Andrew Asquith has scoured through the 2025 Royal Ascot entries and has picked out four interesting bets.
Royal Ascot View: Saturday June 14
1pt win Notable Speech in Queen Anne Stakes 11/2 (William Hill, 888sport, Coral)
1pt win Ecureuil Secret in Wolferton Stakes at 12/1 (General)
1pt win Fox Legacy in Royal Hunt Cup at 33/1 (Bet365, 25/1 general)
1pt win Inisherin in Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at 5/1 (General)
The Queen Anne Stakes is shaping up to be one of the best races of this year’s Royal Ascot meeting with the first, second, third and fourth home in the Lockinge Stakes all set to renew their rivalry.
Lead Artist came out on top that day under an excellent Oisin Murphy ride, headed by Dancing Gemini in the final furlong but displaying a tenacious attitude to regain the lead again close home.
Both of those horses had the advantage of already having had at least one run this season, however, and it is NOTABLE SPEECH and Rosallion who have the potential to improve past the first two home at Newbury.
Rosallion was having his first run since winning the St James’s Palace Stakes at this meeting 12 months ago having suffered a setback, and there was plenty to like about the way he moved through the Lockinge on return from 11 months off, but the same can also be said for Notable Speech, who arguably travelled best of all.
He was given a patient ride, the last to come off the bridle, and briefly looking a big threat as his trademark turn of foot took him past Rosallion, but he was unable to sustain that effort, clearly in need of the run on his return to action.
That was mirrored in the market, too, not as strong as you would have expected near the off given the level of his form, and I think he’ll take a massive step forward. The straight course at Ascot will favour him if ridden in similar fashion and I’m surprised he’s double the price of Rosallion. On price grounds and raw ability, he looks a cracking bet to me at a general 6/1.
It could be a deep renewal of the Wolferton Stakes, but I was very taken by the Richard Fahey-trained ECUREUIL SECRET at Epsom the other week and his trainer was quick to nominate this race in a post-race interview.
That was only a handicap he won, but he did so from a BHA mark of 103, and he didn’t just win, he pulverised his opposition. It isn’t often you see handicaps of that stature won in such fashion, but he just looked levels above that day, and the performance he recorded – which is backed up by a smart timefigure – suggests he’s more than capable of winning a race of this nature.
Whether it was a gelding operation or dropping into handicap company for the first which sparked such an improved display I’m not sure, but the manner in which he travelled, then quickened into the lead, was very impressive.
A slight question mark would be the likely ground, as he’s never run on a surface faster than good to soft by Timeform’s going description, but he does look a nice, well-balanced individual, so hopefully it won’t pose a problem, and there are some thunderstorms forecast around Ascot prior to Tuesday. Furthermore, that was just his second start for Fahey, and it could be he’s going to develop into a much better four-year-old.
The Royal Hunt Cup has 72 entries at the time of writing for a race which has a maximum field of 30, so it is set to be another fiendishly difficult puzzle to solve.
You can see why My Cloud heads the betting, given his pedigree and the rate of knots he’s progressing at, but he wouldn’t be my sort of bet in a race like this at around 5/1.
Obviously, the draw and the way the track is riding will have a big impact, but one horse who takes my eye at a big price is the Andrew Balding-trained FOX LEGACY. He won a mile and a quarter handicap by 12 lengths for Sir Michael Stoute last season and made the perfect start for this yard when successful in a nine-furlong handicap at Newmarket last month.
That was his first start for seven months, and he showed much improved form to win as he liked in a race which looked competitive beforehand, moving into that contest like a horse some way ahead of his mark, and easily drawing clear in the closing stages.
A gelding operation appeared to have had a positive effect that day and he displayed plenty of natural speed, suggesting he won’t be inconvenienced by dropping back to a mile, especially in a big-field event such as this which will more than likely be run at a solid tempo.
The handicapper has raised him 6lb since, which looks more than fair, and he is just the sort of low-mileage four-year-old who will go on progressing this season, while his physique suggests there should be even more to come, too. By my calculations he’s right on the cut mark, so is guaranteed a run, and at 25/1 (bigger in a place) he has the potential to shorten quite considerably so as we nearer race time.
There is a nice international feel to this year’s renewal of the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes, with Lazzat and Topgear representing France, and Satono Reve, who looked good in a racecourse gallop at Newmarket recently, all set to go for Japan.
You can read into that what you please, no doubting he’s a very smart sprinter, but for me I keep going back to INISHERIN, and that’s the way I’m leaning. His win in the Commonwealth Cup over the same course and distance 12 months ago is still fresh in the memory and that form has worked out incredibly well.
The ease in which he won that day was particularly taking, cruising into contention and finding plenty to see off his rivals in the closing stages. They included Lake Forest (second), who won the very valuable Golden Eagle at Rosehill by half a length from Lazzat and Kind of Blue (fourth), who went on to win the Group 1 Champions Sprint at the end of last season.
Admittedly, Inisherin wasn’t at his best in the July Cup or Sprint Cup afterwards, but he was well supported, and proved at least as good as ever when resuming winning ways in the 1895 Duke of York Stakes on his return last month.
That was his first run since undergoing a breathing operation and he displayed a most determined attitude to prevail, ridden from halfway but finding plenty for pressure to hold off Flora of Bermuda who came from much further back, with the pair well clear of Night Raider.
He has a tendency to get warm beforehand, but that seems to just be him, and it didn’t affect his performance at York. Another positive you can take away from York is that he shaped like a horse who will very much appreciate the return to a stiffer six furlongs at Ascot, a track which will allow him to travel more comfortably and the stiff finish playing to his strengths.
Inisherin a big, good-bodied colt, a proper specimen up close, and kept fresh since, he seems sure to run a big race.
- Preview posted 1530 BST on 14/06/2025
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