Royal Ascot 2025: Selections for Tuesday

Great Britain’s summer spectacular, Royal Ascot, has become a global phenomenon for horsemen, racing fans, and bettors alike. 

All five days promise terrific wagering opportunities as World Pool fixtures. Also, every day, you can add the strategic dimension of tournament play through TwinSpires.com’s inaugural Royal Ascot Challenge Series. 

The five-day stand starts with a bang on Tuesday. Three Group 1 prizes, including two Breeders’ Cup Challenge races, and a typically loaded juvenile contest live up to the meeting’s reputation as a handicapping challenge.

Race 1, 9:30 a.m. ET: Queen Anne (G1), WAYI for Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1)

Top three:

#10 Rosallion
#6 Lake Forest
#7 Lead Artist

#10 Rosallion (5-2) is the favorite who fits the race profile, but #6 Lake Forest (15-1) has very intriguing dark horse vibes. The William Haggas pupil has scored both of his signature wins at healthy odds, notably last November’s A$10 million Golden Eagle in his raid on Australia. 

Lake Forest was overlooked at 18-1 in that about 7 1/2-furlong affair at Rosehill, his first start beyond six furlongs, and he relished the added ground. He uncorked a whirlwind charge to catch Lazzat, the early favorite in Saturday’s Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee (G1). 

The Golden Eagle has proven to be a golden formline, with several alumni going on to win Group 1s. Chief among them was the favored also-ran, Japan’s Ascoli Pisceno, who beat males on Saudi Cup night and just booked her own Breeders’ Cup ticket in the Victoria Mile (G1) at Tokyo. This angle makes Lake Forest more tantalizing at the price than he otherwise might have been.

Lake Forest was intended to return in Hong Kong, but he missed that target. Rerouted to France for his prep, he rallied smartly (as the closing sectionals indicate) for fourth to the pace-controlling winner Topgear, another big Jubilee hope. Lake Forest should move forward considerably for Royal Ascot, where he was an eye-catching runner-up in last year’s Commonwealth Cup (G1). Indeed, judging by the way he’s traveled in sprints, he’s been looking for a mile. 

Rosallion would be the most logical winner, as a star miler with an affinity for Ascot who advances from the key prep, the Lockinge (G1). Sporting a 2-for-2 mark here, on this straight course as a juvenile and on the round mile in last year’s St James’s Palace (G1), the Richard Hannon pupil needed his Lockinge comeback off an 11-month layoff. He did well to loom before flattening in third to #7 Lead Artist (4-1) and #3 Dancing Gemini (4-1) in course-record time, with old foe #8 Notable Speech (5-1) a respectable fourth in his reappearance. All four of the Lockinge combatants are win contenders, although Lead Artist is arguably the most persuasive of them after Rosallion. 

The rest of this deep field probably has better place than win chances. Aidan O’Brien’s #4 Diego Velazquez (15-1) would have been more compelling if he’d had a prep race, and the comments from the Ballydoyle camp are ruing that he didn’t. But he has fired off the bench in the past, and it wouldn’t be a shock if he snares a placing. It’s illustrative of the quality in this race that I haven’t even mentioned #2 Carl Spackler (20-1) (more on him here); horse-for-the-course #5 Docklands (20-1), last year’s Queen Anne runner-up at a price; or #9 Quddwah (20-1), a lightly-raced five-year-old who still has upside. 

Race 2, 10:05 a.m. ET: Coventry (G2)

Top four:

#13 Power Blue
#2 Andab
#12 Postmodern
#9 Gstaad

After Ballydoyle’s longtime favorite for this race, Albert Einstein, was ruled out by a setback, why are the rivals who chased him home at the Curragh overpriced here? 

The two in question, #13 Power Blue (20-1) and #2 Andab (15-1), were respectively second and third to Albert Einstein in the Marble Hill (G3). Both have more form in the book than the favorite #12 Postmodern (5-2), who was visually stunning in his lone start.

Power Blue has shown the early professionalism associated with Adrian Murray’s juveniles, and he may be a little more forward than Andab at this stage. From the first crop of 2021 Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) star Space Blues, Power Blue was a smashing winner of a Curragh maiden on debut. Murray had won that same race – the first of the season for the two-year-olds in Ireland – for the past two years with horses who would place at Royal Ascot (Bucanero Fuerte and Arizona Blaze, respectively).

