Daily Racing Thread Thursday 18th June 2026

Thursday’s meetings:

Royal Ascot (Flat) 2.30 – 6.10 (ITV) Good to Firm (Good in places) watered
Ripon (Flat) 1.40 – 5.15 Soft
Yarmouth (Flat) 1.30 – 4.25 Good to Soft (Good in places)
Lingfield (Flat) 5.20 – 8.40 Soft (Good to Soft in places)
Southwell (Flat) 5.55 – 9.00 Standard
Leopardstown (Flat) 5.10 – 8.20 Soft (Soft to Heavy in places)


Going reports as per Sunday 14th June. Race times provisional before final declarations.

So far this meeting has been an example of too many jockeys in too much of a hurry, especially on the straight course. The front runners have been routed. This was perfectly illustrated in the Royal Hunt Cup where the majority of the field were on the far side and had a comfortable lead at the two pole but stopped like they were shot at the furlong pole as the first two home took over on the stands’ side. Amazingly in the very next race the same thing happened as my pick All Moonshine led just five on the far side that ended up nearly the last five home having led two out as the places went to the stands’ side group. So it can reasonably be argued that there is not a draw bias this year but a total failure of the midgets to judge their race pace. Richard Hoiles needs a trip to the opticians as he called the wrong leaders (far side) in both of the final two races at the furlong pole.

Hardly much chance of finding a bet on a card with three huge field handicaps and a juvenile cavalry charge. The Gold Cup sees old boy Trawlerman back to defend his title against the St Leger winner, obviously expected to show more improvement as a four year old. They are priced accordingly so I won’t be having an interest but I hope the old boy is successful although he comes into this fresh having had to miss his intended warm up race. As he is an eight year old, I think that this might be his last season before they find him something else to do for the rest of his days.

Virtually every year the Ribblesdale Stakes features fillies that have been beaten at Epsom, sent off towards the head of the market and beaten again by fillies that have followed a path intended to peak at Ascot. There are quite a few that look like they are out of their depth today. Maldives was well beaten in a Listed race list time, Carlos Lerner’s French raider Warriors Whisper was well beaten in the Prix Cleopatre by Gilded Prize and has never run on quick ground before, Lady Roisia and Golden Orbit (now blinkered) were third and fourth in the Newbury Listed race won by Esna and front runner Venetia won a soft ground Listed race last time after finishing second in a handicap. The Gosdens have an excellent record in this but after winning two poor races at long odds on Brilliant Star was a well beaten fifth in the Height of Fashion at Goodwood. Dark Lucinda has won her only start but it would be some achievement for the Twomey filly to collect this after a Gowran maiden even though the trainer has a remarkable strike rate with his runners here. Joseph O’Brien has had a marvellous meeting to date and Johanna Walsh made all to lose her maiden tag last time and could quite possibly be the pace angle today. Composing won at Group 3 and Group 2 level as a juvenile so is clearly useful; however, she has first time blinkers today after a miserable run in the Prix Saint Alary where she was last and the Juddmonte filly Gilded Prize was only just in front of her in fifth. After that reverse, the Graffard filly missed the Prix de Diane and comes here to race on quick ground for the first time. Whilst that Longchamp effort might just have been an off day, she is priced based on where she lives (just like the Ballydoyle filly) rather than her form. The other Juddmonte contender Legacy Link will go off favourite on the back of her second in The Oaks; however, this race generally comes too soon after Epsom so I think that she is opposable. Ironic that her trainer is one of those that complains about the Eclipse Stakes being too soon after the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes and the Arc Trials being too close to the Arc yet has turned his filly around in less than a fortnight. So that leaves me with EARTH SHOT, easy winner of a maiden at HQ and beaten in a photo in the Height Of Fashion by the filly that was third in the Prix de Diane last Sunday. She can give stallion Time Test (from the family of Time Charter) his biggest win, although he now stands in Turkey!

