Five jockeys to follow at Royal Ascot - including one rider operating at a 44 per cent strike-rate in the last fortnight

The Royal Ascot cards are taking shape, but which jockeys should punters be following? Here we pick out five riders who could be among the winners this week . . .

Hollie Doyle

Hollie Doyle has ridden six winners at the meeting since 2020, including three victories last year when she finished third in the rider standings.

All three of Doyle’s victories last year came for Archie Watson and he has some interesting contenders, including last year’s winner Saint Lawrence and Albasheer in the Wokingham.

Doyle will partner popular stayer Trueshan in the Gold Cup or Queen Alexandra – if the ground is suitable – and is jocked up on recent Hilary Needler second Maw Lam in the Queen Mary.

Doyle’s four handicap winners at the meeting have been priced at 12-1, 22-1, 33-1 and 33-1 and her mounts are always worth a second look in those races. Doha looks a leading contender for Doyle in the Kensington Palace and Cogitate is interesting in the Britannia.

Oisin Murphy

Oisin Murphy rode five winners at the meeting in 2021 and enjoyed a Group 1 success on Shaquille in the Commonwealth Cup last year.

His royal meeting tally is 11 winners and he is in good form going into the meeting, operating at a 21 per cent domestic strike-rate in the last two weeks.

Middle Earth (Hardwicke) and Kalpana (Ribblesdale) are among Murphy’s best rides for domestic trainers, while his book of rides has been boosted by international contenders.

Middle Earth: leading Hardwicke contenderCredit: Alan Crowhurst

Murphy has picked up the Coronation mount on the Christopher Head-trained Ramatuelle, who finished third to Elmalka in the 1,000 Guineas last time, while he also partners two Australian hopes in Asfoora (King Charles III) and Kitty Rose (Sandringham).

Danny Tudhope

Danny Tudhope has had 11 Royal Ascot winners since 2017, including four victories in 2022.

Tudhope was on the scoresheet at last year’s meeting on Rogue Millennium in the Duke of Cambridge Stakes and is another rider in fine form, boasting a 21 per cent strike-rate in the last fortnight before Sunday’s racing.

He could make a positive start on the opening day, with Andesite (Coventry) and Believing (King Charles III) among his best rides on Tuesday, while Bracken’s Laugh (Hampton Court) and King’s Gamble (Britannia) are others to note on Thursday. 

Jamie Spencer

Jamie Spencer has ridden 28 Royal Ascot winners and his patient riding style is well suited to the track.

He struck on two outsiders last year, guiding Witch Hunter to a 50-1 success in the Buckingham Palace Handicap before winning the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes on 80-1 outsider Khaadem.

Khaadem (pink and green): 80-1 winner at the meeting last yearCredit: Tom Dulat

Spencer and Charlie Hills will bid to spring another sprint surprise with Equality (King Charles III) and Mitbaahy or Khaadem (Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee), while Royal Scotsman looks overpriced in an open Queen Anne that kicks off the meeting.

Pied Piper, a last-time-out third in the County Hurdle, is a leading player for Spencer in the Ascot Stakes and two-time course winner Bless Him could be in the mix in the Buckingham Palace.

Ryan Moore

Ryan Moore has won the leading jockey title at the meeting ten times, including in the last two years, and set a post-war record of nine winners for a single Royal Ascot meeting in 2015.

Moore, who has an eyecatching 44 per cent strike-rate in the last two weeks, is three winners away from toppling Frankie Dettori’s tally of 81 winners at Royal Ascot. That will surely happen this week.

He has four rides priced at 5-1 or shorter on the opening day, including Coventry favourite Camille Pissarro and St James’s Palace contender Henry Longfellow.

Kyprios (Gold Cup), Auguste Rodin (Prince of Wales’s), Whistlejacket (Norfolk), Fairy Godmother (Albany) and Opera Singer (Coronation) are among Moore’s mounts with excellent chances, and he is 2-5 favourite with bet365 to be top jockey.

Read more . . .

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