Urban Lion sets up Royal Hunt Cup tilt with Sandown success
Royal Ascot is calling for Urban Lion, who is set for a quick turnaround after booking his ticket to the Royal Hunt Cup in commanding fashion at Sandown on Saturday.
Jack Channon's four-year-old has enjoyed a fine start to 2025, winning on the all-weather at Chelmsford before going down narrowly at Newbury in the valuable Spring Cup.
That agonising loss brought the Royal meeting on the agenda, but needing to go up in the weights to guarantee his place in the Royal Hunt Cup field, the West Ilsley handler felt obliged to run his improving gelding in the Read Meg Nicholls' Blog At betmgm.co.uk Handicap in hope of securing a penalty.
It certainly wasn't pretty.
Urban Lion toughs it out in the Read Meg Nicholls' Blog At https://t.co/kdtpwIEHOi Handicap 🥇 #ITVRacing | @Sandownpark | @ChannonRacing pic.twitter.com/zayURjR0Bm
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) June 14, 2025
Sent off 9-4 in the hands of Edward Greatrex, Urban Lion was always in touch with the leaders and after moving stylishly into contention, kept on nicely for a two-length victory that saw him cut to 25-1 from 40s for next week's Royal Hunt Cup by Paddy Power.
'He did that really smooth and Eddie said he did it really well and when he hit the front he pricked his ears and dossed around so there was plenty left,' said Channon.
'It was a very pleasing performance to see but also quite frustrating that it wasn't at Ascot off that mark. We'll have the penalty now and we can go to Ascot off the back of this.
'He's been trained for the Hunt Cup since going close in the Spring Cup at Newbury and his preparation for next week has been flawless.
'However, it became apparent earlier in the week he wasn't going to get in so he had to go and win today and then hope he comes out of it well enough and is also well-handicapped enough to go and perform.
'This is a very nice horse that has taken a lot of patience from his owners and also everyone at home but he's paying it back in bundles now and I think his trajectory is only going to go up and up.'
Andrew Balding and Oisin Murphy enjoyed a double when 6-4 favourite Gladius won the opening Download The BetMGM App Handicap before Dance In The Storm (5-2 joint-favourite) bounced back to form impressively in the Bet £10 Get £40 With BetMGM Handicap.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Powys County Times
an hour ago
- Powys County Times
Classic clash of the 2000 Guineas winners all set for Royal Ascot
A mouthwatering clash of 2000 Guineas winners will light up the opening day of Royal Ascot, with Ruling Court, Field Of Gold and Henri Matisse all declared for the St James's Palace Stakes. The Charlie Appleby-trained Ruling Court got the better of John and Thady Gosden's Field Of Gold at Newmarket, with the runner-up making no mistake subsequently at the Curragh. Henri Matisse, meanwhile, shone for Aidan O'Brien at ParisLongchamp. O'Brien also runs First Wave and Officer, while Windlord – like Field Of Gold owned by Juddmonte – represents Andrew Balding. Completing the seven-strong field is the Brian Meehan-trained Rashabar, who was fourth in the Irish Guineas.
The Herald Scotland
2 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Classic clash of the 2000 Guineas winners all set for Royal Ascot
A mouthwatering clash of 2000 Guineas winners will light up the opening day of Royal Ascot, with Ruling Court, Field Of Gold and Henri Matisse all declared for the St James's Palace Stakes. The Charlie Appleby-trained Ruling Court got the better of John and Thady Gosden's Field Of Gold at Newmarket, with the runner-up making no mistake subsequently at the Curragh. Henri Matisse, meanwhile, shone for Aidan O'Brien at ParisLongchamp.
