Royal Ascot TIPS: Newsboy picks 1-2-3 for every race on Thursday on ITV
Royal Ascot is set to draw its biggest crowd of the week for Gold Cup day, traditionally known as 'Ladies' Day'. The Gold Cup is the most historic race of the prestigious five-day fixture which attracts the best horses, trainers and jockeys from Europe and around the world.
The feature prize is the fourth race on the card which opens with the 5f Norfolk Stakes for two-year-olds followed by the Ribblesdale Stakes, the 1m4f race for three-year-old fillies. Newsboy has analysed every race and given his 1-2-3.
2.30 Norfolk Stakes
AFJAN made a most promising debut at Chantilly at the beginning of the month and gets the vote to take his tally to 2-2.
Trained in France by Henri-François Devin, my selection is bred to be precocious and speedy - his sire Mehmas finished second in the 2016 Coventry Stakes before going on to lift the Group 2 July Stakes (Newmarket) and Richmond Stakes (Goodwood) later that summer, while dam Al Johrah chased home Lady Aurelia in the Queen Mary Stakes the same year.
Afjan started out in a race for newcomers over an extended five furlongs at Devin's local course, going off second choice in the betting in a field of nine.
And Alexis Pouchin's mount got his career off to the perfect start, running on strongly to the finish to get the better of Vardif by a length and a quarter.
There is plenty of improvement to come at the second time of asking as Afjan bids to better his parents' feats at Royal Ascot. Charles Darwin is the clubhouse leader in terms of form and rates the principal danger, ahead of Naval Light and, at bigger odds, Comical Point.
3.05 King George V Stakes
SING US A SONG, progressive and likely to thrive for a step up in trip, has the right profile for trainer Ralph Beckett, who hit the bullseye with Surefire in 2021 and Going The Distance 12 months ago.
Successful on the last of his three starts as a two-year-old - he won a 10-furlong maiden at Goodwood by a short head last September - Camelot's son made his return to the fray in a handicap over the same distance at Sandown Park at the end of April.
A 4-1 chance in a field of 12, Hector Crouch's mount came back from a 212-day absence to double his career tally, making much of the running and surging home with gusto to hold Urban Glimpse by two and a quarter lengths.
After the colt's pre-Royal Ascot purchase by Wathnan Racing, James Doyle is now on board Sing Us A Song who has a 7lb rise in the weights to overcome - but both his run style and his pedigree suggest another step forward will be forthcoming now he tackles a mile and a half.
In a wide-open contest, Serious Contender, Gunship, Lightening Mann and Boatswain are just four horses capable of getting involved.
NEWSBOY'S 1-2-3: 1 SING US A SONG, 2 SERIOUS CONTENDER, 3 LIGHTENING MANN
3.40 Ribblesdale Stakes
SERENITY PRAYER has seen her Musidora Stakes second boosted by Whirl in the Oaks at Epsom and holds leading claims.
We didn't see the daughter of Dubawi - dam Peach Tree, a sister to 1,000 Guineas and Oaks heroine Love, won at Group 3 level - as a two-year-old.
But Serenity Prayer had evidently been showing up well on Andrew Balding's Kingsclere gallops prior to making her debut against seven rivals at Newbury in April.
Backed into 2-1 joint-favouritism, my selection and Oisín Murphy justified the support with a length-and-and-a-half margin to earn a trip to York for the Group 3 Oaks trial.
Racing at the back of the six-runners, Serenity Prayer began to feel the heat at the top of the straight but stuck to her guns and got up for second, five and a half lengths behind the Aidan O'Brien-trained winner.
Whirl went under by just a neck to stablemate Minnie Hauk at Epsom and Serenity Prayer, for whom the move up to a mile and a half is a plus, still has more to give. Catalina Delcarpio, Life Is Beautiful and Lady Vivian are taken to fight it out for the minor medals.
NEWSBOY'S 1-2-3: 1 SERENITY PRAYER, 2 CATALINA DELCARPIO, 3 LADY VIVIAN
4.20 Gold Cup
ILLINOIS is expected to answer the questions regarding his stamina and extend his trainer Aidan O'Brien's record in Royal Ascot's signature race to double figures.
Opponents will point to the fact that today's favourite was parachuted into the Gold Cup reckoning only when stablemate, and dual winner, Kyprios succumbed to a career-ending injury last month.
But a Ballydoyle understudy can still bring the house down, as Gstaad, standing in for the sidelined Albert Einstein, proved in Tuesday's Coventry Stakes.
