Daryl Carter's Tips: All hail the King at Royal Ascot on Day Three

• Kings Gambit could be anything

• Back Royal runner to land another King George

• Qirat can land Britannia

• Two 33/134.00 chances in the Buckingham Palace

• Bet safely at Royal Ascot - read more here

• Head over to the Euro 2024 HUB for the best tips and previews everyday

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Day Three Royal Ascot 2024 Superboost

Betfair's Royal Ascot Superboosts have been flying with both Tuesday's and Wednesday's landing at 1/12.00!

On Thursday we are back with another top class Superboost again backing Betfair ambassador Ryan Moore.

He has a great chance on the superstar and previous winner of the race Kyprios in the Ascot Gold Cup 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 2/51.40 to finish in the top two today.

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14:30 Ascot - No Bet

This is a tough race, but I stand firm that Whistlejacket is too short in the market. The play here is to lay him when there is more liquidity in the market.

I'd much rather have the field running for me at 5/61.84 than back this favourite.

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15:05 Ascot - Back Gilded Water @ 6/17.00 1pt

This race tends to go to a horse with a stack in hand of the handicapper, and that typically means racing off of a mark in the low 90s or high 80s. That is the one niggle I have with Persica - has he shown his hand too early? I still feel he is a horse with lots to offer, but I need more convincing about the trip, too, and it was one too many doubts for me to get involved with him.

I feel the favourite Chantilly is too high in the handicap, and there is not enough stamina on the dam side to convince me he will stay this new distance. I was surprised to see Ryan Moore ignore the claims of the well-bred Gallantly, who now has lots more to offer, tackling a sound surface and a longer trip. His Chester form is only low-mid 80s form, but he did it well, and I'd have him in a match bet between the pair.

Poniros is solid. He made up ground swiftly in the London Gold Cup and is the type to take a step forward. However, I find it difficult to say he is a Group horse in a handicap, and Persica holds similar claims.

Gilded Water - 6/17.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - is a puzzle. I find little evidence to suggest he is better than this mark of 92 other than a visual impression - and my goodness, was it visually impressive.

He beat little of note, but he has improved race-by-race, and if a horse in this field has the potential to be anything, then it is him. How he will fair with this strong early pace is unknown, and he is a risky bet, but after a deep dive into this race, he is the horse that holds all the potential to be better than his current rating.

He is tough to price, but given his blowout potential, I am happy at 5/16.00 or bigger for a win-only bet.

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15:45 Ascot - No Bet

There's no bet here. I liked the performance of Diamond Rain, and she could be useful, so I want to avoid taking her on and her price is short enough. Kalpana may be underestimated, but this ground is as quick as she wants. Rubies Are Red could offer some value ahead of Port Fairy.

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16:25 Ascot - Back Trawlerman @ 6/17.00 1pt

Kyprios looked laboured to my eye in two outings this season, and the Racing Post Ratings rating (x2) of 109 would agree. Those two RPR ratings are the lowest he has recorded since 2021, and the now six-year-old arrives at Royal Ascot having won two races at heavy odds following an injury. His price is woeful.

I want to take him on, and Vauban looks like an appealing candidate to do so - and a certain market shortener. There's little chance he was fully wound up for his preparation run in which he bumped into a course specialist (Gregory behind) who had targeted the Yorkshire Cup in a bid for a repeat win. That was Vauban's first outing since his Melbourne Cup flop in which he went off as a strong favourite. The rumour mill suggests he did an outstanding piece of work in Australia before the race - one that had the world flocking to back him.

He was beaten a long way out for that to be his true running when lining up in the race proper, and he now returns to the scene of his excellent 1m6f Copper Horse Handicap dominant victory over the subsequent Ebor winner and a horse in the third that had got close to the smart Middle Earth on his latest outing.
That is strong form in a division that lacks a stand-out star, giving him the narrow holding of Sweet William and Caius Chorister in that regard.

However, this new 2m4f distance asks another big question of him, and although stamina is very much in his pedigree despite what some will have you believe, his short stride length, which lends itself well to speed, does offer a small concern. Still, it's tough to see him out of the frame.

Trawlerman - 6/17.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - is worthy of consideration after a fair run in Meydan on his seasonal return when third to Tower Of London under a poor ride. Still, his effort at that venue was much improved on last term, as well as any effort outside of the UK in his career.

His record in Britain reads 111311 since the fitting of the hood went on, and that includes the York Ebor and a third here when staying on behind Trueshan and Coltrane over 2m in 2022. This trip looks right up his street and could be the key to unlocking this race, and Trawlerman will relish it more than most, particularly when faced with a quicker surface.

