Royal Ascot 2026: Selections for Saturday, June 20

A “Win and You’re In” for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1), a rematch from last fall’s Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1), and a global sprint showdown are the highlights of Saturday’s grand finale at Royal Ascot. 

Royal Ascot tournaments are here! Also, check out the Royal Ascot bet back offer! Opt in and receive a Bonus Bet up to $10 back on your first single-horse Win wager if your horse runs 2nd or 3rd in selected races at the Royal Ascot from Tuesday, June 16th, 2026, through Saturday, June 20th, 2026.

Race 1, 9:30 a.m. ET: Norfolk (G2), WAYI for Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1)

Top selections:

• #15 Star Prospect (20-1)
• #19 Ez Tina (8-1)
• #3 Carry the Flag (2-1)
• #16 Tribeca (12-1)

While #3 Carry the Flag received a big form boost in Tuesday’s Coventry (G2), he’s not the most compelling Aidan O’Brien favorite. The colt who beat him on debut at the Curragh, Joseph O’Brien’s  #15 Star Prospect, has claims at a much better price. 

Joseph hailed Star Prospect as “made for the Norfolk” after he won despite greenness, kicking strongly between foes to topple Carry the Flag and a couple of other useful rivals. The initial plan was to prep in the First Flier S., but he ended up scratching (reportedly off his feed). Star Prospect instead turned up in a May 17 race at Naas, which smacks of a fallback position to get another run into him before Ascot. The lack of pace was all against him, and his third-place effort isn’t a real indicator of his ability. With loads of speed on tap here, Star Prospect will get the right set-up. Sire Starman excelled on good-to-firm, so the quick ground should be no issue for the John C. Oxley colorbearer.

Given how well the best-fancied Wesley Ward runners have performed at the meeting, the highly-regarded #19 Ez Tina can be upgraded in this spot. From the first crop of Ward’s brilliant sprinter Golden Pal, who just missed in this race in 2020, Ez Tina won for fun in her lone start at Woodbine. She reportedly outworked the classy colt Outfielder in advance of his bid in Friday’s six-furlong Commonwealth Cup (G1). Outfielder was in the hunt before tiring to 10th late, but it’s more instructive to note the strong efforts of his stablemates at five furlongs. Ruiva was a fine third in Wednesday’s Queen Mary (G2), and Bacio ran them ragged in Friday’s Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Carry the Flag is the most obvious form pick, coming off a second to next-out Coventry star Great Barrier Reef in the Marble Hill (G3). The Ballydoyle runner also stands to benefit from reverting to five furlongs. Yet Carry the Flag barely scraped home to break his maiden in a three-way photo at Naas, where debuting stablemate Sun Goddess flew to miss by a whisker. Sun Goddess went on to finish second as the odds-on favorite in Friday’s Albany (G3). My working hypothesis is that Carry the Flag isn’t quite as good as his proximity to them implies.

#16 Tribeca is another with formlines elevated at the Royal meeting. An about $809,000 Tattersalls October yearling, the son of Blue Point beat three future winners in his debut, including Wednesday’s Windsor Castle S. upsetter King of Cloughan. The latter also gives him collateral form with Thursday’s Chesham S. hero, Nola Soul. 

The quibble is that Tribeca’s maiden win came in a nearly six-furlong test over a stiff track at Navan, and trainer Robson de Aguiar’s first thought was that he was a Coventry candidate rather than a Norfolk type. The other Amo Racing runner, #6 Force Noir, arguably fits better as a true five-furlong specimen, but unexpected variables complicate the picture. Recently transferred from de Aguiar to Kevin Philippart de Foy, he adds blinkers off his front-running maiden romp for some reason. 

Kevin Ryan’s unbeaten #18 Where Love Lives has a collateral form tie-in to Great Barrier Reef. When capturing the National S. at Sandown, Where Love Lives defeated Adaay of Scarlett, who went on to place second in the Coventry as a 40-1 shot. Where Love Lives downed another notable rival, eventual Woodcote winner Hickory Lad, in his debut score at Thirsk. Sharp maiden winners #11 Persian Spring, #10 Orthodox, and #5 Flight Signal are others meriting consideration in the 21-strong field of juveniles, while #12 Savage Mariner is worth a look after chasing home Albany star Libertango in their debut at Leicester. 

