With Royal Ascot been and gone, Andrew Mount’s latest Angles column focuses on the horses to back next time out from some of the biggest fields of the week.
Royal Hunt Cup
Prior to Royal Ascot 2026 I used one of my ‘Andrew’s Angles’ columns to discuss the good record of colts in the Royal Hunt Cup…
“Colts won six of the ten renewals (from just 35 runners) for a profit of £41.00 to a £1 level stake at SP…”
That figure is now seven from 11 (+£69.00) thanks to the 28-1 success of Rogue Diplomat last Wednesday, one of only four colts in the line-up. Runner-up Blue RC (28-1) is also a colt and those punters who permed them in a Tote Exacta would have hit a bumper dividend of £1,351.90 to a £1 stake (the CSF paid £699.89). I have looked at several ways to profit from Royal Hunt Cup runners next time out and, while those who ran well from poor low draws will be of obvious interest, especially third-placed Indalo who ran a blinder to finish so close from stall 8, the simplest system is just to back the geldings who were beaten but ran with credit (defined as finishing second through to eighth) regardless of where they were drawn. Since 2016, this angle has found 14 winners from 65 bets (21.5% strike-rate) for a profit of £34.03 to a £1 level stake at SP. This year’s qualifiers are…
3rd – Indalo (poorly drawn)
4th – Ebt’s Guard (well drawn and raced on the favoured strip)
5th – Cerulean Bay (well drawn but Danny Tudhope had a shocker and switched to the far side)
6th – Ezrindjan (well drawn but Ryan Moore also went far side)
7th -Scoville (poorly drawn)
8th – Ozat (poorly drawn)
Britannia Stakes
The Britannia Stakes was another big-field 1m handicap that favoured those drawn high, with George Boughey’s Moonfall (stall 26 once adjusted for non-runner corruption) leading home runners drawn 17, 23, 30, 28, 27, 25, 14, 22, 21, 20 and 15. Exclusive Code (stall 3), owned by Wathnan Racing, fared best of those drawn in single-figures, finishing six lengths back in 13th place. He could drop in trip for the Moet & Chandon International Handicap here at the end of July. Laureate Crown (stall 15) went far side under Jamie Spencer, and his 12th place was also worthy of an upgrade.
Britannia flops, who were beaten by 18 lengths or more, have often performed well at the next time of asking, landing 13 of their 62 starts since 2017 for a profit of £4.41 at SP…
…this year’s qualifiers are low-drawn pair New Connection (66-1) and We’re Goosers, sent off as the 4-1 favourite.
Buckingham Palace Stakes
The Buckingham Palace Stakes (7f handicap) was a also strong draw race, with the first four home drawn in stalls 27, 28, 20 and 25 of 28 (once adjusted for the non-runners). Again, we have to go all the way down to 13th place to find the first runner drawn in single figures to cross the line – the Ian Williams-trained Nizal (stall 9), who has an entry in the Golden Mile at Goodwood next month.
‘Buck House’ runners who were dropped in trip for their next outing tended to struggle….
…with no winners from 20 runners since 2021.
Only seven runners in the study period raced in non-handicap company over 7f or further next time out and the produced four winners (8-1, 13-2, 15-8 and 11-8) for a profit of £14.75 to a £1 level stake at SP.
Queen Mary Stakes
Victorious (stall 4 of 27 once adjusted for the non-runner) overcame her disadvantageous low draw to land the Queen Mary Stakes, with Senorita Bonita (stall 9), also done no favours by the draw, two lengths back in second place. Low-drawn Queen Mary runners are often worth backing on their next outing, even if the winner came from a low berth. Since 2017, simply backing any horse who ran in the Queen Mary from a low draw (stalls 1-12 inclusive), next time out, would have found 29 winners from 99 bets for a profit of £15.37 at SP…
…this year’s qualifiers are:
Bint Archange
Celtic Dispute
Crystal Ocean
Drazinda
Envision
Havana Lightning
Kentucky Rain
Love A Giggle
Lover Girl
Senorita Bonita
Victorious
Wild Blossom
…in the same period, opposing high-drawn (stall 13+) Queen Mary runners next time out has been a profitable lay system…
…there were only ten winners from 83 bets for a loss of £52.09 at SP. Laying these at Betfair SP, after 2% commission, returned a profit of £47.24 (+56.92% on turnover).
The early foals (January and February), whose maturity edge is eroded as the season progresses, fared especially poorly…
This year’s high-drawn Queen Mary runners (non-runner adjusted), with foaling months, were as follows…
Draw / finishing position / Horse /Foaling Month
13 / 19th / Mor Champagne / Apr
14 / 15th / Big Negotiator / Mar
15 / 3rd / Ruiva / Jan
16 / 21st / Magic Effort / Mar
17 / 25th / Niewiadoma / Apr
18 / 9th / Armor Supreme / Feb
19 / 17th / Princesse D’Orange / Mar
20 / 24th / Shining Moment / May
21 / 8th / Velozee / Mar
22 / 4th / Pershaada / Feb
23 / 6th / Alta Regina / Feb
24 / 7th / Shimmering Sun / Mar
25 / 14th / Fast Track / Jan
26 / 5th / Crownbreaker / Mar
27 / 11th / Miss Lizzy / Mar
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