Royal Ascot 2023: Ante-Post Market Movers Update

The countdown to Royal Ascot 2023 is almost over, which begins on Tuesday, June 20. 

The five-day showpiece is the highlight of British Flat Racing season, with 35 races scheduled for this year’s meeting and no shortage of Royal Ascot Offers for punters to choose from.

Of those 35 races, eight are Group 1 level, including the blue-riband Gold Cup on Thursday (which is also Ladies’ Day) a hugely popular social day at the Berkshire track.

We’ve been treated to some top-class Flat action over the last week so let’s take a look at the key performances and what impact they have had on ante-post Royal Ascot 2023 odds.

All Change In Prince Of Wales’s Stakes

One minute he’s working the house down, the next, he’s out of the race altogether. 

News that Desert Crown had suffered a ‘minor setback’ at home broke on Sunday and the absence of last year’s Derby winner, who had been backed into 2/1 favouritism on the back of those glowing work reports.

This means that ante-post lists for the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes now have a very different look to them. 

Multiple Group 1 winners Luxembourg and Adayar, both a top price 9/4, are now vying for favouritism for what promises to be one of the races of the entire meeting.

The likes of Bay Bridge (4/1), My Prospero (5/1) and possibly the recent Grand Prix de Chantilly winner Simca Mille (14/1), add proper strength in depth to a Group 1 that will surely take a deal of winning.

Paddington Popular In St James’s Palace Stakes Market

Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Paddington has been the subject of more support in St James’s Palace Stakes lists.

The improving son of Siyouni has posted an improved Racing Post Rating (RPR) on each of his five career starts and there are clearly those at Ballydoyle that believe there is still more to come from a colt that will surely get further than a mile in time.

Paddington is now as short as 9/4 to get the better of his clash with English Guineas hero Chaldean, who is trading at slightly shorter odds in many places. 

But like the St James’s Palace Stakes, this is no two-horse race. Money continues to come for Cicero’s Gift (7/2) and Mostabshir (7/1), who created such a huge impression when scorching to a five-length success in a warm novice contest at York.

Princess The One Punters Want In King’s Stand Stakes

This time last week, there was plenty of 3/1, even some 100/30 in a couple of places, available about Highfield Princess in the King’s Stand Stakes but the superstar mare is now no bigger than 5/2 with betting sites to land the big Group 1 sprint.

Connections opted to run Highfield Princess in the six-furlong Jubilee Stakes last year but the stiff five at Ascot looks ideal for a mare that ran a huge race in defeat on seasonal return. 

She’s a winner at Ascot, she’s versatile regarding ground and the strong-travelling six-year-old will absolutely adore the helter-skelter pace of a King’s Stand. 

She’s going to be hard to very hard to beat but the market suggests there is also significant confidence behind Australian raider Coolangatta.

Already a dual Grade 1 winning sprinter (from just eight career starts) in his homeland, Coolangatta came out on top in a tight finish to the Lightning Stakes at Flemington when last seen in February and the form of that race was given a major boost when runner-up I Wish I Win came out and won a Grade 1 a couple of months later.

Australian raiders have won the King’s Stand Stakes on five occasions since 2003, including Nature Strip 12 months ago, and Coolangatta is a general 4/1 shot to bring up the half-dozen for the Aussies.

Wind Blows Longchamp Rivals Away

West Wind Blows has been slashed in price by most firms (16/1 from 33/1) for the Hardwicke Stakes after seeing off Group 3 rivals in good style at Longchamp on Sunday.

The improving four-year-old justified his odds-on SP for the La Coupe - Fondation Claude Pompidou in convincing fashion under Christophe Soumillon and a step back up in class is surely on the horizon for the Simon & Ed Crisford-trained gelding.

Whether connections think he’s got the constitution to handle what would be a quick turnaround if he were to run in the Hardwicke remains to be seen but this five-time winner looks ready for stronger company and there is probably more to come.

Another mover in Hardwicke Stakes betting is Ardakan who was 33/1 a week ago but is now a standout 16/1 shot.

Ardakan doesn’t have a particularly appealing profile having won just two of his 11 starts but he’s run some nice races in good company and someone clearly thinks that Marco Botti has him primed to run big in the Hardwicke Stakes.

Wokingham Market Taking Shape

Jumby is now 14/1 from 20/1 second favourite in Wokingham Stakes betting lists after his fluent success in Saturday’s John Of Gaunt Stakes.

Third in the big six-furlong sprint handicap at the Royal Meeting 12 months ago, Jumby goes into this year’s renewal in fine shape after quickening up smartly to account for some decent rivals in that Haydock Group 3 contest.

He goes into the Wokingham rated slightly higher than last year so he faces no easy task but it looks like he’s going to get his ground and providing he gets a half-decent draw, it’s easy to see him running a big race.

The lightly-raced Orazio heads Wokingham betting at a general 8/1 with horse racing betting sites after running away with a race over the Wokingham course and distance in early May. 

However, that was on soft ground and none of his three wins have come on ground with the word ‘firm’ in the description so he would have something to prove if, as looks likely now, conditions are on the quick side.