Royal Ascot: 1/ST Forecast | Thursday, June 16, 2022

The Lineup

9:30 am ET | Group 2 Norfolk Stakes
10:05 am ET | King George V Stakes
10:40 am ET | Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes
11:20 am ET | Group 1 Ascot Gold Cup
12:00 pm ET | Britannia Stakes
12:35 pm ET | Group 3 Hampton Court Stakes
1:10 pm ET | Buckingham Palace Stakes

The Incentive

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The Americans

It’s a quiet slate with no American entrants today. Friday and Saturday gear back up with five runners still to compete.

The Main Event

The ageless Stradivarius returns to the Group 1 Ascot Gold Cup (Race 4) in search of an unbelievable fourth victory in this race. He won the Gold Cup at ages 4, 5 and 6 from 2018-’20. He’s been offered as the 5-2 second choice in the British books behind 9-4 favorite Kyprios. The clash at the top is a John and Thady Gosden/Frankie Dettori matchup against Aidan O’Brien/Ryan Moore. The 4-year-old Kyprios has won both starts this year at 1-3/4 miles and owns a 4-for-6 record in a lightly raced career. Stradivarius boasts a 20-for-32 record that includes a victory in the Group 2 Yorkshire Cup in his only appearance so far at age 8. He’ll look to bounce back from last year’s fourth-place finish in this 2-1/2 miles test of stayers.

The Tips

Here are the top picks in each race, courtesy of the UK’s At The Races betting guide handicappers.

Race 1 | #1 Bakeel
Race 2 | #12 Newfoundland
Race 3 | #3 Magical Lagoon
Race 4 | #5 Kyprios
Race 5 | #19 Yonafis
Race 6 | #6 Reachforthemoon
Race 7 | #16 Snazzy Jazzy

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