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Ryan Moore's day one Royal Ascot runners
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Day one Royal Ascot tips from Tony Calvin, Daryl Carter, Kevin Blake and more
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Day One Royal Ascot 2024 Superboost
2024 Royal Ascot is finally here! And with Betfair we have some great value on offer for the opening day on Tuesday!
Betfair ambassador Ryan Moore has a great chance on Henry Longfellow in the St James's Palace Stakes at 16:25 today, and if you fancy the horse to run well you can back it at the super-boosted price of 1/12.00 from 1/41.25 to finish in the top four today.
Back Henry Longfellow To Finish In The Top 4 In The 16:25 Royal Ascot
Betfair tipsters recommend their best bets while our ambassadors provide exclusive insight for Day One of the 2024 Royal Ascot meeting.

Daryl Carter: "Maljoom - 10/1 on the Betfair Sportsbook - has to be a play here. He looked like a special three-year-old steaming home from off-the-pace in the Group 1 St James's Palace two seasons ago. I genuinely said after the race that we would never get 10/1 on that horse again, and here he is just three starts later. Following that race, he suffered an injury that had kept him off the track for a long while, and there's little doubt that his conections have been patient in their approach. Still, there was much more promise to take from his latest Listed defeat over course and distance on unfavoured ground 48 days ago to Docklands.
"It was a small field contest where he was forced to make his own running in a field of hold-up performers. On reflection, nothing could go his early gallop, and with a naturally long stride, it was clear rider Tom Marquand wanted to get a good piece of work into him so that form is not taken literally.
"His seasonal return was undoubtedly treated as no more than a prep race for this meeting, and much better can be expected, as he faced a quicker surface and a strong gallop to aim at over this stiff 1m. He will almost certainly revert to hold-up tactics, and having recorded an RPR of 120 at this meeting two years ago - only Big Rock, Audience, and Facteur Cheval have recorded better - he is certainly up to the level of this open Group 1 contest.
"He has been underestimated, with improvement expected on his seasonal return for a yard that has seen its runners improve on their second outing this season. William Haggas' form figures in this race read 1832, and he is not just here as a social runner. With extra places on offer, he looks like a bet at 10/1 or bigger, hoping to put in a career-best under optimal circumstances.
"Royal Scotsman bounced back to form with an all-the-way victory when winning the Group 3 Diomed Stakes at Epsom last time, and he now arrives here following a career-best effort. He was always plying his trade at the top level last term and as a two-year-old, and his recent Epsom confidence booster could see him return to the form that saw him finish a narrow second in the Dewhurst as a three-year-old. The good record of four-year-olds in this race also makes him an attractive proposition. A line through Diomed third Highland Avenue, who ties in with Anmaat from their meeting in the Gordon Stakes at Newmarket last term, suggests Royal Scotsman has little to find with Facteur Cheval - although one through Paddington may suggest otherwise.
"Still, on his very best day, Royal Scotsman would be on the premises, and he looks overpriced on the promise of his three-year-old season with excuses for his Lockinge run when tried on in a first-time tongue tie.
"In conclusion, the stand-out form setters are the French raiders Big Rock and Facteur Cheval. With questions over the former and the price short enough about the latter with possible vulnerabilities at the death, and with four places on offer, it's worth chancing that the least exposed runner in the field, Maljoom, is set up for a career-best and can bounce back.
"It's wise to keep Royal Scotsman on the side for those looking to keep in line with the trends (I have had a personal saver)."
Recommended Bet
14:30 Ascot - Back Maljoom
Wathnan Racing are set to be very well represented at Royal Ascot this week, especially in two-year-old races - they have invested heavily - and Catalyse, a £300,000 at the breeze-ups earlier this year, looks an exciting prospect.
He's from a good family and was well supported when making a winning debut at Hamilton earlier this month, impressing with the manner in which he put the race to bed when asked to quicken entering the final furlong, never giving his supporters much to worry about.
That form hasn't been tested yet, while the timefigure wasn't great, but Richard Fahey is enjoying a good season with his two-year-olds, and he looks a sure-fire improver. Obviously, he will need to raise his game further now moving up in class, but he looks fairly priced at 11/1 in a wide-open renewal of the Coventry and brings plenty of potential to the table.
Back Catalyse in the 15:05 Royal Ascot
Daryl Carter: "Rogue Lightning - 10/111.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - is too big of a price, having made an encouraging seasonal return at Haydock when stuck in the mud and in need of the outing. The betting told a story on that occasion, going from 4/15.00 to a whopping BSP of 11.23. He did his best work at the finish, and I expect him to improve significantly for this faster ground now he is race-fit.