Twelve months ago, Illinois made his first visit to Ascot a winning one with a victory in the Group 2 Queen's Vase over a mile and six furlongs.
My selection then stepped back to a mile and a half during the summer for seconds in the top-level Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp and York's Group 2 Great Voltigeur Stakes, before a neck defeat behind another O'Brien trainee, Jan Brueghel, in the St Leger at Doncaster in September.
Ryan Moore's mount rounded off 2024 with a win in the Group 2 Prix Chaudenay over a mile and seven back in Paris on Arc weekend.
And he proved everything is in working order after 215 days off with a length-and-a-quarter margin from Al Qareem in the Group 3 Ormonde Stakes at Chester last month.
As the trainer himself notes, nobody will know whether Illinois possesses the required stamina until he reaches the home straight this afternoon. But O'Brien rarely sends short runners to the Gold Cup and a 10th triumph awaits.
Candelari, like Illinois an up-and-coming four-year-old, isn't passed over lightly, while Trawlerman and Sweet William, second and third to Kyprios for John and Thady Gosden in 2024, are poised to profit if the young guns' staying power doesn't hold out.
5.00 Britannia Stakes
FIFTH COLUMN gives the impression he doesn't do more than the necessary - and that makes life tough for the handicapper.
As a two-year-old, the John and Thady Gosden-trained son of Kingman didn't live up to expectations, with his four races yielding four defeats.
It wasn't a massive surprise, therefore, to see Fifth Column undergo a gelding operation before he marked his comeback from a 158-day lay-off by getting his head in front in a one-mile Kempton Park maiden at the beginning of April.
Given a British Horseracing Authority mark of 86, my selection made his debut in the sphere in the Esher Cup at Sandown Park 18 days later and proved ahead of that assessment with a three-quarter-length beating of Seraph Gabriel.
There's still a way to go before Fifth Column, equipped with cheekpieces, gets to the bottom of the barrel and a 6lb rise in the weights doesn't look out of reach. In a race where the bookies are struggling to find a favourite, Consolidation, Teroomm, Fearnot and God Of War are all viable candidates.
NEWSBOY'S 1-2-3: 1 FIFTH COLUMN, 2 TEROOMM, 3 GOD OF WAR
5.35 Hampton Court Stakes
JACKKNIFE lost his unbeaten record in unfortunate circumstances at Sandown Park three weeks ago and shouldn't be written off.
Absent from the track at two, the Kameko-sired colt was given his introduction in a nine-runner novice stakes at Epsom in April, getting the better of favourite The King's Falcon by a neck.
That form is unexceptional but Jackknife emerged with plenty of credit despite finding every bit of trouble going in the Listed Heron Stakes over a mile on the Brigadier Gerard Stakes undercard last time out.
Racing towards the far rail in the straight, Oisín Murphy couldn't find daylight on his Roger Varian-saddled partner until the race was as good as over.
With winner Opera Ballo in the clear, Jackknife kept on into third under a hand ride and looks capable of much better over this additional two furlongs. Detain (third) and Trinity College (fourth) have their sights lowered after running well in the Prix du Jockey Club and have claims, along with High Stock.
NEWSBOY'S 1-2-3: 1 JACKKNIFE, 2 TRINITY COLLEGE, 3 HIGH STOCK
6.10 Buckingham Palace Stakes
RAMAZAN needs to leave this season's form way behind to figure, but is capable of doing exactly that.
Richard Fahey's five-year-old will win nothing if repeating his 'achievements' of 2025, a sixth at Musselburgh and a last-of-10 effort at Haydock Park in April and a hefty defeat - he blew the start before coming home 11th of 16 behind Rousing Encore - at York last month.
But the plus side is that the British Horseracing Authority number cruncher has taken a losing run stretching back to August 2023 into account.
Victorious from a rating of 98 at Chepstow for his latest win - Razaman finished a head second in the Victoria Cup over this course and distance from 105 in May of last year - he now competes from a figure of 96.
That makes him a well-handicapped horse, and Fahey's booking of rising star 5lb claimer Warren Fentiman is another plus. In a finale of many possible outcomes, Never So Brave, Akkadian Thunder and Fifty Nifty merit a second look.
