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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Chris Wilson

Friday’s Royal Ascot Day 4 tips: Back the favourites in two Group 1 contests

Royal Ascot Day 4 betting tips

  • Shadow of Light to win Commonwealth Cup - 7/4 William Hill
  • Zarigana to win the Coronation Stakes - 6/4 Bet365

The 2025 Royal Ascot festival continues with day four on Friday, 20 June, with two Group 1 contests headlining the day’s action.

The Commonwealth Cup and Coronation Stakes are the main races of the day, supported by the Group 2 King Edward VII Stakes and the opening race of the day, the Group 3 Albany Stakes.

There is £650,000 in prize money up for grabs in each of the day’s Group 1 races, with the Commonwealth Cup taking place at 3.05pm and the Coronation Stakes following at 4.20pm.

And withdrawals in both races mean that horse racing betting sites have clear favourites in the main events of the day, with Shadow of Light offered at 7/4 in the Commonwealth Cup and Zarigana at 6/4 in the Coronation Stakes.

Commonwealth Cup prediction

Godolphin’s Shadow of Light heads into this race as the clear favourite, with Juddmonte’s Babouche next in the running in the eyes of the bookies.

Babouche’s only win this season came in the Lacken Stakes in Naas in mid-May, though the three-year-old looks set to build on the early promise shown as a juvenile.

However, Shadow of Light remains one of the strongest fancies of the week at Royal Ascot, having been the European Champion two-year-old in 2024 with three wins at Newmarket alone between August and October.

The favourite has run just once in 2025, but a third-place finish in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket in early May only added to his tag as favourite for this one.

His performance in that Classic – finishing a length behind the winner – as well as positive results over further distances at Newmarket show that he has the requisite pace and power, while suggesting that six furlongs may be his optimum distance.

As the odds suggest, he should have too much class for his opponents on Friday afternoon, so we’ve gone with Shadow of Light to win the Commonwealth Cup at 7/4 with various Royal Ascot betting sites.

Royal Ascot Day 4 prediction 1: Shadow of Light to win Commonwealth Cup - 7/4 William Hill

Coronation Stakes prediction

This is another race that now has a clear favourite due to a withdrawal, with Irish 1000 Guineas winner Lake Victoria having dropped out while being the odds-on favourite.

That leaves Zarigana as the favourite on betting sites for the second Group 1 contest of the day, with the three-year-old having impressed on five home runs in France since debuting at Chantilly in July 2024.

She has two wins in 2025, including the Group 1 French 1000 Guineas at Longchamp last month, and has proven to be versatile on different ground while building on solid performances from last season.

Though this will be her first race outside of France, she’ll set off as cleat favourite on Friday.

Falakeyah is second in the running in the Royal Ascot odds having performed well on the way to a win in the Pretty Polly Stakes at Newmarket, but this is another one where the favourite might have little competition.

Though Falakeyah each-way could offer value, we’re backing the favourite, with odds of 6/4 for Zarigana to win the Coronation Stakes.

Royal Ascot Day 4 prediction 2: Zarigana to win the Coronation Stakes - 6/4 Bet365

Responsible gambling

Always practice responsible gambling. When using gambling sites be aware that sports betting can be addictive. Please take steps to remain in control of your time and budget.

The same applies whether you’re using new betting sites, slot sites, casino sites, casino apps, betting apps, or any other gambling medium.

Even the most knowledgeable punter can lose a bet, so always stick to a budget and never chase your losses.

It’s particularly important not to get carried away by any free bets or casino offers you might receive, both of which are available in abundance on gambling sites, but must be approached with caution.

You can stay in control by making use of the responsible gambling tools offered, such as deposit limits, loss limits, self-exclusion and time-outs.

You may also want to visit the following free organisations to discuss any issues with gambling you might be having:

We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

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