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

Top selections:

• #11 Kalpana (2-1)
• #4 Giavellotto (8-1)
• #5 Goliath (6-1)
• #6 Jan Brueghel (5-1)

#11 Kalpana warrants favoritism as the superb runner-up to Calandagan in last summer’s King George VI & Queen Elizabeth (G1) over this course and distance. The only possible caveat is the ground, which is riding firmer than connections want. If trainer Andrew Balding doesn’t scratch in the morning, I’ll keep faith that she’ll run up to her best. The Juddmonte homebred excels at Ascot, where she’s landed the past two runnings of the British Champions Fillies & Mares (G1). Although Kalpana just prevailed by a neck over #10 West Wind Blows in her Newbury reappearance, jockey Colin Keane appeared to move too soon. That shouldn’t be a problem down the shorter straight here. 

Admirable globetrotter #4 Giavellotto and the world-class if mercurial #5 Goliath offer better value in conditions that suit them. Giavellotto capitalized on well-judged tactics to upend Kalpana in last year’s September (G3) on the Kempton Polytrack. The Marco Botti veteran also finished ahead of her when they were fourth and seventh, respectively, in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1). Giavellotto likewise shaded Goliath for runner-up honors as the defending champion in December’s Hong Kong Vase (G1) at Sha Tin. Last seen placing third to Calandagan and the bold front runner West Wind Blows in the Dubai Sheema Classic (G1), Giavellotto figures to get a better pace scenario here. 

A totally different race dynamic should also help Goliath avenge his Breeders’ Cup Turf loss at Del Mar, where he was too aggressive early and faded late behind the surprising #3 Ethical Diamond and fourth-placer #1 Amiloc. Goliath has been in much more characteristic humor since reuniting with jockey Christophe Soumillon. Back in winning form in the Grand Prix de Chantilly (G2) in his latest start, the Francis-Henri Graffard trainee returns to Ascot for the first time since his career-defining victory in the 2024 King George.

#6 Jan Brueghel and #7 Lambourn, both Ballydoyle classic winners, are wheeling back from their remote placings in the June 6 Coronation Cup (G1). The concern is how much that slog on desperate ground at Epsom might have affected them. The wild card is Wathnan Racing’s French shipper #2 Best Secret, whose most significant form is on soft ground, but he’s run well in his prior cross-Channel forays. 

Race 3, 10:40 a.m. ET: Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee (G1)

Top selections:

• #17 Joliestar (2-1)
• #13 Sajir (10-1)
• #14 Satono Reve (3-1)
• #3 Comanche Brave (10-1)

The streaking phenom Ka Ying Rising isn’t here in person, but his formlines haunt this race. He’s beaten the principals either at home in Hong Kong or in The Everest (G1) at Randwick, and they promise to enhance his lofty world ranking in his absence. Chief among them is an Australian mare representing an outstanding horseman with a Royal Ascot win already on his resume. 

A Hall of Famer in Australia and Sydney’s perennial champion trainer, Chris Waller might have sent #17 Joliestar northward to Ascot a year ago. But he waited until the daughter of Zoustar was fully mature, and now she arrives as a five-time Group 1 winner at the peak of her powers. Joliestar is not only more accomplished than compatriot #10 Overpass, who comes back for more after a hard-trying third in Tuesday’s King Charles III (G1). She’s also likely to be stronger over this stiff six-furlong course. Waller has been very judicious in his Royal meeting sorties, with two of these three runners hitting top form. He sent out Nature Strip to dominate the 2022 King Charles and just missed in the 2015 Jubilee with Brazen Beau. It will be a shock if Joliestar isn’t bang there at the finish. 

If there’s anyone eligible to interrupt the “vanquished by Ka Ying Rising” angle, #13 Sajir just might be the one. The Andre Fabre trainee missed his chance here last year, when he acted up and got scratched at the gate. But he later gained compensation by beating Jubilee hero Lazzat in the Prix Maurice de Gheest (G1) at Deauville. Fabre has been building him up to peak here, so ignore his earlier prep losses. Sajir signaled that he’s ready to fire with a good-looking score last out, and this is the best set-up he’s had since the de Gheest. 