He outstayed Kyprios on Champions Day on his penultimate start, and there's a good chance, under William Buick's handling, he can do it again if that one is not firing at the same level. The Gosden horse looked like the each-way value in the race when 17/29.50 but that is now long gone. So it's a win-only bet at 6/17.00 or bigger.

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17:05 Ascot - Back Qirat @ 7/18.00 1pt

I found this devilishly tricky, but I do like Qirat - 7/18.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - and how he has progressed from one race to the next. At the same time, he is entitled to improve significantly for his seasonal/handicap debut victory at Goodwood when strong at the finish but weak in the market when taking the scalp of some well-regarded rivals.

There is little doubt in my mind that a four-pound rise for winning that strong handicap is lenient given how he was crossing the line on top of his rivals. He had caught the eye a couple of times last term, and the half-brother to Bluestocking will relish moving up in distance. It would be a shock if he were not rated far higher than this by the end of the season.

There is bigger than his current 7/18.00 out there, so do as you must, but he has the potential to blow this race wide open. He is unexposed on fast ground, which has seen his half-sister Blue Stocking and his Dam to excellent effect, and the negatives are very tough to find with a likely good high draw.

Back him at 7/18.00 or bigger.

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17:40 Ascot - Back Kings Gambit @ 7/42.75 2pt

If I could only have one bet today, it would be Harry Charlton's King's Gambit - 7/42.75 on the Betfair Sportsbook - who took a giant stride forward to win the typically always strong London Gold Cup, and he is well-fancied to land his first Group assignment.

He had clearly shown promise at Newbury as a two-year-old in three Maiden and Novice races and perhaps got a little bogged down in the soft ground in the final of those when narrowly touched off by Bracken's Laugh. Still, he looked to have wintered well, and it was a huge performance to win, as he did at Newbury on his seasonal return. That performance looks strong enough to make me think he can cut it in this company.

The three-year-old crossed the line pulling a cart and was clearing away from some useful rivals, including Persica, who has subsequently boosted the form with a win on Derby Day at Epsom. The time was very good relative to the Fillies Trial over the same distance won by Diamond Rain (106) (30 lbs better), although the Fillies race was run at a modest early tempo. Still, he represented a yard that knew how to win that race, and two of the last three went on to win Group races next time out.

There's little doubt he was fully revved up for his seasonal return, so expecting improvement on the fitness front may not be wise. However, he was such a dominant winner that he made a mockery of an opening handicap rating of 93. He is impossible to ignore under William Buick from a fair draw in stall seven. He appeals at 13/82.63 or bigger and perhaps shorter, as I wouldn't lay him at 8/131.61.

Bellum Justum may do better now, dropping back in trip, having finished a creditable but non-staying seventh in the Epsom Derby. He is fancied for forecast purposes and is overpriced.

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18:15 Ascot - Back Sterling Knight @ 33/134.00 0.5pt win

Sterling Knight - 33/134.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - has done us dirty the last twice by failing to give his running at his favoured Haydock and then pegging us back at Newbury to deny Metaverse. Still, he has to be of interest in this event. He turned out quickly under a five-pound penalty, given his powerful finishing effort at Newbury to deny our selection who had the run of the race.

He is a wild 33/134.00 top-price chance with Betfair, and he is a small stab in the dark. However, small confidence can be taken from his fast ground record, the fact that he is a course winner, and unexposed at this 7f trip.

Back him no shorter than 25/126.00.

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18:15 Ascot - Back The X O @ 33/134.00 0.5pt e/w

It may pay to side with the well-handicapped The X O - 33/134.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - who shaped well at Epsom at a big price last time when tried over seven furlongs but perhaps saw the ground go against him at the last minute.

He made his move much earlier than ideal and had to travel widest around the bend to make his challenge in a deep handicap. He was headed inside the final half furlong by a well-handicapped rival and only gave in late in the day. That track was not sure to suit, considering he has hung left in the past, and he did hang down the camber on this occasion so his performance is worth marking up and one that pricked the ears.

He runs here off the same mark, returning to Ascot where he was an excellent second in the 6f Commonwealth Cup Trial, splitting useful Group horses Cold Case and Bradsell when staying on at the finish. A half-brother to the smart Cosmic Vega who improved when racing over seven furlongs, he has an entirely unexposed profile at this trip.

A recent gelding operation gives reason to think he could improve, and Rossa Ryan stays in the saddle (33% strike rate for John Ryan). He is drawn well in stall 27, and there's a big pot in him if he can put it all together. Today looks like the ideal scenario.

Back him at 25/126.00 or bigger.

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Now Read: Ryan Moores thoughts on his Royal Ascot Day Three rides

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Listen to Racing Only Bettor's Day Three Royal Ascot 2024 Preview...

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