Royal Ascot 2024: day three results and race reaction - how it happened
Summary
- Kyprios regains the Gold Cup after an epic battle with Trawlerman
- Ryan Moore becomes leading active rider at Royal Ascot after Ribblesdale win
- Shareholder wins the Norfolk Stakes; Going The Distance surges home in King George V Stakes
- Mickley wins Britannia Stakes; Jayarebe takes Hampton Court; English Oak bags Buckingham Palace
Summary
- Kyprios regains the Gold Cup after an epic battle with Trawlerman
- Ryan Moore becomes leading active rider at Royal Ascot after Ribblesdale win
- Shareholder wins the Norfolk Stakes; Going The Distance surges home in King George V Stakes
- Mickley wins Britannia Stakes; Jayarebe takes Hampton Court; English Oak bags Buckingham Palace
Welcome to day three!
Time flies when you're having fun and it's hard to believe it's already day three of Royal Ascot.
We're set for another cracking afternoon of action headlined by the Gold Cup (4.25). Can Kyprios regain his crown or will champion jumps trainer Willie Mullins have the last laugh with Vauban?
We have three other Group races to look forward to kicking off with the Norfolk Stakes (2.30), which threw up a 150-1 winner last year, followed by the Ribblesdale Stakes (3.45) and Hampton Court Stakes (5.40).
Who are your main fancies today? Let us know by emailing liveblog@racingpost.com.
Ground too quick for Trueshan
Trueshan has been taken out of the Gold Cup (4.25) due to the ground, which was described as good to firm by clerk of the course Chris Stickels this morning following overnight watering.
Here is a list of all the other non-runners so far:
2.30 Evening Saigon
3.45 Forest Fairy
5.05 Bergamasco, Miletus
6.15 Awaal, Ropey Guest
Who is leading the way on day three?
For lovers of narrative continuity, here are the standings after the opening two days:
Leading jockey
Oisin Murphy is on three winners after a double yesterday and has some great chances today, most notably Kalpana in the Ribblesdale Stakes (3.45). Ryan Moore comes next in the leaderboard with two successes.
Leading trainer
John and Thady Gosden have sent out two winners, as has Aidan O'Brien. The latter is an odds-on shot to be crowned leading trainer at the meeting and is sending out the big guns today, including Kyprios.
Early move for Ribblesdale contender Kalpana
We have a few short-priced favourites today – outside of the big handicaps (good luck with those) – and punters are keen to take on Godolphin's Diamond Rain in the Ribblesdale Stakes (3.45) with Kalpana.
BetMGM's UK director Sam Behar said: "Kalpana has been very strong in the market for the in-form Oisin Murphy. She's now 11-4 from 7-2 and is turning into a real gamble."
Punters also seem keen to take on Whistlejacket in the Norfolk and Kyprios in the Gold Cup.
"Whistlejacket has been all the rage for the Norfolk for a while, but the money has dried up recently and he's out to 6-5 from evens," added Behar. "Customers are keen to take on Kyprios, who is 11-8 (from 5-4)."
Who can take on Kyprios in the Gold Cup?
Tom Segal believes Kyprios should prove a tough nut to crack in our feature race. It is hard to disagree.
"If Kyprios is the Kyprios of two years ago, he's going to take a lot of beating and the vibe coming out of Ballydoyle is that he is as good as ever," he said. "Vauban is extremely dangerous too if he stays the trip."
Members can find out who Pricewise put up for the race a few weeks ago, as well as his other selections here.
Day three schedule
The action moves quickly, so here is a handy running order so you can tactically time your tea breaks:
2.00 The royal procession
2.30 Norfolk Stakes (Group 2)
3.05 King George V Stakes
3.45 Ribblesdale Stakes (Group 2)
4.25 Gold Cup (Group 1)
5.05 Britannia Stakes
5.40 Hampton Court Stakes
6.15 Buckingham Palace Stakes
A lot of love for Gold Cup hope Gregory
Agreement is exceptionally hard to come by in this game but our very own Maddy Playle and professional punter Johnny Dineen have both settled on Gregory in the Gold Cup (4.25).
