Betting strategy for Royal Ascot Friday

The highly anticipated rematch of Mawj and Tahiyra from the Newmarket 1000 Guineas hasn’t materialised in today £600,000 Coronation Stakes centrepiece at Royal Ascot, but the latter does make the line up and it will be a major shock if Dermot Weld’s recent Irish Classic winner fails to stamp her authority over her six rivals.

The Irish 1000 Guineas winner has beaten four of today’s rivals before, including Mediate and Comhra which filled the places behind her at the Curragh.

Tahiyra is not surprisingly quoted at prohibited odds of 4/7 by BoyleSports, but with conditions once again in her favour she cannot be opposed.

Little Big Bear, who trailing home in last place in the English 2000 Guineas, bounced right back to form when reverting to sprinting at Haydock last month and will take all the beating in the other Group One contest on today’s card, the Commonwealth Cup.

Little Big Bear was a high class two-year-old, winning the Windsor Castle Stakes here last season before routing the opposition in the Group One Phoenix Stake at the Curragh in August and while there might not be much value in his current odds of 1/1 with BoyleSports, in common with Tahiyra he should prove too strong for his opposition today.

A double on the Irish-trained pair Tahiyra and Little Big Bear at current odds of 4/7 and 1/1 pays just over 2/1 should both favourites win their respective assignments today. A €10 double with BoyleSports has a potential return of €31.43 if they both win.

The third short-priced favourite today at Royal Ascot is King Of Steel in the Group Two King Edward VII Stakes. The grey son of Wootton Bassett was an unconsidered 66/1 chance in the Epsom Derby at the beginning of the month, but belied those odds to finish a close second to Auguste Rodin. He was over ten lengths clear of three of today’s opponents at Epsom, but with only a maiden victory to his name and racing on a significantly different track this time he may not be one to take short-odds about.

Arrest was sent off favourite at Epsom following his Chester Vase victory, but ran no race in the Derby having sweated up beforehand and might represent a bit of value at 11/4 with BoyleSports against King Of Steel.

BoyleSports are offering Irish online customers their money back as a free bet if their horse finishes second the SP favourite in all races at Royal Ascot today and this concession is worth taking if considering to side with Arrest in the King Edward VII Stakes. If Arrest doesn’t manage to beat the favourite King Of Steel, but finishes second BoyleSports will refund your stake up to €20 as a free bet. 18+ T&Cs Apply dunlewey.org

The remainder of the card today is made up of three fiendishly difficult big field handicaps and the 18 runner Group Three Albany Stakes for two-year-old fillies.

Persian Dreamer might be worth taking a chance on at odds of 20/1 with BoyleSports in the opening race, the Albany Stakes. She was most impressive on debut at Newmarket in April, but found things happening a little too quick for her when upped in class on fast ground at York the following month. She still ran respectably to finish fourth in that Listed contest and now stepping up a furlong in distance she could outrun her odds for the in-form Dominic French-Davis stable.

The same stable’s Walbank (first run for the yard) should go well at a price in the concluding Palace of Holyrood House handicap over five furlongs. The three-year-old was sent off favourite for last season’s Group Two Norfolk Stakes at this meeting where he finished second to The Ridler. He ran poorly on seasonal debut at York last month, but now pitched into a handicap for the first time and with the addition of blinkers a better performance is highly likely.