The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
2025 Royal Ascot Free Bets & Betting Offers
Royal Ascot begins on 17 June, and with the highlight of the British flat racing season just around the corner, horse racing betting sites are running dozens of specialised offers for the festival. Bookies produce a range of offers for Royal Ascot each year, and we've collated the best Royal Ascot free bets for the 2025 edition of the meeting. Below is our guide to the best free bet offers ahead of the festival, including additional information on the offers, how to claim them and details on other horse racing promotions to look out for during Royal Ascot. Royal Ascot Free Bets Below are our selection of the best Royal Ascor free bet offers from betting sites for the 2025 meeting. Bettors can claim £30 in free bets to wager on Royal Ascot by signing up with BetVictor. BetVictor have a special racing sign up offer where they'll give new customers £30 in Royal Ascot free bets when they sign up and wager £10 on racing. The £10 qualifying bet can be placed on any racing market, so long as it has odds of evens or greater. In return, BetVictor will award bettors free racing bets, broken down into three £10 denominations: £10 'Lengthen the Odds' free bet £10 Racing in-play free bet £10 free bet of any racing market Tote are covering all 35 races at Royal Ascot with their money back offer, refunding bettors their stake in free bets if their horse finishes second. Opt in to the promotion on Tote and then place a win or each way bet on Royal Ascot. Only the win part of each-way bets will be covered by this offer. If your selection finishes second, Tote will issue a refund – up to £10 – in Tote credit, which is valid for seven days. SpreadEx's Rags to Riches promotion is intended to cover racing bettors should their selection cross the line in second behind a big-price winner. Every race on SpreadEx is covered by this offer, including all 35 races at this year's Royal Ascot. Just place a to win bet on any Royal Ascot race and if the selection finishes runner-up to a horse with an SP of 33/1 or greater, SpreadEx will refund stakes in horse racing free bets, up to a maximum of £25. There have been some big price winners at Royal Ascot in recent years with 80/1 shot Rashabar winning the Coventry Stakes last year. Fellow 80/1 runner Khadeem won the Hardwick Stakes in 2023 and Valiant Force went off at 150/1 in the Norfolk Stakes the same year. Betano's new horse racing sign up offer gives bettors the chance to claim £30 in free Royal Ascot bets. This offer is only available to new Betano customers who open an account, deposit a minimum of £10 and then wager £10 or more on any horse racing market at odds of 2/1 or greater. Once the qualifying bet has been settled, Betano will give bettors 2 x £10 free Royal Ascot bets and 1 x £10 free racing acca. Bettors will also receive a casino bonus of 50 free spins on Big Bass Return to the Races, valued at 10p each and with no wagering requirements attached to any winnings from the free spins. NetBet are offering punters some insurance on their Royal Ascot bets by giving them money back should their selection finish second to the favourite. To qualify, just wager £5 or more on any Royal Ascot race on a runner that has odds of 3/1 or greater. Only the win part of any each-way wagers will be covered. If your selection is second to the SP favourite, NetBet will refund bettors in free bets for Royal Ascot. By wagering on Royal Ascot with NetBet, punters will also be eligible for their profit boost scheme. Just stake £10 or more on any Royal Ascot race and the following week, NetBet will credit you with five 10 per cent profit boost tokens. 10bet: Bet £75, Get a £10 Free Bet Racing bettors can grab a £10 Royal Ascot free bet with 10bet through their horse racing free bets club. Bettors will need to opt in to the promotion and then wager a minimum of £75 on racing at odds of evens or greater. Free bets are credited once the final qualifying wager has been settled and are valid for seven days. Royal Ascot Betting Offers There's more to Royal Ascot betting offers than just free bets, with bettors able to improve their Royal Ascot betting experience in other ways. There are several other types of Royal Ascot betting offers that punters are likely to find, so we've provided some detail on the most common ones below: Enhanced odds: Some companies will offer improved Royal Ascot odds on certain races every day of the meeting. As part of the Bet365 Royal Ascot betting offers, the company will do a daily super boost for Royal Ascot, enhancing the odds of one of the favourites. Extra places: The majority of bookmakers will offer extra places for selected races. For example, they may bump up the number of places covered from three to four. Acca boosts: Getting a boost on your Royal Ascot accumulator is possible with a handful of sites, including BoyleSports. Depending on the number of legs, betting sites may apply a bonus of between 2.5 per cent up to 100 per cent on any winning acca bets. Cash back: Several horse racing betting sites have begun offering cash back on deposit losses. JeffBet's system gives punters 10 per cent of any losses back when they enter a specific promo code during the deposit process. Profit boosts: BetMGM, Unibet and NetBet are among the bookmakers offering Royal Ascot profit boost tokens. Bettors will usually need to place a qualifying wager before receiving their profit boost tokens for single bets. Cash refund: Rather than free bets, some betting sites will give bettors their stake back in cash if certain conditions are met. Best Odds Guaranteed: All the best horse racing betting sites offer Best Odds Guaranteed on every race at Royal Ascot. The best odds guarantee ensures that, if a bettor places a bet on a horse at a specific price, but the starting price (SP) is larger, the betting site will pay out at the better odds. Gamble Responsibly on Royal Ascot If you're planning to make use of Royal Ascot bet offers, it's vital to practice responsible gambling. When using gambling sites be aware that sports betting can be addictive. Please take steps to remain in control of your time and budget. The same applies whether you're using bookmakers, slot sites, casino sites, casino apps, betting apps, or any other gambling platform. Even the most knowledgeable punter can lose a bet, so always stick to a budget and never chase your losses. It's particularly important not to get carried away by any free bets or casino offers you might receive, both of which are available in abundance on gambling sites, but must be approached with caution. You can stay in control by making use of the responsible gambling tools offered, such as deposit limits, loss limits, self-exclusion and time-outs. You may also want to visit the following free organisations to discuss any issues with gambling you might be having:
