impossible.
The one I’ll take a chance on from stall 13 is the Johnny Murtagh trained Siege Of Troy. Oisin Murphy will ride this daughter of Siyouni and a strongly run race at 1m4f on rattling quick ground should be right up this filly’s street. She had solid stakes form last year, including a close fourth in a Cork G3 over this trip.
Oaks Invitational
She also ran in the Oaks Invitational at Kentucky Downs last year, a 10.5f listed race with a first prize of £720k. She finished off fast and strong for a 2.75l third on firm ground, just missing second by a head. The winner of that race went on to finish second in the G1 American Oaks, so it is solid form.
Siege Of Troy shaped very nicely behind Madame Celeste on her seasonal reappearance at Gowran in early May before producing a below par effort in a Listed heat at the Curragh four weeks ago. However, she was ridden a bit more forward than usual that day so I am hoping she gets back on track under a more patient ride here.
She also sports a tongue tie for the first time today, which could elicit an improved performance, as could the size of the pot on offer. On that US run last year a mark of 99 should be workable, so at 16/1 Siege Of Troy is the e/w selection.
2025 Royal Ascot Friday Tip: Siege Of Troy e/w @ 16/1 (5 places)
4.20 – Coronation Stakes (Group 1)
We have a lot riding on Cercene in this race. I tipped her up a few weeks ago when she was 100/1 (see here). Since then, Lake Victoria has been taken out and her price has contracted quite a bit. I decided to also put her in our ante-post e/w lucky 15 at 25s and with Docklands already winning, if she does the business we’ll get a nice few bob back.
Obviously, I think this filly has a cracking chance and for me, she is the e/w bet of the week. We have enough invested in her for now, hopefully Gary Carroll doesn’t do anything silly tactically and she gets a strong pace to aim at. If she does, we will hopefully be quids in.
2025 Royal Ascot Friday Tip: Cercene already advised ante-post @ 100/1 and 25/1
5.00 – Sandringham Stakes Fillies’ Handicap (Class 2)
Hopefully we have found a winner by the time of this race because if we haven’t, this is not the easiest of contests in which to end the drought. The one I am going to keep the faith in having backed her already this season is the Eve Johnson Houghton trained Betty Clover.
She gets in off a mark of 100 and after the form of her nose second at Goodwood was boosted by Crimson Advocate here on Wednesday, that looks a workable rating. Eve Johnson Houghton had a winner here too on Wednesday, which is a plus, and the ground conditions should be ideal for this daughter of Time Test.
Betty has a nice high draw in stall 23 and she has proved her stamina for a mile on her last two outings. She also ticks the course form box, having run a massive race in a G3 here last July when beaten a neck by the now 109 rated Simmering over 6f (gd-fm).
This filly has already picked up plenty of black type so she is a confirmed stakes level horse and Johnson-Houghton is probably dropping her into handicap company so she can get back to winning ways. If she repeats her nose second to Crimson Advocate, Johnson-Houghton might just get her wish. At odds of 12/1, back Betty Clover e/w.
2025 Royal Ascot Friday Tip: Betty Clover e/w @ 12/1 (5 places) NB
5.35 – King Edward VII Stakes (Group 2)
We backed Nightwalker in the Derby but he was all at sea early doors and by the time he got going, the race was over. I’m not sure the ground was to his liking at Epsom and I remain convinced he is a much better horse than he showed that day.
The Gosdens now stick on a pair of blinkers, which may help him concentrate better in the early stages of the race and the newly retained Juddmonte jockey Colin Keane takes over in the saddle. His maiden win and his best stakes run in the Dante came on good to firm ground so the warm, dry weather is in his favour.
He finished 0.5l behind Wimbledon Hawkeye in the Dante and over this longer trip he should be up to reversing that form. I think he is worth giving one more chance to at odds of 14/1.
2025 Royal Ascot Friday Tip: Nightwalker e/w @ 14/1
6.10 – Palace Of Holyrood Stakes Handicap (Class 2)
A daunting get out of jail stakes. 28 three year olds will go to post in this 5f handicap and the one I have come down on is Brosay for Paul Attwater and Ed Greatrex. By Tasleet, this lad has run crackers on both starts this season. On his seasonal return at Kempton he was beaten 0.75l over 6f off 84 and 18 days later at Sandown (5f) he was beaten just 0.5l off 85.
In that Sandown race he was a step slow from the gates and it took a bit of pushing to get him into contention early on. The winner, who is considered a black type filly by connections, had a much smoother trip and won it pretty well in the end but Brosay did a lot wrong and still managed to get to within 0.5l of her.
I think Brosay will be suited by a strongly run race over 5f on this track and while he came up short in the Windsor Castle here last season, this is more his level. The third from his Sandown race, Redorange, won at Chester next time out and is just 9/1 for this race. Brosay was 0.75l ahead of him at Sandown and he is 7lb better off here so he should be able to uphold that form. At odds of 18/1, Brosay is the e/w selection.
