Royal Ascot 2025 tips: Best bets and Irish runners to follow on days 3, 4 & 5 of the festival (Updated)

THE GREATEST show of the summer is well underway, and the week where Royalty meets racing, Royal Ascot brings you the most unique horse racing festival of the year.

Run over five days, with eight Group 1s, Royal Ascot is one of, if not the best, week in horse racing and so far it has certainly lived up to that.

Just like the Cheltenham Festival, Royal Ascot attracts the best trainers and horses from the Emerald Isle. Over the five days of Royal Ascot, we will bear witness to the master of Ballydoyle, Aidan O’Brien, Ger Lyons, and Champion UK and Ireland National Hunt trainer, Willie Mullins, and more take on the best of what Britain has to offer.

These are the names that have struck fear into UK horse racing for many years, and this year, they send some of the most exciting horses in training to take on the British battalion. 

With that in mind, we have picked out the best betting tips and the most exciting Irish runners for you to follow as Royal Ascot 2025 heads into its final three days. Whether you’re interested in win, place, or accumulators, we’ve got you covered.

Quick Royal Ascot tips for Thursday 19th & Friday 20th June

• Thurs 16:20 – Gold Cup TRAWLERMAN at 15/8 with BetVictor
• Thurs 18:10 – Buckingham Palace Stakes OLIVER SHOW at 10/1 with talkSPORT BET
• Fri 15:05 – Commonwealth Cup SHADOW OF LIGHT at 15/8 with SBK
• Fri 16:20 – Coronation Stakes EXACTLY at 10/1 with Spreadex

Royal Ascot tips: Best bets for days 3, 4 & 5

Day	Race	Horse	Odds	Trainer	Notes
Thu	Gold Cup	TRAWLERMAN	15/8	John & Thady Gosden	Third in this last season to Kyprios. Made a winning return at Sandown. Hard to ignore.
Thu	Buckingham Palace Stakes	OLIVER SHOW	10/1	G Boughey	A model of consistency. Headed on the line in the Lincoln. Can have a say.
Fri	Common- wealth Cup	SHADOW OF LIGHT	15/8	Charlie Appleby	Third in the 2000 Guines. Will be hard to beat back at 6f.
Fri	Coronation Stakes	EXACTLY	12/1	A O’Brien	Not far behind Zarigana at Longchamp when hampered in the closing stages. Live chance.
Sat	Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee	INISHERIN	4/1	Kevin Ryan	Won the Commonwealth Cup last season. Perfect winning prep. Big player.

Irish-trained horses
Odds subject to change.

Royal Ascot key race previews 

Thursday

4:20 Group 1 Gold Cup: 2m4f – Trawlerman 15/8

The early retirement of Kyprios has blown the Gold Cup wide open. The omission of one of the greatest stayers of all time would have left any normal trainer searching far and wide for a replacement, but not Aidan O’Brien. The Ballydoyle maestro has an able replacement in the St Leger runner-up, Illinois. He has big hoofs to fill, but this young star has bags of potential; even so, he has to be taken on at his current odds.

The lightly raced French raider, Candelari, comes here on the back of clear-cut Group 1 win at Longchamp. He looks as if he will have no issue seeing out this extreme trip, but it can pay to stick with the tried and tested in last season’s third-place finisher TRAWLERMAN.

The Godolphin-owned runner overraced in last season’s renewal, but as it seemed he was going to drop out tamely, Trawlerman rallied to take third. He made a perfect start to the season with a facile win in a Sandown Group 3, setting him up perfectly for another crack at this Group 1 prize. Now that he doesn’t have to deal with Kyprios, this can be Trawlerman’s time to shine.

Friday

3:05 Group 1 Commonwealth Cup: 6f (3yo) – Shadow Of Light 15/8

Colin Keane could have a dream day in the saddle should he get his old boss, Ger Lyons’s Babouche, over the line in the first place here. But the more we delve into the Commonwealth Cup, this looks there for the taking for SHADOW OF LIGHT. A top-class operator as a two-year-old, winning two Group 1s over 6f and 7f, Shadow Of Light seemed to be stretched in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket over 1m but still finished a close third behind two top-class colts.

He drops back to 6f here, which won’t be an issue for the son of Lope De Vega. He has every right to come forward fitness-wise for his run a Newmarket, and this prominent racer should prove hard to beat here. Should Shadow Of Light underperform, Big Mojo may be the one to capitalize. He made a winning return to the tack over this course and distance and was unlucky not to back that up on his next start. At his current odds, he looks a good each-way alternative. 

4:20 Group 1 Coronation Stakes: 1m (3yo) (Rnd) – Exactly 12/1

The French 1000 Guineas winner, Zarigana, will be hard to beat if she is at her best, but even so, her form is not beyond reach. The supplemented Falakeyah is a fascinating runner on the back of an impressive Listed win on just her second career start.

EXACTLY was just over one length behind Zarigana in the French 1000 Guineas, and considering that the Aidan O’Brien filly was hampered in the closing stages and eased off inside the final 100 yards, she doesn’t have much to find with Zarigana.

Saturday

3:40 Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes: 6f (4yo+) – Inisherin 4/1

The final Group 1 of Royal Ascot 2025 comes over 6f with a host of runners with realistic chances of winning. Storm Boy was the talk of the town when arriving at Ballydoyle from Australia, but he started his career in Ireland with a whimper. He was sent off the well-supported 6/4 favourite for his Irish debut, but he was beaten by the two-furlong pole, eventually finishing last of the six runners.

However, he is trained by Aidan O’Brien, so expect to see this son of Justify take a big step forward here. Even if he does show considerable improvement, he and the rest of the field may find it hard to head the game INISHERIN. The Kevin Ryan-trained inmate was an easy winner of the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot 2024, and he made a winning return to the track when showing bravery to hold off the fast-finishing Flora Of Bermuda.

This big strong son of Shamardal looked as if he would come on plenty for his comeback run, and given how he won with so much ease over course and distance last season, Inisherin can make it back-to-back Royal Ascot wins. Elite Status looks to have been missed in the betting and can run well at big odds.

Irish runners at Royal Ascot in 2025

• HENRI MATISSE (St James’s Palace – Aidan O’Brien) French 2000 Guineas. winner.
• REACHING HIGH (Ascot Stakes – Willie Mullins) Major improvement to come. Royal runner.
• ONE LOOK (Duke Of Cambridge – PaddyT womey) Career best on her latest run. Big chance.
• LOS ANGELES (Prince Of Wales Stakes – Aidan O’Brien) Unbeaten this season. Battle hardened.
• CHARLES DARWIN (Norfolk Stakes – Aidan O’Brien) – Odds on in three starts. An exciting sprinter in the making. 
• ILLINIOS (Gold Cup – Aidan O’Brien) – Super sub for Kyprios. New trip is an unknown but has huge potential.
• BABOUCHE (Commonwealth Cup – Ger Lyons) – Back to winning ways as of late. Big player here.
• EXACTLY (Coronation Stakes – Aidan O’Brien) – 4^th in French 2000 Guineas. Can get closer to the winner here.
• STORM BOY (Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes – Aidan O’Brien) – Talented sprinter who is likely to leave a poor Irish debut well behind.

Where to watch the 2025 Royal Ascot in Ireland 

The week of Royal Ascot is an unmissable week of action for any racing fan. From Donegal to Waterford, you will not miss a minute of Royal Ascot. The first race on each day of Royal Ascot goes to post at 2:30, and here is how you can watch the greatest summer festival.

• TV: ITV, Virgin Media.
• Online: Online betting sites (check with your chosen betting site), Virgin Media Player.

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