Royal Ascot Thursday Odds: Market movers aplenty
We've taken a look at the latest odds on Day Three of Royal Ascot, which is headlined by the Ascot Gold Cup.
The second day of Royal Ascot proved to be a tough one for punters, with a host of big-field handicaps to solve, while the short-priced Japan was defeated in the feature, the Prince of Wales's Stakes.
However, both Tactical and Fujaira Prince did at least oblige for favourite backers in the final two races, while Dark Vision landed a considerable gamble in the Royal Hunt Cup.
This afternoon's action should hopefully prove kinder to punters, and begins with the 14-runner Golden Gates Handicap and the listed Wolferton Stakes, and closes with two three-year-old handicaps, the Britannia Stakes and the Sandringham Stakes.
The third race on the card is the Group 3 Jersey Stakes, for which 14 three-year-olds are due to head to post. The market leader is the John Gosden-trained King Leonidas (5/2), who steps up in class after a brace of impressive wins in novice company at Newmarket, while each of Celestin (9/2), Monarch Of Egypt (5/1), Final Song (7/1) and Molatham (7/1) can be backed at single-figure prices.
The listed Chesham Stakes is for two-year-olds over seven furlongs, and some powerful yards are represented here. The market is headed by Battleground for the Aidan O'Brien team (9/4), while Modern News (7/2) and Golden Flame (7/2) have both seen plenty of support this morning. This is likely to prove a competitive affair, and both Bright Devil (11/2) and First Prophet (7/1) can also be backed at single-figure prices.
The feature of the entire meeting is the Ascot Gold Cup, for which Stradivarius is an odds-on favourite to win this for a third year running (4/5). However, the wet weather has meant that he's been weak in the market all morning, and there has been sustained support for the improving Technician (10/3), who was a winner of a Group 1 contest on heavy ground last autumn. Meanwhile, Moonlight Spirit (9/1), Cross Counter (12/1) and Nayef Road (14/1) head the remainder.