Next seen in the First Flier S., Power Blue was just outkicked by a couple of sharper fillies at five furlongs, the exciting unbeaten Lady Iman and Queen Mary (G2) contender True Love. The step up to six furlongs figured to suit Power Blue, and he kept on well for second to the mighty Albert Einstein. A repeat of that might be enough to win this.

Finishing a promising third was Andab, a full brother to 2022 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) winner Victoria Road, from the Joseph O’Brien yard. A pleasant 8-1 surprise in his dominant debut score, Andab reportedly had a hiccup that made his preparation for the Marble Hill suboptimal. From that perspective, a fitter Andab might turn the tables on Power Blue here. On the other hand, Andab could need more time to blossom fully as the offspring of Saxon Warrior tend to do. But there’s likely not much between them. 

Postmodern, one of Wathnan Racing’s formidable army, looked like an absolute superstar at Yarmouth. Trained by Hamad al Jehani, the Too Darn Hot colt was toying with the opposition while heeding his rider’s cues. He left them standing once he was asked to lengthen his stride. We’d be wiser if Postmodern had faced a better class test. As a half-brother to recent Gamely (G1) heroine Be Your Best, Postmodern is attractive as a long-term prospect, but his odds right now are not. 

Of the Ballydoyle duo, #9 Gstaad (6-1) appears mentally more prepared than #21 Warsaw (6-1), who has “type for the future” written all over him. Both are understudies because their number one (Albert Einstein) is out, and they just ran themselves into this spot with debut victories. Aidan O’Brien typically aims to have more racing experience going into Royal Ascot. 

Gstaad, a Starspangledbanner half-brother to multiple Group 1-winning juvenile Vandeek, was the more clued-in of the two when upsetting True Love at Navan. That gives him collateral form with Power Blue. Warsaw, a Wootton Bassett colt from the immediate family of City of Troy, was a bigger surprise when lumbering in at 18-1. Gstaad accordingly gets Ryan Moore here. 

Godolphin’s #11 Military Code (7-2) has solid form to recommend him, but he’s 2-for-2 at five furlongs. The Charlie Appleby pupil successfully carried top weight in an Ascot novice in his latest, beating Albany (G3) contender Fitzella and subsequent Beverley winner Old Is Gold, who is also fancied in a juvenile race (to be determined) this week. Military Code is yet another well-bred son of Wootton Bassett, so he should enjoy an extra furlong here. It would be clearer if we’d seen him over six, though. 

#1 American Gulf (15-1), a good-looking debut winner at Windsor, was already worth a look on pedigree. Now he’s a noteworthy market mover, too, for Paul and Oliver Cole. Sire Ardad’s juveniles have done well here, and his dam has produced three Group performers, including the precocious Arabie and Master of War.

#20 Underwriter (12-1) can’t be ignored as the latest Archie Watson pupil to turn up here after winning smoothly in his Ayr premiere. The past two years, Watson’s Ayr graduates Army Ethos (2023) and Electrolyte (2024) just missed in the Coventry. 

Race 3, 10:40 a.m. ET: King Charles III (G1), WAYI for Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1)

Top three:

#6 Night Raider
#14 Believing
#23 West Acre

In last year’s edition, Australian mare #12 Asfoora (4-1) bested #7 Regional (6-1) with #14 Believing (7-2) a tough-luck fourth. It might be too simplistic to expect a rerun, or slight variation, of that finish. A few new faces could shake up the five-furlong scene.

I was very interested in Wathnan’s new recruit, Flora of Bermuda, only to have her go to Saturday’s Jubilee instead. But the operation has another elite hope remaining in this race, #6 Night Raider (7-1). Trainer Karl Burke has long raved about his pure ability, and he’s shown glimpses of it on the all-weather. It hasn’t happened in his rare turf forays so far, but the gamble is that the speed merchant can thrive going down in trip. 

His pedigree endorses the idea: he’s a Dark Angel half-brother to Far Above, who shortened up to take the 2020 Palace House (G3). Note that Night Raider was setting the pace into a headwind in the 1895 Duke of York (G2), where he tired to third behind Jubilee contenders Inisherin and Flora of Bermuda. 

