All roads lead to Berkshire next week as the prestigious Royal Ascot meeting is staged from Tuesday, June 20, to Saturday, June 24.
All of the top horse racing betting sites have already priced up the big races ahead of what promises to be five days of thrilling equine action.
We have scoured the entries for the three Group 1 races on the opening day to assess the chances of some of the most fancied horses.
A quick look at the odds for the Queen Anne Stakes on UK betting apps suggests the race will be dominated by two horses.
Modern Games is the favourite having recorded his first British Group 1 victory in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury last month.
However, the form of that race does not look strong and the Charlie Appleby-trained horse could find it tough to follow up at Ascot.
Inspiral won the Coronation Stakes at this meeting last year and could be a good bet at odds of 7/4 (BetUK) to get jockey Frankie Dettori off to a flyer.
The King’s Stand Stakes looks a fiendishly tricky puzzle to solve, with the big field containing some of the best sprinters in the world.
Australian mare Coolangatta worked well under jockey James McDonald earlier this week and the 7/2 (10bet) shot will likely attract plenty of interest in the market.
However, Wesley Ward’s Twilight Gleaming may be a solid each-way hope at 20/1 having run well on her previous visit to this track in 2021.
The horse finished second in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes in a 21-runner field and has since gone on to claim several noteworthy race victories.
Top Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien has plenty of fancied runners at Royal Ascot and one of his best chances of a winner is Paddington in the St James’s Palace Stakes.
Several betting sites with free bets have installed Paddington as the joint-favourite to win the race and he will likely attract plenty of interest in the betting ring.
He continued his upward trajectory with a fine win in the Irish 2000 Guineas at the Curragh last month and could be tough to stop at Ascot.
Newmarket 2000 Guineas winner Chaldean has also been well-backed, although the form of that race is questionable given it was run on soft ground.