Japanese star #14 Satono Reve came up just shy to Lazzat in last summer’s Jubilee, when I absolutely loved him as my top pick. The son of the great Lord Kanaloa returns with a similar pattern – having defended his crown in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen (G1) and played second fiddle to Ka Ying Rising in the Chairman’s Sprint Prize (G1). The only scruple is that this Jubilee might be a deeper renewal, although a more contentious pace this time around can help his cause.

Donnacha O’Brien’s #3 Comanche Brave also has form with Lazzat, as the third-placer in the 1351 Turf Sprint (G2), and with Ka Ying Rising, through his fifth in the Chairman’s Sprint Prize. Yet the four-year-old hit a new level back home at the Curragh, blitzing them in the Greenlands (G2) down a similar six-furlong straight. Comanche Brave is still progressing as a new face in the sprint division. 

Japan’s other hope, #9 Lugal, couldn’t get near Ka Ying Rising either, but he did beat Lazzat when a close runner-up in the Al Quoz Sprint (G1) when last seen on Dubai World Cup night. #8 Lake Forest also edged Lazzat in the 2024 Golden Eagle going further at Rosehill. The cutback could work for the high-class seven-furlong type, who might also be more reliable after the gelding. As a longtime fan of #16 Flora of Bermuda, I was delighted with her third in last year’s Jubilee. The Balding mare returned victorious at Newmarket over Rosy Affair, who just placed a gallant fourth in the King Charles III. Flora of Bermuda is once again an exotics player, albeit in a tougher race. 

Race 4, 11:20 a.m. ET: Jersey (G3)

Top selections:

• #17 The Prettiest Star (7-1)
• #9 Into the Sky (9-2)
• #12 Saber Strike (9-5)
• #3 Andab (20-1)

It’s been 14 years since a filly won this race, but a few have placed in the interim, and I’ll take a flyer that #17 The Prettiest Star will make her presence felt. A recent acquisition by Wathnan Racing, which always wants to load up for Royal Ascot, the Starman filly was most recently fourth in the 1000 Guineas (G1) at Newmarket. Her connections shrewdly swerved Friday’s Coronation (G1) in favor of this more attainable target. Yet her form was advertised by the Coronation result, perhaps most significantly by the terrific second Touleen, whom she’s beaten twice. Still lightly raced with only three starts to her credit, The Prettiest Star hails from the yard of Ed Walker, trainer of Tuesday’s 50-1 Queen Anne (G1) shocker, Ten Bob Tony.

#9 Into the Sky boasts the best classic form among the colts, as a distant fourth in Newmarket’s 2000 Guineas (G1). The strength of that form was validated when the top two, Bow Echo and Gstaad, fought out the St James’s Palace (G1) on Tuesday. Dropping back to a stiff seven furlongs should bring out the best in Into the Sky.

#12 Saber Strike is all the rage with his 2-for-2 mark for William Haggas. The Night of Thunder colt has loads of potential, but he’s a very short price in his first serious test against the classic generation. 

Joseph O’Brien’s #3 Andab (20-1) is the exotics key who keeps placing against quality rivals, including Friday’s King Edward VII (G2) winner Causeway and the excellent St James’s Palace third, Talk of New York. Adding a visor could help Andab, a full brother to 2022 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) hero Victoria Road. 

#2 Thesecretadversary (10-1), runner-up in last year’s Chesham S. at this track and trip, warrants respect for his classic form. Fifth in the 2000 Guineas, he was a troubled sixth in the Irish 2000 Guineas (G1). The concern is that he carries a three-pound penalty for his Group 3 score earlier this season at Leopardstown, and he probably doesn’t have that much in hand over this competitive field. Ballydoyle’s #1 Dorset is in the same 132-pound boat, which may have steered Ryan Moore to stablemate #11 Neolithic (who adds blinkers in hopes of reversing form with Andab). 

Of the Godolphin trio, #7 Catullus appears to be a reformed character as a gelding, #5 Avicenna drops back to his ideal distance after trailing in the 2000 Guineas, and comebacker #10 Morris Dancer has long-term potential but might need this one.