NEWSBOY'S 1-2-3: 1 RAMAZAN: 2 NEVER SO BRAVE, 3 FIFTY NIFTY
FREE £2 William Hill Shop Bets every day of Royal Ascot inside your Mirror
We've teamed up with racing experts William Hill to offer your a £2 FREE shop bet every day of the iconic Royal Ascot festival. Pick up your Mirror from Tuesday June 17 -> Saturday June 21, 2025 to get your hands on this great offer. With 12 pages of incredible pullouts every day, PLUS a £2 shop bet, the Mirror is ready to bring you all the runners, riders, and winners of Ascot 2025.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Record
3 hours ago
- Daily Record
Alistair Johnston gets Celtic penalty pain perspective from fellow newlywed as key question answered
Aberdeen defeat threatened to put a dampener on Johnston's big day until getting sage advice from another groom to be It was a summer of mixed emotions for Alistair Johnston. An agonising penalty miss at Hampden handed Aberdeen the Scottish Cup and ended Celtic's Treble dreams in the cruellest fashion. For Johnston, it wasn't the way the season was supposed to finish. Especially not with the biggest day of his life around the corner as he prepared to marry his long-term partner Peyton. It can take weeks to get a defeat like that out of the system. Especially when it's usually Celtic doing the celebrating on the podium. But after a heart-to-heart with close pal and ex-teammate Greg Taylor, it wasn't long before newlywed Johnston was smiling again. He said: 'I talked actually a lot to Greg about it because he had done something similar the year before. "He had his wedding the week following the cup final. I asked him, 'Does a result kind of really affect the wedding?'. "He's like, 'Look, once the season's done and you're fully focused on your wedding, it's the biggest day of your life'. It's exactly that. "Once I got there, saw my friends, family I pretty quickly forgot about football. You remember that there are still more important things in life, your family, your wife. "It was nice to kind of put the failure of that cup final behind me and kind of really just reset, focus on the people that were there and then get ready for the internationals. "Once we got through that tournament, I remembered, 'Okay, we've got something to come back and try and win back when I get back into Scotland'. "So I think there's an extra level of motivation now. You can see it through the entire group. "There's definitely a bit of a burning passion there to get back what we think is our trophy. So that's something that we have a challenge of this year.' Now entering his third full season at Celtic Park, Johnston has already racked up an incredible seven trophies - including a Treble and back-to-back Doubles. But the Canada international - who helped his country reach the quarter-finals of the Gold Cup - is determined to make amends this season. He said: 'If you never lose, then you kind of forget what the feeling of winning really is. "I want to sit here and say that I want to win every single trophy. That is the case. "But, at the same time, when you do lose one you probably come back with a bit more of a fire in your belly to go out there and really kick on that following year. "So I don't think that it's necessarily a bad thing. It is in the past. Obviously, we would have loved to have won a treble. It didn't happen. "But now that gives us all the extra motivation to go out there and try and make it happen this year. "So I think that that's a really positive thing that comes out of it. I think you need to try and find what are the learnings and the growths from that match so we can learn from it and make sure that doesn't happen again. "But at the same time, that's football. You're not going to win every single match. "We'd love to do that. So I think that, you know, going into this year, it really does just kind of add a little bit of extra fire to everyone that's in this. "You want to put things right and ideally to have our trophies back is kind of the plan.'
BBC News
6 hours ago
- BBC News
Palace win and lose in FC Augsburg friendly
Crystal Palace recorded a victory and a defeat in their double-header pre-season friendly against Bundesliga side FC Augsburg in Oliver Glasner fielded different starting XIs for the two 90-minute fixtures, the first of which breezed to a 3-1 victory and the second of which struggled in a 1-0 first starting line-up featured plenty of experienced first-team players, with Jean-Philippe Mateta grabbing a brace to continue his pre-season goalscoring form and attacking partner Eberechi Eze also featuring on the second starting line-up saw a number of academy prospects handed minutes, including a senior debut for centre-back Luke Browne, alongside senior figures such as Will Hughes, Jefferson Lerma and Odsonne Eagles will now turn their attention to the Community Shield on 10 August (15:00 BST), as Liverpool lie in wait at Wembley Stadium.
