Royal Ascot day three

Norfolk Stakes

Both our NAPs have come in so far at Royal Ascot, with River Tiber and Gregory both getting the job down while we are also going for a four in a row after Alpina Express’s win at Carlisle on Monday.

We’re straight in with the NAP in the first race of the day, the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes, and it’s another Burke horse — Elite Status (11/8). He’s 2-2, winning clear in a Listed race at Sandown lto, and should be the one to beat here. American Rascal (11/2) is the one feared most as it’s hard to know what to make of his 10-and-a-half-length Keeneland win on debut.

King George V Stakes

Oisin Murphy hasn’t had much luck so far this week, but today could be a big day for the Irishman as he is set to mount Gold Cup favourite Coltrane for Andrew Balding. His first win at Royal Ascot could come before that though, as Valiant King looks like a good chance in this 3YO handicap.

The Qatar Racing horse has been impressive for Joseph O’Brien over in Ireland with a second and first so far this season and given that he finished those races strongly he could be in contention stepped up in trip here and is worth an E/W shout at 17/2.

Tagabawa is an interesting runner for Godolphin as well. Today will be his turf debut, but he won well over this on the AW at Kempton on reappearance in April when winning by four lengths. That form has been boosted as well with the second winning at Ascot since while the third was beaten by a short head. The Charlie Appleby horse is drifting this morning too, going out to 6s from 4/1.

Ribblesdale Stakes

A pretty boring selection in this one, it’s hard to look beyond Al Asifah in the Ribblesdale. She’s attracted plenty of attention from her first two appearances, winning a Maiden Fillies’ Stakes on debut before a lengthy Listed success lto really made everyone sit up and take notice.

It looks like Shadwell and the Gosdens have another superstar on their hands, but unfortunately, she’s 4/6 at best. Still worth adding to an acca, I guess. Dettori’s ride Bluestocking three places at evens isn’t a bad shout for a place acca either.

Gold Cup

In my opinion, both Coltrane (10/3) and Eldar Eldarov (9/2) deserve to be at the fore of the betting for the Gold Cup. But, I said it could be a big day for Oisin and I’m sticking by my guns and backing him to win the Royal Ascot highlight for the first time.

The Balding runner has C&D form after winning the Ascot Stakes last June and he reappeared here under Murphy in May when winning the Group 3 Sagaro Stakes by almost five lengths. It’s also worth mentioning that he ended last season with a win in the Doncaster Cup over 2m2f and was beaten by just a head in the Long Distance Cup on Champions Day.

Britannia Stakes

It has been more than a decade since a favourite won the Britannia Stakes, but records are made to be broken and Quantum Impact (6/1) could be the one to do that. He won a handicap at York over a mile by a length lto under Rossa Ryan and Dettori notably takes the ride today. The Ralph Beckett horse also looks to still be off a workable mark.

If you don’t fancy the outright win, Quantum Impact is 6/4 to be placed (4 places).

Hampton Court Stakes

The fore of the market for this Group 3 is dominated by two Gosdens runners — Torito (7/2) for Benoit De La Sayette and Epictetus (5/1) and for Dettori. De La Sayette’s ride won well on Derby day at Epsom last time and could go well again upped in grade today.

But this Hampton Court Stakes looks wide open and I’m not sure if I will have a bet on it, but the one that catches my eye is Drumroll (6/1). The Ballydoyle horse was second in a Group 3 at the Curragh last month but was awarded first after the winner was judged to cause interference.

Buckingham Palace Stakes

Another needle in a haystack type race, no horse shorter than 12/1 has won the Buckingham Palace Stakes in the last decade. Therefore, I’ve had a look around that benchmark and Kingdom Come is one that stands out at 14s.

The Clive Cox horse is a specialist at this distance, winning three races in a row over 7f at Kemptom between January and April. He was stepped up to a mile last time and it didn’t suit him as he finished fourth at Newbury. This is the best trip for him and he’s a big player.

Newsletter exclusive tip

We’re on a roll here and hopefully we can keep it going with today’s selection Barrolo (11/8) in the 17:15 at Ripon. He got off the mark on the fourth attempt with an easy win over C&D earlier this month, and is up 3lb as a result but can go again today.