Royal Ascot Day Three Preview - 20/06/2019

The first race on day three at Royal Ascot 2019 is the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes and in this five furlong sprint contest we have sided with the Godolphin-owned Expressionist.

Trained by Charlie Appleby and this two year old looks to be a really smart recruit for the yard and heads into this contest with some leading form which makes him dangerous at a double figured price.

The colt has only raced once, but got off the mark straight away over course and distance at Ascot and William Buick was riding that day and did not have to do to much to see him win.

He holds a huge amount of potential and should handle the softer conditions better than most of the field.

The second selection of the day comes in the Group 3 Hampton Court Stakes over 1 mile 2 furlongs and we have gone with the Roger Varian-trained Roseman to land the spoils.

This three year old has raced three times in his career not finishing outside of the top three in all of his starts and last time out showing how progressive he could be.

He finished second at Sandown in a Listed event behind Tuesday's St James's Palace runner up King Of Comedy and with that form being franked on similar ground he has a definite chance in this one.

Coming towards the stand out races of the day and the Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes looks a thrilling a renewal and we have chosen the John Gosden-trained Star Catcher.

This three year old filly looks to be a really progressive youngster for a top yard and top connections and if the ground conditions stay soft, can't be overlooked.

She has raced twice this season scoring nicely on her seasonal debut on soft ground and when stepped up in Class last time out was a good third.

She is open to plenty of improvement and is a really nice each way price.

The big race of the entire meeting is the Group 1 Ascot Gold Cup and we have two horses to choose from in this race with the forecast advertised from a betting angle.

The first is the favourite and the leading staying superstar in the division for the last two year's and Stradivarius will take some beating in this contest.

He has landed his last six races in a row between Group 1 and 2 level and also landed this contest last year, it would not be surprise to see him go and win it again.

The other selection is the Charlie Appleby trained Cross Counter who is another superstar in this division, landing the Melbourne Cup and the Dubai Gold Cup in his last two runs and the further he goes the better he becomes.

With both of these staying giants set to do battle, the forecast is advised as we think it would take something out of the ordinary not to see these two in the top two places.

The penultimate race of the third day at the Berkshire track is the Class 2 Britannia Stakes Handicap and in this large fielded race over a mile we have two selections.

The first is the Hamdan Al maktoum owned three year old Motafaawit for trainer Richard Hannon who has won both his starts this season in handicap contests and is very versatile on different ground conditions.

He is stepping up to a mile for the first time but looks like he will handle it and is a big player.

Our each-way selection comes from the William Haggas yard with three year old Awe, he has shown he is a versatile on good and soft ground and won nicely last time out to enter frame calculations on Thursday.

The final race of the day is another big fielded Handicap with the King George V Stakes over 1mile 4 furlongs and we have two selections again in this one.

The first looks a really smart prospect from the William Haggas yard and Sinjaari looks ready to step up to 1 mile 4f after finishing a smart second at Newbury last time out over shorter.

Our outsider to follow is the King Power owned Good Birthday who looks to be a very progressive colt finishing third behind Sinjaari last time out and the softer it gets the much more he will like it.