Daily Mirror
9 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Goodwood tips: Newsboy's picks plus 1-2-3 for every race on Saturday on ITV
With plenty of winners over the five days our ace tipster tackles the Stewards Cup and every other race on the final day of Glorious Goodwood Five days of racing in one of the most picturesque racing settings in the world comes to an end at Goodwood on Saturday. The Qatar Goodwood Festival, also known as Glorious Goodwood, is one of the highlights of the summer when the crowds come out to the Sussex venue in the hope of fine racing and fine weather. Day five features the Coral Stewards' Cup, contested by a maximum field of 28, the Group 2 Qatar Lillie Langtry Stakes and the Group 3 Coral Glorious Stakes. Newsboy, aka David Yates, will be providing daily and detailed guides on every race. 1.20 Coral Glorious Stakes AL AASY won this race in style 12 months ago and the title holder will be hard to beat. For a horse who has been called his fair share of names, William Haggas's stable stalwart has an enviable record of 10 wins from 25 starts - that's a 40 per cent win ratio. His eighth victory came here in 2024 when the gelded eight-year-old and Jim Crowley threaded through a gap against the far rail to account for Relentless Voyager by one length. Al Aasy then made light of a Group 3 penalty in Newbury's Geoffrey Freer Stakes two weeks later and made it into double figures when returning to the fray in the same-level Gordon Richard Stakes at Sandown Park in April. Again held up at the back of the seven-runner field, the son of Sea The Stars swept through to beat Ancient Wisdom by half a length, with Arabian Crown behind in sixth. A funeral cortège gallop proved Al Aasy's undoing when fourth in the Group 3 Aston Park Stakes at Newbury, and he didn't get the breaks upped in class for Royal Ascot 's Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes last time. But he should get a pace to aim at here and, back down in grade, must go well. The rain-softened terrain is a plus for Arabian Crown, while Al Aasy's stablemate Candleford is the choice for third. NEWSBOY'S 1-2-3: 1 AL AASY, 2 ARABIAN CROWN, 3 CANDLEFORD 1.55 Coral Summer Handicap SUBSEQUENT went from strength to strength in 2024 and will have no issue with the prevailing conditions. The Andrew Balding-saddled son of Galileo won't win anything if he repeats the form of his comeback last-of-six behind Al Qareem in the Group 3 Silver Cup at York last month. But the chestnut four-year-old is better judged on his ascent through the ranks last season. Unraced at two, Subsequent marked his third start by landing a novice stakes at Haydock Park in June of last year before entering the handicap domain to score at Salisbury and Newmarket during the summer. On the back of a short-head defeat in Doncaster's valuable Mallard Handicap in September, my preference went one better, by two and a half lengths from Allonsy, in the Listed Noel Murless Stakes - the one-mile, six-furlong race was staged on soft ground - at Ascot three weeks later. A sizeable step forward from his reappearance is essential but, if it is forthcoming back in handicaps, David Probert's partner is well capable of registering a fifth career win. The hat-trick-seeking Sam Hawkens is on the up and entitled to respect, along with French Duke and Aeronautic. NEWSBOY'S 1-2-3: 1 SUBSEQUENT, 2 SAM HAWKENS, 3 FRENCH DUKE 2.30 Qatar Lillie Langtry Stakes GOODIE TWO SHOES has done very little wrong and, despite tackling Group 2 opposition for the first time, gets the vote rack up the four-timer. She has a win in a mares' maiden hurdle at Killarney to show from seven attempts over obstacles, but Joseph O'Brien's daughter of Fastnet Rock has been a good deal more effective on the Flat, carrying the colours of JP McManus to six victories from 10 starts. Half of those successes have come this season, starting with a six-length supremacy in the Listed Vintage Tipple Stakes - Goodie Two Shoes had finished third at Cork on her Flat comeback the previous month - over a mile and three-quarters at Gowran Park in May. Staying at Listed level but moving up to two miles, the six-year-old went in again under Dylan Browne McMonagle - William Buick is in the plate this afternoon - with a length-and-a-half beating of La Isla Mujeres. And she completed the hat-trick back at a mile and six in the Group 3 Stanerra Stakes back over at Fairyhouse 24 days ago, travelling strongly en route to a half-length margin from Drawn To Dream. This test demands another personal best, but Goodie Two Shoes is thriving and it will be a surprise if this likeable mare doesn't have more to give. Term Of Endearment came home in front 12 months ago and should again go well, while stablemates Danielle and Sueno are