A bookie has named the horse who could cost them the money if they win at Royal Ascot. The royal meeting begins on Tuesday with five days of top class racing when it will be attended by the King and Queen, members of the royal family, celebrities and fashionistas.
One of the highlights of the racing and social calendar is also one of the biggest betting events with markets having been open for weeks.
There have been a number of high profile horses ruled out of the fixture in recent days. Nevertheless William Hill have a host of runners on which they could incur huge liabilities.
The firm’s spokesperson Lee Phelps said: “Royal Ascot is only around the corner and we’re champing at the bit for the five-day extravaganza to start.
“While there’s not quite the same ante-post fervour around this meeting as there is for Cheltenham, there are still a number of horses who’ll soon have us sweating under our top hats and tails.
“Zelaina created a huge impression on her debut for Karl Burke, and we laid a good chunk at 4-1 for her to win the Queen Mary. And after Burke was so effusive in his praise for the filly, she’s been backed again into 7-4, and is currently our worst liability across the meeting.”
The first day starts with a bang, with three Group 1 races, the Queen Anne Stakes, King Charles III Stakes and St James’s Palace Stakes.
“While Rosallion didn’t win the Lockinge, punters seem to have warmed to him since,” said Phelps. “He was 9-2 straight after his defeat to Lead Artist at Newbury, but it seems that many think that form will be reversed in the Queen Anne, so much so that he’s now a 3-1 shot.
“We expect him to be popular on the day too once people realise they can back last year’s uber-impressive St James’s Palace winner at around 3-1.”
Aidan O’Brien bids to finish top trainer for the fourth year running but it is one of his less well known runners who has caught punters’ attention, according to Phelps.
“One liability that’s a little more unusual is Storm Boy in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee,” he said. “He looked fairly lacklustre when making his Irish debut at the Curragh last month, and he drifted right out to 16s for Royal Ascot afterwards, but has been all the rage since.
“He’s now a strong 6-1 shot and the weight of money behind him suggests that Aidan O’Brien has worked his magic on this Aussie import.”
He continued: “We’ve managed to dodge two big liabilities already with Kyprios and Albert Einstein sadly ruled out of the meeting, but it’s in the handicaps where we’ve also seen horses catch our eye.
“In the Royal Hunt Cup, we’ve had to cut My Cloud into 5-1 favourite from 8-1 after some bullish comments from Roger Varian in a stable tour. Varian is a master at bringing horses like this through the grades, and this fella looks like one we’ll want to get beat next week.
“There’s also been some notable money for Joseph O’Brien’s The Liffey in the same race. The Carriganóg team think this guy is a really well-handicapped runner, and that kind of confidence has to be respected. Between My Cloud and The Liffey, the Royal Hunt Cup could be a race we’re watching from behind the back of the sofa.”