Coronation still reigns on day four despite success of Commonwealth Cup

The Coronation Stakes will retain its place as the designated feature race on day four of Royal Ascot despite the emergence of the Commonwealth Cup as a firm favourite of racing professionals and punters.

Having been talked up as the race of the week, the Commonwealth Cup did not disappoint on the track, with Caravaggio defeating Harry Angel and Blue Point, or in the betting ring, with the clash between the superstar trio resulting in the race leaping from fifth to second behind the Gold Cup in terms of Coral betting-shop turnover for the meeting.

By contrast, the Coronation Stakes, featuring seven runners and a hotshot in Winter who scored as the 4-9 favourite, caused the race to plummet from the third most popular betting event in 2016 to third least popular this year.

Simon Clare, Coral’s PR director, said: “The Gold Cup retained its pre-eminent position as the biggest betting race at Royal Ascot, but the Commonwealth Cup lived up to its billing and proved the second most popular race of the meeting with punters.

“Ascot will be pleased to see the Queen’s Vase perform so well [jumping to seventh from 18th] as a betting contest, but the St James’s Palace and Coronation both suffered in betting terms due to the presence of such dominant odds-on favourites that depressed punter interest.”

He added: “Overall turnover on the meeting was very healthy, and up on last year with no football tournament to contend with. The comprehensive ITV coverage also played its part in stimulating betting turnover across the five days.”

The uplift and spread in betting interest, which also included the Queen Alexandra Stakes being the fifth most popular race, up from 20th, as Thomas Hobson attempted to add the contest to his Ascot Stakes success, was greeted with delight by Nick Smith, Ascot’s director of racing and communications.

Smith said the Coronation Stakes would not be dimmed by the Commonwealth Cup and said: “It’s important to protect the Coronation Stakes as the main contest on the day from a historical sense.

"Whether or not it’s the best race on the day doesn’t matter too much as it can vary from year to year. It’s the race that sits as race four, and at Ascot we make changes only when there is a need to do so.”

Royal Ascot 2017

Races by turnover (Coral betting shops)

201720162015DAYTIMERACE

111Thur4.20Gold Cup

252Fri3.40Commonwealth Cup

325Sat4.20Diamond Jubilee

4711Sat5.00Wokingham

52014Sat5.35Queen Alexandra

6108Weds4.20Prince of Wales’s

71824Fri5.35Queen’s Vase

8810Weds5.00Royal Hunt Cup

91626Sat2.30Chesham

1067Sat3.40Hardwicke

111725Thur5.00Britannia

122113Tues3.40King’s Stand

1343Tues4.20St James’s Palace

141412Tues2.30Queen Anne

151220Fri5.00Duke of Edinburgh

161117Thur3.40Ribblesdale

1723 29Weds3.05Queen Mary

181328Fri2.30Albany

192923Fri3.05King Edward VII

20156Weds2.30Jersey

212216Thur5.35King George V

222815Thur2.30Norfolk

231927Tues5.00Ascot Stakes

24269Sat3.05Wolferton

253030Tues5.35Windsor Castle

262418Weds5.35Sandringham

272721Thur3.05Hampton Court

2834Fri4.20Coronation

29922Tues3.05Coventry

302519Weds3.40Duke of Cambridge