"The four-year-old shot through the handicap system last term before catching the eye in the Group 1 Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp Longines from an impossible draw. He was continuously denied a clear run and finished on the bridle. One or two others suffered the same fate, but he showed plenty of dash to think he was a Group 1 winner in waiting.
"This division lacks a star, which could come from the three-year-olds, but the clock suggests the selection has little to find. This race has been run at around 58 seconds on good to firm, and he has shown the ability to record such a number with only a handful of others.
"The each-way value on him looks very fair indeed, and this big-money purchase could easily have a career-defining season ahead of him. He appeals at 8/19.00 or bigger.
"Of the rest, Big Evs is much respected, as is Valliant Force, who recorded a good number at this meeting last year (quicker than Big Evs) when landing the Norfolk. The latter was unlucky when he and Big Evs met in America, coming fast and late, and he should be suited by a return to this track and a stiff finish."
15:45 Ascot - Back Rogue Lightning
Ryan Moore: "You don't need me to tell you what a good race this is, with three Guineas winners in the line-up, and I think it will be tactical too, looking at the set-up. An unbeaten Group 1-winning juvenile, we went to the French Guineas full of hope but things obviously didn't go to plan there and he probably did very well to get within 4 lengths of Metropolitan, who he faces again here. Any rain won't be an issue, and we are hoping for the best, but this will take plenty of winning.
"Darlinghurst, who beat the subsequent French Derby second First Look at Chantilly last time, is a very interesting contender, stepping up in class, and our other runner, Breeders' Cup winner Unquestionable, will be much sharper for his Irish Guineas fourth to Rosallion on his return. This is a very deep race."
Recommended Bet
Back Henry Longfellow To Finish In The Top 4 In The 16:25 Royal Ascot
Henry Longfellow in the 16:25 Royal Ascot
Kevin Blake: "One race that I do have a strong betting view on the Ascot Stakes at 17:05. In terms of valuable handicaps run on the Flat, this race sits at the extreme end of the stamina it demands with it being run over two-and-a-half miles and I always find it a particularly interesting puzzle to try and decipher.
"The one that I keep coming back to is the Cathy O'Leary-trained Zanndabad. If that trainer's name is unfamiliar, the explanation is that she is a sister of Tony Martin who trained Zanndabad but is currently serving a three-month suspension. O'Leary is training many of his horses until that suspension is served.
"The reason I keep coming back to Zanndabad is his run in the Chester Cup last time. Prior to that he had the look of a disappointing horse on the face of it having failed to win on the Flat or over hurdles since joining Martin in late-2022, but there has long been a suspicion that that was a big day in him in the right circumstances. Based on what we saw at Chester, it seems that an extreme test of stamina is that key circumstance that he requires.
"In many ways, Zanndabad's run in the Chester Cup speaks for itself on superficial inspection. Beaten just a length in third having charged home from the rear in a race where four of the first five home were in the first four positions with over two furlongs to run, it is obvious that he ran very well from what proved to be a poor position on the day."
Recommended Bet
Back Zanndabad to Win 17:05 Royal Ascot (Ascot Stakes)
Tony Calvin: "He is among the lowest-rated in here off 104 but that may underestimate his neck Doha second to the 117-rated Simca Mille off levels in January and his Epsom fourth last time was full of promise. Admittedly, he was beaten just under 2 lengths off a mark of 104 but he shaped very well last time.
"The fact that he didn't see out the race well is a slight concern, but the way he overcame a bad stumble at the start (and it was, as he was right down on his nose) to travel so well through the race to look the possible winner at one stage (he hit 3.0 in running) was the mark of a horse capable of better.
"His best run last season for Ed Dunlop was a third over an extended 1m2f on fast ground at York, and I can see him going powerfully through the race from stall four, and hopefully kicking on entering the final furlong and holding on.
"At 20s with the Sportsbook and 21.0 or bigger on the exchange, I am throwing a few quid at him. I'll put in an in-running lay on the exchange at about 2/1 because I do fear he is a weak finisher. I suggest you do the same if playing him on the exchange."
Recommended Bet
Back Haunted Dream, Win only, in 17:40 Royal Ascot
Tipman: "Recently purchased by Joseph O'Brien, A Piece Of Heaven has shown consistent levels of performance and remains still quite unexposed for this type of race, so is open to further improvement.
She stays this trip well and looks on a really good mark, won on debut and reappearance at Leopordstown and should strip fitter again today."
Recommended Bet
Back Tipman's Day One Royal Ascot Lucky 15
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