Jane Mangan
Jane Mangan’s William Hill blog: Royal Ascot 2026 Day Five Best Bets
William Hill ambassador Jane Mangan returns with her best bets on the fifth and final day of Royal Ascot.
Saturday, Royal Ascot
The opener is a massive-field contest over five furlongs for the Norfolk Stakes (2:30pm). It looks as though there is a draw bias towards the stands’ side, but hopefully Where Love Lives can overcome that. I think he has a big chance, considering he beat the Woodcote winner on debut at Thirsk before beating Coventry Stakes runner-up Adaay Of Scarlett in the National Stakes at Sandown. Kevin Ryan knows what it takes to win this race, and I think this horse can overcome the bias to be victorious.
The Hardwicke Stakes (3:05pm) looks a deep renewal, as it should with a £250,000 purse up for grabs. Jan Brueghel and Goliath may be hard to beat, but I think the two mares, Kalpana and Santorini Star, will come to the fore. Kalpana is a course-and-distance winner, as well as a two-time Group One winner. She chased Calandagan home in last year’s King George, with Jan Brueghel behind her. She landed the Fillies’ and Mares’ Stakes on Champions Day last year over the same course and distance, and I thought her comeback win at Newbury was quite cosy in the end. I’ll side with her to beat the boys.
The feature race on the final day is the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (3:40pm), where I think Joliestar has the ingredients to send Australia home with a Group One victory. This mare has won 10 races in her home country, including five Group Ones. She brought up a hat-trick of Group One wins at Randwick back in March and arrives here with a lofty reputation. James McDonald climbs aboard for Chris Waller. She might be a six-year-old, but from gate nine, I think she will be hard to beat.
The Jersey Stakes (4:20pm) is a fantastic race, won last year by Noble Champion. This year, I fancy The Prettiest Star. She was fourth, beaten only three-and-a-half lengths by True Love in the 1000 Guineas. Before that, she finished second in the Rockfel Stakes last year. She’s a high-class three-year-old with much more to offer on just her fourth career start. Ed Walker won this race last year, and I think he can do so again.
The Queen Alexandra Stakes (6:10pm) is the longest race of the week, run over two miles and five and a half furlongs, and brings the curtain down on Royal Ascot. It’s a race in which National Hunt trainers can come to the fore, with Willie Mullins having a particularly strong record. He’s won three of the last five renewals including last year with Sober. This time around, I like his Le Destrier. This horse was trained and raced in Poland and Scandinavia before arriving at Closutton. He then had two years off before making his stable debut, where he was beaten a length and a half by Scandinavia last time out. He finished third that day and stayed on with a real flourish. The booking of William Buick is a notable one, and he can send us home with a winner.
