Royal Ascot Day 3 Tips
- Trawlerman to win the Ascot Gold Cup - 3/1 Bet365
- Charles Darwin each-way in the Norfolk Stakes - 2/1 William Hill
The 2025 Royal Ascot festival continues with day three on Thursday, 19 June, with two Group 2 contests getting the action started before the headline race of the day – the Ascot Gold Cup.
Ladies’ Day begins with the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes and Ribblesdale Stakes, with supporting acts including the Group 3 Hampton Court Stakes and the King George V Stakes.
And these races precede biggest event of the day at 4.20pm, as a new king will be crowned in the Gold Cup, which offers perhaps the greatest test of stamina available in flat racing.
The withdrawal of Kyprios means we’re certain to see a new winner winner in the headline event of the day, with horse racing betting sites offering prices of 6/4 on Ormonde Stakes winner Illinois as favourite, while it’s Charles Darwin who is 2/1 favourite in the the first race of the day.
Ascot Gold Cup prediction
The withdrawal of Kyprios meant that Illinois’ odds fell from as high as 6/1 to become the favourite at 6/4 ahead of the showpiece race, with the Aidan O’Brien-trained horse having won the Ormonde Stakes this season to add to a second place in the St Leger Stakes towards the end of 2024.
But the favourite will likely face stiff competition from Trawlerman, the winner of the Henry II Stakes at Sandown at the end of last month. The Godolphin horse finished second in this race last year, losing out to Kyprios by just a length, and will return with connections hoping he can go one better this time.
The seven-year-old has the distinction of being the last horse to beat Kyprios, and the fact that five of the last seven winners in this race have been the same suggests that experience and good previous runs counts for plenty in the Gold Cup.
With this in mind, we think a wager on Trawlerman to win could offer some hidden value at 3/1 with various betting sites.
Royal Ascot Day 3 prediction 1: Trawlerman to win the Ascot Gold Cup - 3/1 Bet365
Norfolk Stakes prediction
The Norfolk Stakes is the first race of Ladies’ Day, run over five furlongs and open to two-year-old horses.
Aidan O’Brien’s Charles Darwin is the early favourite in this one, having finished fourth on debut at Curragh in April. This was followed up with two wins, at Navan and Naas, and the horse seems to be maturing nicely ahead of this one, matching well with his obvious speed.
Naval Light is second favourite in the latest Royal Ascot odds, having finished second on debut in the EBF Conditions Stakes in May.
This particular race has seen some major upsets in recent years, with recent winners including 150/1 and 50/1 outsiders in Valiant Force (2023) and The Rider (2022).
And with little to separate the top two, it could be a better option to bet on either of them each way. To that end, we’ve gone with Charles Darwin each-way at 2/1 with Royal Ascot betting sites.
Royal Ascot Day 3 prediction 2: Charles Darwin each-way in the Norfolk Stakes - 2/1 William Hill
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