The Hampton Court Stakes is more my type of race – a manageable field with several form lines. It is very hard to make a case for Oceans Four, who has not been seen since trailing in last in the Sandown Classic Trial and ran poorly on his only previous race on quick ground. Glacius is making his seasonal bow and was not beaten far in the Autumn Stakes when last seen but faces several rivals with much better form than that this season. The Lloyd-Webber’s My Love Is King was second in the Newmarket Stakes but is another facing rivals with better form than he has shown. Oxagon won the Craven Stakes before finishing sixth in the 2000 Guineas. He was last seen finishing down the field in the Prix Du Jockey Club won by Constitution River so he is on a recovery mission but with plenty of miles on the clock there will be others that can improve past him. Godolphin are doubly represented and the second string Mountain Cat has collected two small field minor events for Saeed bin Suroor with the minimum of fuss but now faces a step up in class. Ballydoyle is also double handed and Italy, placed in three pattern races as a juvenile, comes here fresh after finishing fourth in the Ballysax on his return without ever looking like challenging. That form looks good now as the winner collected The Derby; however, the runner-up that day, Endorsement, is also in the field today. He was subsequently beaten in the Leopardstown Derby Trial before easily winning a four runner Listed race (made all, Amadeus Mozart second). Whilst he can be expected to run his race, there look to be others that can improve past that level. Morshdi has only raced four times, was fifth in the Dante (less than two lengths behind the subsequent Derby winner) and skipped Epsom to come here with his sights slightly lowered. He should give a good account. Andrew Balding’s Generic easily won a novice from the front at Yarmouth and then chased home the subsequent Prix Du Jockey Club winner in the Dee Stakes without ever looking like getting near that one. The Godolphin first string MAHO BAY has only raced three times, winning two small field minor races (making all to beat Amadeus Mozart at HQ) before never being put into the Lingfield Derby Trial when favourite and finishing seven lengths fourth (possibly did not handle the track). He drops in trip today but the biggest worry here is that so many of the runners have shown a preference for front running and that could lead to them cutting each other’s throats. The Appleby and Haggas runners have both won from off the pace previously so I am thinking that this may be set up for them.

Naturally, I was delighted that my pick Earth Shot won the Ribblesdale but she must be value for more than the winning margin having swerved around the home turn as the loose horse caused runners wide. The runner-up Johanna Walsh hung out towards the centre of track taking the French filly Gilded Prize with her so that the first three finished grouped together. The Irish Oaks must surely be under consideration for all three of them, although the Epsom Oaks winner happens to live in a box near to the runner-up.

While William Haggas obviously wants to have Royal Ascot winners he clearly loathes having to do the post-race interviews with Matt Chapman, who always finds one way or another to wind him up. Since he mentioned the short-priced Jersey Stakes favourite a day early can we put a line through that one?

An epic finish to the Gold Cup, the gamble on Scandinavia landed in the last few strides as he snatched the trophy from veteran Trawlerman after a last furlong ding-dong between the pair. I am sure that the bookies were cheering on Trawlerman as well as me, even though I did not have a penny riding on it. Being the hundredth winner for Aidan O’Brien guarantees this one a place in the history books. Would it have made a difference if Trawlerman had arrived race fit?

Okay, so he has trained a hundred Royal Ascot winners but name checking half of Ireland is getting to be rather tiresome...

When I first looked at the Hampton Court Stakes on Wednesday night, I picked Andrew Balding’s Generic. Looking at the form on Thursday morning, Generic was on the drift in the betting and I saw that he had had a remote view of Constitution River in the Dee Stakes. I then looked at the Godolphin colt Maho Bay that had only run poorly once, in the Lingfield Derby Trial where he did not look to handle the track. I swapped horses and the one I ditched won while the one I swapped to managed to get into all sorts of traffic trouble in the straight and finished close up without ever having a chance to win. The third from the Dee Stakes runs on Friday...