Royal Ascot tips 2024: Thursday's best bets from Racing Post experts

Day three of Royal Ascot is upon us – but who do our top tipsters fancy most?

Recommended

4/5

NEW CUSTOMER OFFER

£30 In Free Bets When You Place Any Bet

NEW CUSTOMER OFFER

• More extra place horse races than any other bookmaker

CLAIM OFFER

Tap for more details. 18+ T&Cs apply

• A huge array of odds boosts across different sports
• Quick withdrawals, particularly to Visa Debit cards

New customers only. First single & e/w bet only. 5p minimum stake. Odds of 1/1 or greater. 3 x £10 bet tokens. Free bet stakes not included in returns. Free bets exclude virtuals. Free bets are non withdrawable. Free bets expire after 30 days. Eligibility restrictions and further t&cs apply. 18+. Begambleaware.Org

Our top three Royal Ascot tips for Thursday's card

Aesterius

Norfolk Stakes, 5f

By Paul Kealy

Admittedly, it is easy enough to be scared of Whistlejacket as he looked potentially very decent when dropped to 5f on his second outing for Aidan O'Brien at the Curragh last month when making a bunch of previous winners look ordinary.

Both his runs have come on deep ground, but there's no reason why the son of No Nay Never won't go on a quicker surface and he's obviously the one to beat.

The market is rather top-heavy, though, and I can't bet at his sort of price when the whole field, which includes six once-raced winners, is open to any amount of improvement.

Just five of the last 16 juveniles to have been sent off at 6-4 or under at this meeting have won and while O'Brien was responsible for all of them, he's also had five losers.

The one I'm backing each-way against him is Aesterius, who may well be the Wathnan Racing second string, but looked a horse of serious promise when romping to success on his debut last month.

That was only a Bath maiden and it's hard to rate the form particularly highly, but trainer Archie Watson said afterwards he is very quick and has "only worked with older stakes sprinters".

Watson would have plenty of those to choose from and, having won a Windsor Castle, a Coventry, a King's Stand, a Wokingham and a Palace of Holyroodhouse, he could go close in another Royal Ascot sprint with this son of the speedy Mehmas.

Aesterius14:30 Ascot

View Racecard

Jky: William Buick Tnr: Archie Watson

Royal Ascot free bets: Sky Bet offer

Diamond Rain

Ribblesdale Stakes, 1m4f

By Kevin Morley

A course winner on her debut, Diamond Rain looked smart when romping home in a Newbury Listed contest on just her second start. She fulfils all criteria on trends and earns the vote.

Juddmonte-owned pair Kalpana and Siyola also fare well on trends, with the former feared most. You Got To Me also boasts a solid profile and has to be considered after her Oaks fourth.

Diamond Rain15:45 Ascot

View Racecard

Jky: William Buick Tnr: Charlie Appleby

Kings Time

Buckingham Palace Stakes, 7f

By Tom Segal

Kings Time is totally unexposed compared to most of his and looks to be a 7f fast-ground specialist. That certainly looked the case when he easily beat a big field at Cork last time, producing some very fast late sectionals. The progeny of Exceed And Excel have an excellent record at Ascot as well.

The form of that Cork race looks strong and the faster they go, the better Kings Time is going to be. Provided stall five doesn't turn out to be a negative, he would appear to have everything going for him.

Kings Time18:15 Ascot

View Racecard

Jky: Shane Foley Tnr: Mrs John Harrington

Get £40 in free bets on horse racing with Sky Bet

Sky Bet are offering new customers £40 in free bets on horse racing when you place a £10 bet.

You can follow these simple steps outlined below to grab £40 in free bets to place on the big races at Royal Ascot. It's fast, secure and straightforward.

1. Head over to Sky Bet through this link and click the 'Get Bonus' button
2. Sign up for a Sky Bet account and create your username and password
3. Place a minimum £10 bet on a single or each-way bet on any Sky Bet market at odds of 1/1 or greater
4. Get £40 in free bets to use on horse racing markets (your free bets will be credited as four £10 free bet tokens)

Sky Bet betting sign-up offer: the key terms and conditions

It's worth taking a few minutes to read through the terms and conditions associated with the new player promotion before signing up. Doing so will help you get a better grasp of the details of the 2024 Sky Bet betting offer and what's expected of you as a new player.

• 18+, new UK & ROI customers
• Only your first bet with Sky Bet will count towards this offer
• Free bets are non-withdrawable and free bet stakes are not included in any returns
• Free bets will be credited as four £10 free bet tokens
• Free bets expire 30 days after crediting
• T&Cs apply
• Please gamble responsibly

Read these next:

Paul Kealy's Royal Ascot day 3 racing tips: Thursday's play of the day 

'I fancy him strongly here at 14-1' - David Jennings answers the burning questions on day three at Royal Ascot 

Harry Wilson's Royal Ascot tips on Thursday: 'This big drop in class coupled with the shorter trip could see him back to winning ways' 

Looking for free bets? Racing Post have got the best offers, all in one place. Visit racingpost.com/freebets to find out more.

Commercial notice: This article contains affiliate links. Offers are handpicked and come from operators that our experts have first-hand experience of. Opening an account via one of these links will earn revenue for the Racing Post, which will be used to continue producing our award-winning coverage of horseracing.