taken to battle it out for the bronze medal. NEWSBOY'S 1-2-3: 1 GOODIE TWO SHOES, 2 TERM OF ENDEARMENT, 3 DANIELLE 3.05 Coral Stewards' Cup COMMANCHE FALLS is well treated for his bid for racing history as the first three-time winner of the Stewards' Cup. The eight-year-old is currently in a share of the lead with Marvel (1980 & 1892), Golden Rod (1910 &1912), Lord Annandale (1913 & 1914), Sugar Palm (1942 & 1943) and Sky Diver (1967 & 1968) - all are two-time winners of the six-furlong test. Michael Dods' stable favourite can be backed at bid odds to land the overall record - but shouldn't be underestimated. The downside is the gelding's losing run - 16 races since Commanche Falls lifted York's Listed Garrowby Stakes in September 2023. But there are positives - and you don't have to look too hard to find them. The barren spell has seen Commanche Falls fall in the weights - he was rated 112 on the day of his latest win but will compete from a British Horseracing Authority handicap mark of 98 today. There is also the small matter of his 'previous' in this race. In 2021, Connor Beasley's partner galloped through soft ground to deny Gulliver by a months later, on significantly quicker terrain, he followed up with a short-head call from Tabdeed. Those wins - Commanche Falls is unbeaten in two visits to Goodwood - came from ratings 3lb and 5lb above this afternoon's figure, and the recent return to form of the Dods yard fuels hopes of a revival. In a typically open renewal, Hammer The Hammer, Jakajaro, Strike Red, and Apollo One are at the top of a long shortlist. Don't miss a FREE £2 William Hill shop bet inside your Mirror every day of Glorious Goodwood Festival Pick up your Mirror every day of the Goodwood festival to get your hands on 12 page pullouts packed with insight from the punters you trust, plus FREE William Hill shop bets every day of the festival from Tuesday July 29 until Saturday August 2, 2025. Find out more here. 3.45 Whispering Angel Handicap HEADMASTER is intriguing as he makes his debut in the handicap sphere. There is much to like about the William Haggas trainee's pedigree - Headmaster is a son of Dubawi and the Somerville Lodge stable's three-time Prix de la Forêt heroine, One Master. Headmaster didn't make the track as a juvenile and he was gelded by the time he took on seven opponents for a novice stakes at Lingfield Park in May, finishing a three-quarter-length second to Elarak. The runner-up berth once more beckoned at Windsor at the end of June as Headmaster went down by a neck to Antipodes. But there was no mistake at the third time of asking as my choice justified odds of 2-5 in style at Haydock Park 15 days ago, humbling Palio Di Siena by four and a quarter lengths. Headmaster looks capable of a good deal better and, from an opening mark of 88, he should give Japanese rising star Mirai Iwata a good spin. Dangers lurk at every turn, with top weight The Waco Kid, favourite Mudbir and the soft-ground-capable Spirit Of Farhh all with something to recommend them. NEWSBOY'S 1-2-3: 1 HEADMASTER, 2 SPIRIT OF FARHH, 3 THE WACO KID 4.20 British Stallion Studs EBF Maiden Stakes CORINTH is put up as the value alternative to warm order Isaac Newton. The son of Dubai - dam Ricetta is a niece of Kingman who won twice for John and Thady Gosden - went off at 12-1 in a field of five when starting out for Clarehaven in a novice stakes at Sandown Park at the beginning of last month. Prominent from the outset, Corinth looked in need of his first experience when asked to go forward entering the final two of the contest's seven furlongs. But he kept on to take fourth, two and a quarter lengths behind winner Pacifica Pier - Corinth's stablemate Publish took second but is now the 2,000 Guineas favourite after going one better at the Esher track - and will know more this time. Isaac Newton just missed out on his Curragh debut and is greatly feared, ahead of Exclusive Code. NEWSBOY'S 1-2-3: 1 CORINTH, 2 ISAAC NEWTON, 3 EXCLUSIVE CODE 4.55 Coral Golden Rewards Shaker Handicap ALPHA CRUCIS gets the vote to improve on an already impressive Goodwood track three visits, the son of Australia, trained in tandem by Gary and Josh Moore, has emerged victorious on three occasions. Successful over a mile here in October 2023, the five-year-old was back in business over this afternoon's course and distance last September before following up back at a mile on the South Downs 18 days later. Not disgraced on his return when eighth in the Lincoln Handicap at Doncaster in March, Alpha Crucis was a good second at Epsom on Oaks day and appeals from an unchanged mark. Gladius brings an attractive profile to the meeting's finale, while Indalo and Toimy Son are also worth a second look. NEWSBOY'S 1-2-3: 1 ALPHA CRUCIS, 2 GLADIUS, 3 TOIMY SON
