2026 ROYAL ASCOT TIPS - THURSDAY
The Gold Cup is the headline act in our Royal Ascot tips for Thursday , as the stayers take centre stage on Ladies Day .
Punters can also get stuck into another couple of group-class contests, a hot Listed event for juveniles and three fiercely competitive handicaps with big fields.
14:30 Tip
14:30 CHESHAM STAKES – REVELS @ 11/1
Karl Burke has few peers when it comes to training juveniles and memorably won this Listed prize with the unraced Holloway Boy four years ago. Revels has already shown his quality with a facile debut success at Redcar and the form looks pretty solid, with third placed Sword Salute bolting up at Lingfield next time.
15:05 Tip
15:05 KING GEORGE V STAKES – TIERRA DEL TORO @ 7/1
A third-place finish in the London Gold Cup at Newbury last month clearly impressed the Wathnan Racing team, as they subsequently bought the first three home, and Ralph Beckett’s gelding raced as if this step up to a mile and a half will suit.
15:40 Tip
15:40 RIBBLESDALE STAKES – GILDED PRIZE @ 7/2
Francis-Henri Graffard ’s three-year-old looked every inch a top-class filly in the making when stretching her unbeaten record to three in a Group Three at Saint-Cloud in mid-April, but subsequently failed to fire in the Prix Saint-Alary on soft ground. However, stepping up to a mile and a half on a quicker surface, Gilded Prize can bounce back in the more than capable hands of Oisin Murphy , given Juddmonte teammate and Oaks runner-up Legacy Link can only have had a hard race at Epsom.
16:15 Tip
16:15 GOLD CUP – SCANDINAVIA (NAP) @ 6/4
The son of Justify looked fairly ordinary this time last year, but a staying-on fifth when stepped up in trip for the Queen’s Vase suggested he was a quality stayer in the making and it is fair to say he has fulfilled that potential and then some.
Scandinavia is unbeaten in five starts since last year’s Royal meeting, a run which includes a first Group One victory when tackling two miles for the first time in the Goodwood Cup and a Classic success over the reopposing Rahiebb in the St Leger .
He has taken the traditional Ballydoyle route to the Gold Cup and while his wins in the Vintage Crop and Saval Beg Stakes have been more solid than spectacular, the four-year-old is a horse who definitely keeps a bit back for himself and those runs were very much used as stepping stones.
His old rival Rahiebb has to be rated a significant danger off the back of his Yorkshire Cup success, while the defending champion Trawlerman must also be respected, but he has not been seen yet this season and coming into a race of this nature without a prep run is a huge ask.
Scandinavia is a worthy market leader and looks well placed to become the new king of the staying division by providing Aidan O’Brien with a record-extending 10th Gold Cup victory.
16:50 Tip
16:50 BRITANNIA STAKES – LAUREATE CROWN @ 14/1
This 30-runner handicap is always a bit of a cavalry charge over the straight mile and that might just play into the hands of Jamie Spencer , who has won this race four times and will likely be looking to deliver Hugo Palmer ’s improving gelding fast and late.
17:35 Tip
17:35 HAMPTON COURT STAKES – ENDORSEMENT @ 2/1
Ballydoyle maestro O’Brien has an embarrassment of riches in the three-year-old colts department and this son of Wootton Bassett has rock-solid credentials.
Prior to a recent wide-margin Listed-class win at Leopardstown , Endorsement had been a half-length second to Derby winner Christmas Day in the Ballysax Stakes and finished just the same distance behind subsequent Epsom third James J Braddock in another Classic trial.
18:10 Tip
18:10 BUCKINGHAM PALACE STAKES – ROYAL VELVET @ 12/1
William Knight ’s admirable mare is a Group Three winner running in a handicap after her fine Lingfield triumph last month, which was a sixth career success over this specialist distance of seven furlongs and a fourth strike in five outings when partnered by William Buick .
Betting Tips
2026 Royal Ascot Betting Tips
15:05 - Tierra Del Toro @ 7/1
15:40 - Gilded Prize @ 7/2
16:15 - Scandinavia (nap) @ 6/4
16:50 - Laureate Crown @ 14/1
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