Playle is not convinced Kyprios is the "same horse he was before" and is keen to take him on at the prices with Gregory, who "has some improving to do but dug in to win the Queen's Vase last season".
Who do you fancy in the feature race? Email in your thoughts to liveblog@racingpost.com.
Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee declarations revealed
King Charles III Stakes fourth Believing will make a quick turnaround to contest the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (3.45) on Saturday, when her rivals will include Mill Stream and the versatile Kinross.
Full field
Art Power David Allan
Jumby Charles Bishop
Khaadem Oisin Murphy
Kinross Rossa Ryan
Mill Stream William Buick
Mitbaahy Jamie Spencer
Quinault Richard Kingscote
Shartash James Doyle
Shouldvebeenaring Sean Levey
The Wizard Of Eye Ryan Moore
Washington Heights Tom Eaves
Believing Daniel Tudhope
Swingalong Clifford Lee
Vadream Kieran Shoemark
Read our full story on the day five declarations here
Football's coming home - or is it?
How could an afternoon watching Royal Ascot be made any better? Answer: by adding an England game.
England take on Denmark at 5pm on BBC One, so you can have the racing and football on at the same time.
I happen to believe Gareth Southgate should try playing Jude Bellingham a touch deeper alongside Declan Rice to allow Phil Foden more room going forward, thus offering Harry Kane more service. But enough about me.
Find out what the much more qualified Dan Childs thinks in our match preview here.
A couple more market movers
Bellum Justum is now 11-1 (from 14s) for the Hampton Court Stakes (5.40) with Ladbrokes.
The three-year-old won the Blue Riband Trial at Epsom before finishing seventh in the Derby this month.
He will be partnered by Oisin Murphy, who is 9-2 from as big as 16-1 at the start of the week to be top jockey, following his double yesterday, while Ryan Moore remains an odds-on shot.
Mickley is also proving popular with Ladbrokes in the Britannia Stakes (5.05). He is now 8-1 (from 12s) to complete his hat-trick following victories at Southwell and Doncaster.
Racegoers arriving at the track
Our award-winning photographer Ed Whitaker is on duty all week and has snapped this shot of a racegoer shortly after arriving at the track.
Who does ITV Racing's Ed Chamberlin fancy today?
Here is a fun fact about ITV Racing's Ed Chamberlin – he loves the London Gold Cup.
I thought I would ask him who he was most looking forward to watching today and he came back with King's Gambit, who he described as his nap of the day.
The three-year-old followed up a decent juvenile campaign with a four-length success in the London Gold Cup and is favourite for the Hampton Court Stakes (5.40).
If anybody is interested in a related double, the London Gold Cup runner-up Poniros is among the more fancied runners in the King George V Stakes (3.05).
The King returns
The King, who was absent yesterday, is due to be back at Royal Ascot today and will feature in the royal procession from 2pm. Here's who's in attendance...
The carriage list
1st Carriage
The King
The Queen
The Duke of Devonshire
The Duchess of Devonshire
2nd Carriage
The Duke of Edinburgh
The Duchess of Edinburgh
The Earl of Snowdon
Princess Zahra Aga Khan
3rd Carriage
The Princess Royal
Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence
The Lady Sarah Chatto
Mr Daniel Chatto
4th Carriage
The Duke of Richmond and Gordon
The Duchess of Richmond and Gordon
Mr Mike Tindall
Mrs Mike Tindall
'There's always a little bit left in the tank'
The day's feature race, and the highlight of the week, is the Gold Cup (4.25), for which Kyprios is well fancied.
ITV Racing pundit Jason Weaver knows what it takes to land the big race, having done so on Double Trigger 29 years ago.
Of the favourite, Weaver says: "Kyprios only ever does enough and he's in a similar mould to Trigger because you never feel like you're getting to the bottom of him and that's the key to the Gold Cup winner.
"There's always a little bit left in the tank with Kyprios and, with horses like that, you just need an ideal set up and then your stamina comes into play."
