Royal Ascot Day 1 Tips

The UK flat horse racing season is firmly in full swing, and one of the racing festivals which holds the most prestige is Royal Ascot. As the royal race meeting gets underway in Berkshire, we’ll have all of the key betting information on races, including the Queen Anne Stakes, Kings Stand and the St James Palace Stakes.

However, before placing your bets on the prestigious group 1, group 2 and handicap races, we also have our Royal Ascot Day 1 Betting Tips, complete with betting trends so you can be informed about the top contenders who will take their places in the stalls and take the twists and turns of Ascot Racecourse.

Royal Ascot Day 1 Race Card

• Queen Anne Stakes
• Coventry Stakes
• King’s Stand Stakes
• St James’s Palace Stakes
• Ascot Stakes
• Wolferton Stakes
• Buckingham Palace Stakes

Royal Ascot Tips

If you're looking for the latest Ascot tips for all the key Royal Ascot races, then below we've taken a look over all of the betting trends and browsed the Ascot betting markets, so you'll have all the key information on the big races before you place any bets.

Royal Ascot Day 1 Race 1: 2.30pm - Queen Anne Stakes Betting Tips (Group 1 – 1m)

The first race of Royal Ascot is the Queen Anne Stakes, classed as a Group 1 race. This contest always starts the festival with a bang and entices some of the best mile horses to the track. Previously won by the likes of Baaeed and Palace Pier, it's a race which is normally packed full of high-class horses and if you’re a favourite backer, then its one for you to watch as they’ve won the last three races.

Royal Scotsman gave the impression that he was well and truly back to form when making all at Epsom last month and he may be capable of following up despite the rise in class.

This doesn’t look like a strong renewal of the contest, particularly with the likes of Big Rock needing softer ground and Royal Scotsman may be capable of kicking on this campaign.

Selection: Royal Scotsman @ 16/1

Royal Ascot Day 1 Race 2: 3.05pm - Coventry Stakes Betting Tips (Group 2 - 6f)

The Coventry Stakes is the second race of Royal Ascot, and it's the first group 2 race of the festival. Run across a distance of six furlongs. This race has provided a stepping stone for horses such as Caravaggio and Arizona, who’ve gone on to win other races, such as the Commonwealth Cup. Within this race, the favourites has performed well, winning four of the last ten races. But one stat to watch is that UK horses have won seven of the last ten renewals, so they will be the horses to follow as you browse the race card on race day.

Aidan O’Brien has a fantastic record in this race and he bids for an 11th success this time around with Camille Pissarro.

The son of Wootton Bassett looked really impressive on his debut in a Navan maiden before going close in Group company second time out when a runaway leader came back at him on the line.

It’s interesting that he’s O’Brien’s sole runner here and his jockey, Ryan Moore, could hardly be riding any better right now.

Selection: Camille PIssarro @ 5/1

Royal Ascot Day 1 Race 3: 3.45pm - The Kings Stand Stakes Betting Tips (Group 1 - 5f)

The second Group One race at Royal Ascot is the King Stand Stake and is also the first sprint of the festival. Open to horses aged four and over, betting trends show this a race where you should avoid favourites as they’ve only won one out of the last 12 renewals. This leads us to look further down the betting market and keep an eye on runners who’ve also competed in the Temple Stakes earlier in the season.

This isn’t a vintage renewal and Crimson Advocate may be capable of outrunning her odds. The daughter of Nyquist won over this course and distance in the Queen Mary last year and was last seen dominating her rivals at Gulfstream Park.

The ground has come in her favour and she looks capable of running a big race in receipt of both a sex and age allowance.

Selection: Crimson Advocate @ 16/1

Royal Ascot Day 1 Race 4: 4.25pm - St James’s Palace Stakes Betting Tips (Group 1 - 1m)

The highlight race on the first day of Royal Ascot is the St James’s Palace Stakes. Open to three-year-old colts, the race will take place over seven furlongs and the leading trainer in the race is Aiden O’Brien, which shows the dominant Irish success within the race over the last 30 years. The betting trends for this race lean towards the favourite, with seven of the last 12 winners taking the victory, and if you’re looking for key feeder races, then keep your eyes on the 2000 Guineas and the Irish 2000 Guineas.

It’s hard to see past Notable Speech who made it four wins from four starts in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket when last seen.

The form has received a significant boost subsequently with re-opposing Rosallion winning the Irish 2,000 Guineas at the Curragh last month and Notable Speech should be capable of reversing the form given that he still showed signs of inexperience last time out, hinting that there was more to come.

Selection: Notable Speech @ 6/5

Royal Ascot Day 1 Race 5: 5.05pm - Ascot Stakes Betting Tips (2m4f)

The Ascot Stakes is the first handicap race to take place at Royal Ascot, and it's here where a big-priced winner can come to the forefront and steal the limelight. Providing previous festival wins to the likes of Coltrane and Thomas Hobson. This is often a race where national hunt trainers will attempt to grab a win at the Royal meeting. Raced over a distance of two miles and three furlongs, this contest is all about stamina, and betting trends show winners of this race have already won at Ascot, so those should be the horses to follow.

There are a few in with claims, but Temporize may be capable of outrunning his odds. There’s a suspicion that extreme trips on the Flat could be the key to him having won his sole start over further than 2m2f at Goodwood last season.

He ran a belter back at that venue when runner-up on this year’s return to action and if he comes on for that, he may have been overlooked by some rivals from fancier stables.

Selection: Temporize @ 16/1

Royal Ascot Day 1 Race 6: 5.40pm - The Wolferton Stakes Betting Tips (Listed – 1m2f)

The first listed flat horse race at Royal Ascot is the Wolferton Stakes. The penultimate race on the opening day, it's a new addition to the card, with only two jockeys managing to land multiple wins. When looking at the betting trends for this race, 9 of the last 12 winners were aged between four and five, which means those horses should be key in your betting selections. Punters will also need to look at horses who have previous form over the one-mile two-furlong distance, as these will be high in the betting odds.

Israr looks like the right favourite in the Wolferton Stakes. He chased home Passenger in a Group 2 at Chester last time out when given a poor ride given that he needs to be produced as late as possible.

Jim Crowley should be able to keep him covered up for longer this time around in a big field and he could be hard to beat if he gets the splits.

Selection: Israr @ 10/3

Royal Ascot Day 1 Race 7: 6.15pm - The Copper Horse Stakes (1m6f)

The final race on the opening day of Royal Ascot is The Cooper House Stakes. A very recent addition to the racecard, there have only been three races to date, with all of them being won by horses with odds varying between 3/1 and 33/1. Given the fact this race is so young, it's hard to find strong betting trends, so for this, it's all about choosing the horse which you feel may provide a win.

This can go the way of Fox Journey who looks like a typical steady improver for Sir Michael Stoute.

The four-year-old couldn’t have been much more impressive on his return to action last month and there’s every chance he’ll improve for that with the step back up in trip in his favour.

Selection: Fox Journey @ 4/1

These are our outright trends for those looking for Royal Ascot Day 1 Tips. We'll have tips for specific horses closer to the event. Until then, check out our tips for the Cheltenham festival or our predictions for the Aintree Grand National.

About Royal Ascot

Before we get into the main horse racing event, we need to delve a little into the pomp and circumstance which surrounds one of the world’s biggest race meetings. A centrepiece of the British summer calendar, it evolved from a four-day meeting first held in 1768 and until 1939, it was the only meeting to be held at the course. Now this has changed with Ascot Racecourse becoming a dual-purpose course.

However, when it comes to Royal Ascot, the festival has grown in size with five days of racing, each including seven races which include Group 1 races which fall into the British Champions Series.