Royal Ascot Day 1 Tips

First run in 1840, the Queen Anne Stakes commemorates the monarch who established racing at Ascot and is the meeting’s top mile race for older horses (aged four and up). Baaeed was the eighth successful favourite in the last 12 runnings and the third in a row. That marks a resumption of the normal pattern following a couple of upsets for Accidental Agent (33-1) and Lord Glitters (14-1) in 2018 and 2019. Before them, the last winner from outside the top four in the betting was Refuse To Bend (12-1) in 2004.

First run in 1890, this is the most valuable race for juveniles at Royal Ascot and the season’s first high-class contest for the age group, regularly proving a stepping stone to Group 1 level later in the year.Market position is a good guide, with 16 of the last 20 winners having been in the first four in the betting and only four of those 20 priced above 8-1.

First run in 1860, this five-furlong contest is the fastest race of the week, usually completed in less than a minute. Having been a Group 2 for 20 years, the race regained Group 1 status in 2008.Favourites can be found out (only three of the last 28 have won and last year Golden Pal was last at 15-8) but the market is still a good guide. Since Choisir’s 25-1 breakthrough success for Australia in 2003, at a time when the strength of their challenge was underestimated, 16 of the 19 winners have been no bigger than 8-1.

First run in 1834, this mile contest for three-year-old colts is the third Group 1 of the opening day and often features a clash between the Guineas combatants in Britain, France and Ireland. The preponderance of strong Guineas form means favourites have a good record, with 14 winning in the 23 running's since 2000. No winner has been bigger than 10-1 in that period and only one (Circus Maximus) came from outside the top four in the betting. The last shock winner was Brief Truce at 25-1 in 1992.

Founded in 1839, this 2m4f handicap has come to be dominated by trainers whose main emphasis is jump racing, with Willie Mullins, Nicky Henderson, Jonjo O’Neill and David Pipe on the roll of honour since 2010.This is not impossibly hard, with half of the last ten winners coming from the top five in the betting. The only two successful favourites in the past 20 years were both trained by Mullins.

Inaugurated in 2002 with the extension of Royal Ascot to a five-day meeting, this was changed in 2018 to become a 1m2f Listed conditions race for four-year-olds and up (rather than a Listed handicap).The first three winners post-2018 were in the first four in the betting; the last two have been much further down the list.

Run over 1m6f, this handicap for four-year-olds and upwards was introduced as part of the enhanced programme for Royal Ascot in 2020. Newmarket stables filled the first three places in the first two runnings, but North Yorkshire trainer David O’Meara struck last year with 16-1 shot Get Shirty. Seven of the nine runners who have finished in the first three were rated 95-100 (including every winner) and five of them had winning form over at least 1m6f.