Royal Ascot 2023 Day One Betting Odds - 14/06/2023

On Tuesday 16 June 2023, the Royal Ascot meeting will start and the racecourse will have an eerie atmosphere due to the lack of spectators that will be attending this prestigious sporting event.

However, we have some top-class racing action as always, with the Royal Ascot racecard looking very attractive in terms of some of the horses who will be making an appearance on Day One of the meeting and we’re excited to look through the races and make some bets.

Can Circus Maximus Land the Queen Anne Stakes?

The Queen Anne Stakes has traditionally been the curtain-raiser to the Royal Ascot meeting, although this Group One encounter comes after Buckingham Palace Handicap for this particular racecard, with punters considering whether to back favourite CIRCUS MAXIMUS.

The Aidan O’Brien-trained horse will be making his first outing of the season in this race and some might feel as though it’s worth taking a plunge at odds of 3/1, although his 2019 record saw the runner win just three of his seven races.

However, there was a victory in the St James’s Palace Stakes at the Royal Ascot meeting last year when the horse fended off a strong challenge from King of Comedy, with Ryan Moore likely to be on board again.

FOX CHAIRMAN has a much lower rating for this race, although Andrew Balding’s horse ran nicely when finishing second in the Hampton Court Stakes at the Royal Ascot meeting of 2019 and could be ready to come nicely to the boil for this encounter.

HEADMAN and MUSTASHRY are other horses that could be in the frame, with the latter actually among the top-rated runners in the field and the Sir Michael Stoute horse won a Group 2 race at Newmarket last October.

Battaash Now Even Money to Win King’s Stand Stakes

The other Group 1 encounter on Day One of the 2023 Royal Ascot meeting is the King’s Stand Stakes, with this race taking place over the distance of five furlongs and it means that speed is very much of the essence.

BATTAASH has already shown a sharp turn of foot before and it explains why the Charles Hills-trained runner is trading at even money to claim victory, with Jim Crowley on board a six-year-old who boasts an impressive track record.

It seems the bookies are willing to overlook a disappointing performance from the horse at Longchamp last autumn after a splendid summer which saw Battaash claim wins at York and Goodwood after previously finishing second to Blue Point in last year’s King’s Stand Stakes.

There are some lively opponents, especially SCEPTICAL who could well be something special at the age of four, with the Dennis Gerrard-trained runner having run three times during 2023 already.

Frankie Dettori is on board for this race and there was more recently a three-length win in a listed race at Naas, with the joint-favourite arriving at Ascot with scope for increased improvement.

GLASS SLIPPERS is the other runner who could cause a stir and this is a four-year-old who landed a consecutive hat-trick of wins as a three-year-old before the winter break.

Kevin Ryan is likely to have the horse in his prime and the runner shone in France towards the back end of 2019 including a win in the Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp Longines on very soft ground.

The wait is over racing fans. Strap yourselves in for five of the very best days of action the sport has to offer as Royal Ascot kicks off on Tuesday 18th June. Here we provide our betting tips for each of the opening day’s Group 1 contests.

Queen Anne Stakes: Mustashry to win at 5/1 with betfair

Take Ribchester to get the week off to a solid start in the opener. Mightily impressive when doing all the donkey work to slam the opposition in a soft-ground Lockinge at Newbury last time out, some may doubt his ability to repeat the dose on a quicker surface here. The Richard Fahey runner has only raced the once on good to firm to date, when finishing like a train to go down by just half a length to The Gurkha in last season’s Sussex Stakes at Goodwood. Even a repeat of that effort would likely be good enough to take this and he looks to have come on a bundle since then to our eyes. 4/5 is the best on offer in our odds comparison, but it looks a price well worth taking.

Kings Stand Stakes: Battaash to win at 9/4 with Unibet

The day’s second Group 1 is all about pure speed, as the best sprinters around line up for this fast and furious five furlongs. Sir Mark Prescott’s Marsha is greatly respected following her win last time out under a penalty in the Palace House Stakes, but when it comes to electrifying pace, it is Wesley Ward’s Lady Aurelia who stands out from the crowd. Simply sensational when going into overdrive to land the Queen Mary by seven lengths here at Royal Ascot in 2016, she significantly gets weight from all of her rivals here, and with her wellbeing assured following a recent comeback win at Keeneland she can show her rivals a clean pair of heels once again.

St James’s Palace Stakes: Phoenix Of Spain to win at 9/4 with bet365

The betting has this as just about a match between Aidan O’Brien’s all conquering, Churchill, and the highly promising Godolphin runner, Barney Roy. We would agree with that assessment. The best form to go on here is the pair’s previous clash in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket. Much was made of the inability of Barney Roy to handle the dip that day, but he wasn’t really gaining ground on Churchill to our eyes, even once finding his stride. There could, of course be improvement to come on what will be just his fourth career start, but likewise we don’t really know how much more Churchill has in the locker as he is yet to be seriously challenged.