Bookmakers fear an Ascot drubbing at hands of Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore

Bookmakers fear Aidan O'Brien's domination of the Classics this season will extend to Royal Ascot, where the trainer and Ryan Moore have proved a particularly potent combination since teaming up.

O'Brien has favourites in ten of the 22 races over the five days that have been priced up and William Hill make Moore a 5-2 chance to equal or beat his astonishing nine winners at the meeting in 2015.

The Ballydoyle master, looking for his tenth Royal Ascot title, is no longer than 1-2 with Ladbrokes to make it five in a row, while some bookmakers fear his ally Moore could run riot in the saddle as he bids for a sixth successive Royal Ascot title.

Paddy Power's Paul Binfield spelled out bookies' worries about O'Brien's team dominating next week, saying: "Aidan always seems to peak his horses for the royal extravaganza and one of our biggest concerns would be if he were to equal or better his seven winners in 2016.

"Although it's currently quite difficult with the two-year-olds to work out which races they'll go for, Hermosa, who we trimmed into 5-4 from 11-8 this morning, looks the Ballydoyle banker at the moment and the really solid Aidan horse with Ten Sovereigns not too far behind."

O'Brien's success at the royal meeting has soared since he combined with Moore in 2016, with the pair hitting a strike-rate of over 22 per cent from their 14 winners together in that period.

Deadly combination

Aidan O'Brien's Royal Ascot record since 2016
17 wins/114 runners (14.9% strike-rate, +3.21 to £1 level stakes)

O'Brien with Ryan Moore 14/63 (22.2%) -£2.29
O'Brien with other jockeys: 3/51 (5.9%) +£5.50

Bookmakers will immediately be on the back foot if Le Brivido leaves his Lockinge form behind in the opening race of the meeting, the Queen Anne Stakes, as the former Andre Fabre-trained five-year-old has been one of the best backed horses ante-post, halving in price to 4-1 with bet365.

Rupert Adams, of Hills, said: "Day one will set the tone for us as the O'Brien-Moore combination is expected to have a very big day with Le Brivido, Arizona and Magna Grecia."

Racegoers will be shoulder to shoulder in the Ascot betting ring next weekCredit: Edward Whitaker

This year's Royal Ascot could be unique in not featuring an odds-on chance, but O'Brien is responsible for some of the shortest-priced favourites in Ten Sovereigns in the Commonwealth Cup and Hermosa in the Coronation Stakes, both on the Friday of the meeting.

It is these two and the Gold Cup favourite Stradivarius that bookmakers would most like to see toppled as they are expected to feature in most multiples.

Binfield said: "We always fear a bit of multiple mayhem at these big fixtures, and while we've seen little business so far, that will really ramp up during the week and the 'big three' that we're scared of at the moment are Stradivarius, Hermosa and Ten Sovereigns."

O'Brien's leading Royal Ascot hopes (favourites in bold)

Le Brivido (Queen Anne, 4-1)
Arizona (Coventry, 5-1)
Magna Grecia (St James's Palace, 6-1)
Constantinople, Western Australia (Queen's Vase, 5-1)
Magical (Prince of Wales's, 3-1)
I Can Fly (Duke of Cambridge, 6-1)
Monarch Of Egypt (Norfolk, 6-1)
Pink Dogwood (Ribblesdale, 5-1)
Etoile (Albany, 6-1)
Japan, Sir Dragonet (King Edward, 5-1)
Ten Sovereigns (Commonwealth Cup, 7-4)
Hermosa (Coronation, 5-4)
Lope Y Fernandez (Chesham, 5-2)
Southern France (Hardwicke, 6-1)

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