Royal Ascot Day 1 predictions: Regional can take King Charles III honours
- Royal Ascot Day 1: Best bet, each-way selection and treble
- Recommended bets include:-
- Notable Speech to win the St James's Palace Stakes
- Royal Scotsman each-way in the Queen Anne Stakes
The opening afternoon of Royal Ascot 2024 swings into action on Tuesday and the meeting really does start with a bang. Less than two hours after the opening Queen Anne Stakes, we will have seen three Group 1 winners crowned and, most likely, have a new favourite for the 2,000 Guineas after the Group 2 Coventry Stakes.
Here is everything you need to know for day one, including the day's best bets.
Day 1 - Key info
First race: 14:30 Queen Anne Stakes
Feature race: 16:20 St James's Palace Stakes
It is the first of five brilliant days of action at Royal Ascot on Tuesday afternoon and the meeting begins with its traditional flurry of top-class action, including Group 1s in three of the first four races.
Unusually for a day's racing like this, there is no set feature race such is the depth of quality on offer. In practice, the St James's Palace (16:20 has tended to take top billing in recent years and will surely continue this year. The winners of the 2,000 Guineas, as well as the Irish and French equivalents of that race, will face-off in the battle of the three-year-old milers.
Popular three-year-old Big Evs will be taking on older horses in the King Charles III Stakes (15:45) earlier in the afternoon, while the opening Queen Anne (14:30) will set the tone for the standard the players from the St James's Palace will have to live up to.
Best bet of the day
Regional to win the King Charles III Stakes (15:45) @ 4/1
Big Evs will be looking to bolster the solid recent record held by three-year-olds in the King Charles III Stakes (15:45). However, you would not know from his price that the handicappers think he must improve again to beat his older rivals and REGIONAL deserves to be the favourite on all known form.
Regional is already a Group 1 winner, having won the Sprint Cup at Haydock in September. His speed for five furlongs is not doubted, as he holds the five-furlong course record at Haydock too, courtesy of a Listed win there earlier in 2023.
A stiff test at the trip will be ideal and he should be spot-on for this after a pleasing reappearance run in Ireland.
Best each-way bet of the day
Royal Scotsman in the Queen Anne Stakes (14:30) @ 16/1
The Queen Anne looks an open running and this is a race with a history of shocks. Two of the last six winners have returned at 33/1, and another in that time was 14/1.
ROYAL SCOTSMAN is being underestimated. He was among the fancied runners in last year's St James's Palace, having finished third in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket.
He flopped that day and was not seen again in 2023. After a run to get fit this season, he looked back to his best at Epsom last time and deserves another shot at Group 1 glory, especially in this fairly weak division. He is a big price for a horse of his obvious class.
Day 1 acca
Everybody loves a Royal Ascot accumulator and we will be pointing towards one on each of the five days this week. On day one, our treble pays over 40/1 with LiveScore Bet.
As with many 5f Group 1s in Britain, the King Charles III is full of Group 2-class horses. Regional is the exception, he has won a Group 1 over 6f where the competition is slightly greater. He also races like he will be at least as good over this trip.
The 2,000 Guineas winner ought to be at home at Ascot, where all-weather form tends to work out. He is also just much less exposed and open to improvement compared with the likes of Rosallion.
If Passenger were in this race he would be well into odds-on territory. The horse he beat last time, Israr, has loads of form of a similar standard and deserves to be shorter than current odds for this Listed prize.