Read the full story here.
Who do you fancy on day three?
We're approaching the halfway mark of Royal Ascot 2024 and it's already thrown up some shock results.
Remember, you can let us know who you fancy by emailing us at liveblog@racingpost.com – we're all ears!
Royal Ascot picks are not in short supply here at the Racing Post and tipster Harry Wilson, who's found a few winners already this week, believes Whistlejacket can get favourite backers off to a flyer in the first, the Norfolk Stakes (2.30).
Harry writes: "Whistlejacket relished the drop to 5f when running away with the First Flier Stakes last time and the form was franked when runner-up Arizona Blaze took the Marble Hill on his next start. The well-touted brother to Little Big Bear – who won at the royal meeting as a juvenile – should have no issue with faster ground."
Are you ready for day three?
Here's another cracking selection of hats on Ladies' Day, which features seven races including the Gold Cup (4.25).
Yesterday's Placepot paid £916.60, following on from the day one dividend of £5,406.50, and we know many of you will be having a crack at the popular pool bet today. If you are, make sure you heed some of Paul Kealy's Placepot advice here.
Reminder: day three schedule
Here's another reminder of today's running order, key race details and TV information.
2.00: The royal procession
2.30: Norfolk Stakes (Group 2), 5f, ITV4/Sky
3.05: King George V Stakes, 1m4f, ITV4/Sky
3.45: Ribblesdale Stakes (Group 2), 1m4f, ITV4/Sky
4.25: Gold Cup (Group 1), 2m4f, ITV/Sky
5.05: Britannia Stakes, 1m, ITV/Sky
5.40: Hampton Court Stakes, 1m2f, ITV/Sky
6.15: Buckingham Palace Stakes, 1m, ITV4/Sky
Will you be taking on the favourites today?
To play or to lay – that is the question when it comes to the four short-priced favourites on the card.
And Betfred have rather handily supplied an overview of the big movers and shakers this morning.
They report that Kyprios is weak in the Gold Cup. Having been odds-on at declaration time, he is now available at 6-4, with Gregory and Trawlerman the two who have been backed.
His stablemate Whistlejacket has been solid in the market ahead of the opening Norfolk Stakes and is 11-8, having been 7-4 yesterday, while Diamond Rain is another strong favourite in the Ribblesdale. As mentioned earlier, Kalpana has been well supported this morning, as has the Oaks fourth You Got To Me.
The strongest of the four short-priced favourites is London Gold Cup winner King's Gambit, who is now 11-8 with Betfred after sustained support, while unsurprisingly there has been a big move for the King and Queen's runner Gilded Water, who is now 11-2 (from 8s) for the King George V.
Here are the big movers on day three
With a little more than an hour to go before the opener, here are the big movers with Betfred:
2.30 Norfolk Stakes
Whistlejacket 11-8 (from 7-4)
3.05 King George V Stakes
Gilded Water 11-2 (from 8)
French Duke 6-1 (from 8)
3.45 Ribblesdale Stakes
Kalpana 11-4 (from 9-2)
You Got To Me 9-2 (from 7-1)
4.25 Gold Cup
Gregory 5-1 (from 13-2)
Trawlerman 11-2 (from 7-1)
5.05 Britannia Stakes
Volterra 13-2 (from 8-1)
Mickley 15-2 (from 10-1)
Starlore 9-1 (from 12)
Dashing Darcey 11-1 (from 14)
5.40 Hampton Court Stakes
King's Gambit 11-8 (from 5-2)
6.15 Buckingham Palace Handicap
Fresh 10-1 (from 16)
The X O 16-1 (from 33)
Magic Moore hunting Dettori record
With Frankie Dettori attending Royal Ascot on a jolly, his old friend and rival Ryan Moore has the chance to overtake him as the leading active jockey at the meeting and requires just one more winner this week.
Moore drew level with Dettori on 81 winners after scoring yesterday aboard Illinois and the mercurial Auguste Rodin, and you would be brave to bet against him today with rides on Whistlejacket and Kyprios.