Royal Ascot Tips: Best Racing Tips for Day 5

Saturday's Horse Racing Tips

• 14:30 Ascot – Oddyssey – 1pt @ 80/1 & 1pt e/w @ 50/1 (4 places) with BetVictor*
• 15:05 Ascot – Flight Plan – 1pt e/w @ 22/1 (4 places) with Coral
• 15:40 Ascot – Highfield Princess – 2pts @ 11/2 with Ladbrokes
• 17:00 Ascot – First Folio – 1pt e/w @ 25/1 (6 places) with bet365
• 17:00 Ascot – Spirit Of Light – 1pt @ 40/1 with 888sport

For Saturday's horse racing tips, our analyst James Boyle looks at the flat racing action at Royal Ascot, with five selections now online.

* - Selection advised on Twitter. 66/1 available now with 4 places paid. 80/1 with 3.

As always, you’ll find the most up-to-date odds at the best horse racing betting sites, but don’t sleep on our tipster’s predictions as those odds could soon be gobbled up by the betting public. Odds stated are correct at the time of publishing.

14:30 Ascot – Oddyssey – 1pt @ 80/1 & 1pt e/w @ 50/1

A 40/1 son of Ulysses – Holloway Boy – caused a shock in this race last year when scoring comfortably on what was his racecourse debut and I’m wondering could Oddyssey repeat the trick. He has already had an experience under rules, lining up at Yarmouth a few weeks ago. Sent off at 22/1, there wasn’t too much expected of him based on the market and he ended up coming home in seventh place.

Lightning Leo, Sayedaty Sadaty and Quatre Bras finished in the first three and all of them are reopposing in this, none of whom are priced above 16’s. Of course, they showed more obvious ability in their performances on the day and it’s not hard to figure out why they’re shorter, but Patrick Owens’ charge ran a race of promise, running on well in the closing stages having got badly outpaced.

Why he was so tapped for toe could be down to any amount of reasons from needing the experience, to hating the pace of the race (they didn’t go fast), to wanting a longer trip or, indeed, to not being good enough. It could be a combination of some of those but I have a funny feeling he’ll have learned a lot from the run and could be an entirely different proposition this time around on a stiffer track. 

He’s going to have to be better if he’s to mix it with these but if he has learned more about the job of being a racehorse and they go a stronger tempo up top, he’ll be finishing quickly. The trainer is very capable despite having a small string and I doubt he’d be running this fellow if he was deemed a no-hoper. He is 80/1 so I’m fully prepared to be very wrong but it’s possible he’s now ready for a big run.

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15:05 Ascot – Flight Plan – 1pt e/w @ 22/1

The price about Flight Plan winning this will likely drift but I have to put the price in now and will accept the 22/1. He could be a million-to-one if replicating what he did in the 2000 Guineas but he patently hated the heavy ground and nature of Newmarket’s track, so I’m happy to ignore the run altogether. What he was doing previously shows us that he’s actually very talented.

After easily winning a 7f novice at Newcastle late in 2022, he was given a break before returning to take in the Listed Burradon Stakes on All-Weather Finals day. That was his first start over a mile and I thought he looked like the best horse in the race for much of the way, only for his stamina limitations being exposed by a stronger stayer in the shape of Dear My Friend, who later contested the Derby.

Galeron finishing third adds some substance to the form as he came home fourth in the English Guineas and then ran fifth to Paddington in the Irish variant. Flight Plan was over two-lengths clear of him at Newcastle and I feel it’s a run that suggests he could do something very meaningful dropped back to 7f on a stiff, straight track. I get to test that theory out now and the ground should help, too.

15:40 Ascot – Highfield Princess – 2pts @ 11/2

I was against Highfield Princess when she ran in the King’s Stand purely on price grounds as I had worries that she’d be picked up by a finisher late on. Those closing from deep never got near but Bradsell came of age back down to the minimum trip and did her for pace. She was keeping on gamely to the line but even though there was some interference, she could never get ahead of him again.

It was a cracking effort nonetheless and for all that it’s tough backing up so quickly, sprinters are funny creatures and she did win back-to-back Group 1’s in the space of twelve days last season. This will be harder to achieve as the opposition are better but I don’t think it’s a bad thing that she’s up to 6f, as there’s less chance of what happened with Bradsell happening again – she’ll find a rhythm for longer.

Those taking her on will point to her defeat in this race last season but they went very hard and turned it into more of a grind than she’d care for. This time, I’m not sure the pace will be as severe and we could see raw speed win out. Tactical theories can be blown out of the water very quickly but that’s my general thinking at present! And if it proves to be correct, her chance increases significantly.

17:00 Ascot – First Folio – 1pt e/w @ 25/1

First Folio has been on my radar for a big race for a long time and I managed to catch him right when he won a valuable 3-year-old handicap at York a couple of years ago. He’s only 1-13 since that success and hasn’t proved up to the task of levelling up yet, but he’s still just 5 and over half of those runs have yielded a triple-figured RPR. Ultimately, his consistency has left the handicapper in full charge.

This time, however, connections are enlisting the use of Taylor Fisher to remove 5lbs and he’s riding really well at present (6-20 in the past fortnight). He was also on board for the sole success since his big day in York and is up again for the first time. That could have a positive effect, although it is worth noting that this is such a competitive race that an apprentice winning it would be some achievement!

I still reckon that it’s a smart play and a visor is being added too. Given that he has shown signs of some temperament before, it may help to keep his mind on the job and get him travelling sweetly. He has a lovely cruising speed anyway and showed that at York last time, but didn’t seem to be putting in his all and wasn’t given a hard time after Mr Wagu started leaning on him around a furlong from home.

After two spins this term, he should be coming towards peak fitness and there’s no doubting that this will have been his big target for the year. He ran well to finish sixth in the race last season from a poor draw and can do even better if they ride him cold in the cover. I’m certain there’s a big performance in him, there’s plenty of speed drawn nearby and with luck in-running, he’s no 25/1 shot to win it.

17:00 Ascot – Spirit Of Light – 1pt @ 40/1

I’m going to have a win-only bet on Spirit Of Light as well. He turns out quickly following his run in the Buckingham Palace and he travelled through it really strongly, but had no chance after racing in the small group on the near side. It was a bit disappointing that he couldn’t get past Gorak on the run to the line but in a cavalry charge over a stiff 7f, maybe that one just stays better than he does.

The draw could limit his effect again as he’s positioned lowest of all but these track/draw biases tend to be all over the place from day-to-day so I’m going to just hope it’s not detrimental. He has all the tools to be fully effective over a stiff 6f on fast ground and can outrun his odds if things fall right mid-race. I might put my bet on at BSP in the hope that it’s huge but 40/1 with the bookmakers is fine.

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