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RacingBetter News |
| Friday 14th May 2021 | |
Royal Ascot 2021: The most anticipated races at this year’s meeting
Grab your glad rags because Royal Ascot is back! That’s right, it’s now less than a month until the prestigious meeting returns to our screens, and, unlike last year’s festival — which took place behind closed doors during the height of the coronavirus pandemic — spectators will be welcomed back to the historic course, making for a much better atmosphere than the eerie silence we have become accustomed to at sporting events over the last 12 months.
Flat racing’s finest horses and jockeys will head to Ascot on the outskirts of London, making for a blockbuster five days of racing and there’s no doubt that punters up and down the nation are already scouring through the horse racing tips on Betdaq for suggestions on who to back in the biggest and best races.
So, as we count down the days to the Royal Ascot — which will run between 15th-19th June — let’s take a look at some of the most anticipated races at this year’s meeting. Read on to find out more!
Day one features several Group 1s, including the King’s Stand Stakes and the St James’s Palace Stakes. However, the standout race of the day goes to The Queen Anne Stakes. The top one-milers from all over Europe make their way to Ascot for the opening day showpiece, and Palace Pier — trained by John Gosden and often ridden by Frankie Dettori — is the 6/4 favourite to pocket the £226,840 prize pot this year.
The Prince Of Wales’s Stakes steals the limelight on day two of the meeting. The one-mile, two-furlong race has been a Group 1 outing since the turn of the millennium and has since subsequently become one of the most sought-after wins on the flat racing calendar. Again, Dettori and Gosden are tipped for victory with Lord North. However, the fierce duo of Ryan Moore and Aiden O’Brien will certainly be hoping Love can romp home in first.
The Ascot Gold Cup on day three of the meeting is what every jockey and trainer truly has their sights set on. The two-mile, four-furlong race is the meetings showpiece event and this year Stradivarius, Dettori and Gosden are gunning for an historic fourth-successive victory. Whether or not Her Majesty the Queen carries out her traditional presenting duties remains to be seen, but one thing’s for sure — it’ll certainly be a thrilling race!
On to day four of the meeting now and the Commonwealth Cup is the standout event from the day’s racecard. The six-furlong race, which was only added to the festival’s action in 2015, attracts the best three-year-old colts and fillies. Campanelle, who won the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes at Ascot last year with Dettori in the saddle, is the early favourite for this year’s Commonwealth Cup at 4/1.
The six-furlong Diamond Jubilee Stakes is the race to look forward to on the final day of the meeting. Almost £400,000 is up for grabs in the Group 1 race, so it’s no surprise that horses four years of age and older are lured to Ascot for the race. This year’s favourite is the Ed Walker-trained Starman, who will take some stopping having won four of his five career races thus far.