Believing has a strong case to turn the tables on Asfoora for two reasons. While Asfoora is on a belated timetable for her British arrival, compared to last year, Believing is in the form of her life at the moment after landing the Al Quoz Sprint (G1) on Dubai World Cup night. Believing has since visited Frankel, and being in foal can also be a plus. The only concern is that she’s somehow managed to draw post 1 again, and that arguably contributed to her loss last year. Believing has begun to drift in the market as a result.

Asfoora, who adds blinkers, is better drawn in post 10. But she’s now shortening to favoritism, and unless she can peak without a local prep, she strikes me as vulnerable in her title defense. 

Sophomore #23 West Acre (15-1) beat older sprinters twice during the Dubai Carnival, when he set a five-furlong Meydan course record in the Blue Point (G2) and added the Nad al Sheba Turf Sprint (G3). The Mehmas gelding (a half-brother to the standout juvenile filly Lady Iman) regressed to eighth behind Believing in the Al Quoz, but he was feeling the effects of those earlier heroics. Freshened and back at his optimal trip, the George Scott trainee gets a weight break that could be clutch. 

#19 Prime Art (20-1), an outside-the-box selection in her Group 1 debut, has a sneaky look. Supplemented by trainer Jane Chapple-Hyam, the lightly-raced four-year-old returned from a protracted layoff and just missed. Prime Art had been a Group 3-winning juvenile for Johnny Murtagh, and the royally-bred daughter of Churchill wasn’t beaten far by Flora of Bermuda in her lone start at three. 

Reigning Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) upsetter #9 Starlust (10-1) has a pattern of improving second start off the bench, and that makes him potentially dangerous. I’ve suspected that he’s better on flat tracks, but his only prior tries at Ascot came at six furlongs. 

Race 4, 11:20 a.m. ET: St James’s Palace (G1)

Top three:

#1 Field of Gold
#3 Henri Matisse
#6 Ruling Court

The St James’s Palace is a summit of three Guineas winners, but the market only has eyes for one. #1 Field of Gold (4-5) is the red-hot favorite after his scintillating display in the Irish 2000 Guineas (G1), where he turned the page on a frustrating loss in the 2000 Guineas (G1) at Newmarket. In both respects, he’s echoing sire Kingman, who represented the same Juddmonte/Gosden connections. Field of Gold will try to further the parallel by adding this feature, and his devastating firepower looks awfully tough to oppose. The gray figures to work out another winning trip with Juddmonte’s newly retained rider, Colin Keane.

I’ll give O’Brien’s #3 Henri Matisse (4-1), the Poule d’Essai des Poulains (French 2000 Guineas) (G1) winner, the edge over #6 Ruling Court (5-2), who was last seen foiling the unlucky Field of Gold in Newmarket’s Guineas. The primary reason is that Ruling Court was going to stretch out for the Derby (G1) at Epsom, until rain-softened going prompted the Godolphin brain trust to scratch. 

While this is a fallback position for Ruling Court, Henri Matisse is unambiguously a miler set out for this target. His Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf victory at Del Mar also establishes his proficiency on quick ground. If he’s yet to be as electric as Field of Gold, Henri Matisse has been on a longer learning curve, implying that he may have more to offer. 

After expecting the ultra-consistent #5 Rashabar (20-1) to put up a bold show in the Irish Guineas, only to see him finish an anticlimactic fourth, I’m reticent about going out on a limb for him. In fairness, he has the important Ascot angle as the 80-1 winner of last summer’s Coventry, and the Curragh was Plan B once he missed the French Guineas. The Brian Meehan trainee has a right to move forward from that effort, but he’s got about a five-length gap to bridge with Field of Gold. Although Rashabar is bred to get at least a mile, he might benefit from reverting in trip. 

Ballydoyle’s #4 Officer (50-1), a 9-2 chance in the Irish Guineas before winding up a disappointing seventh, is eligible to fare better. The well-bred son of Dubawi had been on a steep upward curve. It might be hazardous to take too literally his earlier formline with stablemate Camille Pissarro, the third-placer in the French Guineas en route to winning the Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) (G1). But it’s still instructive, in that Officer has the scope to go on to better things himself. And with yet another Ballydoyle runner in here as the pacemaker, presumably Officer can be given a chance on his own merit. 

Good luck, and enjoy opening day at Royal Ascot!