Royal Ascot Day 3 tips: ITV Racing selections

Telegraph

5 hours ago

Day three of Royal Ascot 2025 is Ladies Day, and the card features a race that is for many the flagship contest of the whole week, the Group 1 Ascot Gold Cup.
Ron Wood has a selection and verdict for the feature, as well as tips and summaries for the other six races. It's all live on ITV1 (1.30-6pm) and ITV4 (5.50-6.30pm), as well as Sky Sports Racing.
Also, check out these Lucky 15 and each-way suggestions for day three.
If you already have a William Hill account and are looking for a new bookmaker to use for this week's racing, check out more free bets from the best betting sites, reviewed by our experts
Royal Ascot Day 3 tips – Ron Wood's selections
NAP:
Serious Contender (3.05, Ascot) @ 7/2 with William Hill ⭐⭐⭐
Next best:
Illinois (4.20, Ascot) @ 7/4 with William Hill ⭐⭐⭐
Others:
Charles Darwin (2.30, Ascot) @ 4/5 with William Hill ⭐⭐⭐
Ecstatic (3.40, Ascot) @ 4/1 with William Hill ⭐⭐
Brave Mission (5.00, Ascot) @ 9/1 with William Hill ⭐⭐⭐
Fifth Column (5.00, Ascot) @ 10/1 with William Hill ⭐⭐⭐
Serengeti (5.00, Ascot) @ 11/1 with William Hill ⭐⭐⭐
Detain (5.35, Ascot) @ 7/2 with William Hill ⭐⭐
No Retreat (6.10, Ascot) @ 22/1 with William Hill ⭐⭐⭐
Odds provided by William Hill and correct at the time of writing. Stars denote strength of selection (maximum five).
2.30 Ascot – Norfolk Stakes (Group 2, 5f)
CHARLES DARWIN has won his last two starts in Ireland by a combined 8¾ lengths and sets a good, clear standard for Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore.
The same connections had the winner of Tuesday's Coventry Stakes with a similar type and Charles Darwin is a brother to their dual Group 1-winning juvenile Blackbeard.
3.05 Ascot – King George V Stakes (Heritage Handicap, 1m 4f)
SERIOUS CONTENDER (NAP) has strong claims in this big-field handicap. He has been saved for it since winning over 1m 2f at Leopardstown in March, with connections wanting to protect his rating.
Aidan O'Brien's runner should be well suited by the step up to 1m 4f, a trip his dam won over, and he is open to plenty of improvement. He has a wide draw but this race tends to favour horses from stalls in double figures.
Selection: Serious Contender @ 7/2 with William Hill
Go to site >
3.40 Ascot – Ribblesdale Stakes (Group 2, 1m 4f)
Ryan Moore rides Aidan O'Brien's Garden Of Eden, but preference is for ECSTATIC from the same stable. The selection has been a bit disappointing but she most recently met trouble in a steadily run 1m 2f race at Newbury.
This step up to 1m 4f on quick ground looks to be what she wants – her dam won this by four lengths in 2018 – and the jockey Wayne Lordan recently won the Derby on a horse that Moore passed over.
4.20 Ascot – Ascot Gold Cup (Group 1, 2m 4f)
ILLINOIS (NB) has to prove his stamina over this trip but he had no problem getting 1m 7f on testing ground when winning a Group 2 race in France as a three-year-old, while his reappearance win in the Group 3 Ormonde Stakes at Chester is good form.
Aidan O'Brien has trained five different Ascot Gold Cup winners, so he has a good idea whether a horse will stay and Illinois looks like being tough to beat.
5.00 Ascot – Britannia Stakes (Heritage Handicap, 1m)
I'm having three goes at this big-field three-year-old handicap, starting with Ralph Beckett's BRAVE MISSION. He ran a nice trial for this when second over 7f at Ascot on his reappearance and should improve now that he has had a run and goes up in trip.
FIFTH COLUMN was disappointing last year but he was one of only two horses the Gosdens entered in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket, the other being the brilliant Field Of Gold, who is by the same sire in Kingman.
Since being gelded, as well as being stepped up to a mile this year, Fifth Column has won both his races and looked just the type for this race in the Esher Cup at Sandown most recently. Cheekpieces are added.
The final shout is Aidan O'Brien's SERENGETI. He hasn't built on his two-year-old promise in either run this term, but testing ground was no use to him when he reappeared in a Naas handicap that his connections won a couple of years ago with the subsequent Group 1 winner Paddington.
Most recently, he went off too fast in the French 2,000 Guineas, which was run in a record time. Dropping back into a handicap, on quick ground, he is likely to be ridden more patiently now and has good claims.
It might also be worth combining these three selections in forecasts and tricasts, as detailed below.
Selection: Brave Mission, Fifth Column, Serengeti 0.1pt combination tricast with William Hill (0.6pts total)
Go to site >
Selection: Brave Mission, Fifth Column, Serengeti 0.2pt combination forecast with William Hill (1.2pts total)
Go to site >
5.35 Ascot – Hampton Court Stakes (Group 3, 1m 2f)
DETAIN sets the standard on the evidence of his French Derby third and is taken to prove best, even though he was only just ahead of the re-opposing Trinity College in that race at Chantilly.
6.10 Ascot – Buckingham Palace Stakes (Class 2 Handicap, 7f)
NO RETREAT didn't quite get a mile yet found Meydan's turning and flat 7f a bit sharp in Dubai over the winter. But he still showed useful form, winning a handicap over the latter trip.
Having been off for 78 days, he returned to Britain over a mile at Haydock and again didn't quite see it out, finishing third.
The selection should now be spot-on for this assignment and he gets a straight, much stiffer 7f on quick ground, which looks just about perfect for him. A refitted tongue-tie may also help, likewise first-time cheekpieces.
Ron Wood 2025 horse racing P/L
(up to and including Tuesday June 17)
Star ratings explained
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - confident selection
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - strong fancy
⭐⭐⭐ - fair claims
⭐⭐ - tentative choice
⭐ - minimum confidence
If you want to find more odds and offers, take a look at our list of the best betting sites and free bets
Check out our list of the best casino bonuses in the UK