Jane Mangan
Jane Mangan’s William Hill blog: Royal Ascot 2026 Day Three Best Bets
William Hill ambassador Jane Mangan is back to preview the third day of Royal Ascot.
Thursday, Royal Ascot
In the Chesham (2:30pm), I like the Irish horse Nola Soul. I was at Leopardstown when he won on debut over this trip. That was on good ground and, being by Justify, the good-to-firm conditions should be right up his street. He’s a horse who will have an awful lot of improvement in him and was impressive on debut, so it’s Fozzy Stack and Seamie Heffernan in the Chesham for me.
In the King George V (3:05pm), the mile-and-a-half handicap, Joseph O’Brien has four representatives and I like Enceladus. He won his maiden over ten furlongs on good-to-soft ground at Cork. I was there that day and he looked as if he would improve for the run, but he still managed to win quite snugly. I think the extra two furlongs will help this son of Sea The Stars and, with Ryan Moore in the saddle, Enceladus, making his handicap debut off a mark of 89, is almost certainly well handicapped and can exploit that here.
The Ribblesdale Stakes (3:40pm) is next, a very hot race in which Juddmonte look to hold all the aces, despite Aidan O’Brien winning the last three renewals. Legacy Link was very good at Epsom, but that was a tough race and I’m going to oppose her with her owner companion, Gilded Prize. She was a little disappointing at Longchamp last time, but I think the step up to a mile and a half will really suit her. Oisin Murphy takes the ride, which is a real positive, and considering how Francis-Henri Graffard’s horses are running this week, she’s my idea of the Ribblesdale winner.
The feature race on the third day is the Gold Cup (4:15pm), a race that Aidan O’Brien has won nine times. He doesn’t have a Kyprios or a Yeats, but he does have a young pretender in Scandinavia. He won the St Leger as a three-year-old and looks even better at four. He’s taken the tried-and-tested route of Leopardstown, Navan and now Royal Ascot, and he has looked the ideal candidate to get this trip on both occasions. He races behind the bridle but always finishes strongly at the line. I think his younger legs, and the fact that he has already beaten Rahiebb in the St Leger, could be enough to take down Trawlerman. It’s Scandinavia to be the new king!
The Britannia (4:50pm) over the straight mile is notoriously difficult to solve, and it’s one where I’m making a tentative selection in Organise. He has been gelded since he was last seen at Sandown and, with the application of cheekpieces, I’m expecting a good performance. His sire, Night Of Thunder, has had progeny carrying all before them this week. He received a four-pound rise for finishing second to Laureate Crown in the Esher Cup, and I believe that experience will benefit him this time around.
The Hampton Court Stakes (5:35pm) is a ten-furlong Group 3 in which I like Morshdi. He disappointed somewhat in the Dante, but we know that the form is working out. I think he’s a horse William Haggas has always rated highly. He won the Gerry Feilden at Newmarket and, whilst that form has taken a few knocks since, his trainer clearly believes in him. Back down to Group 3 company and having sidestepped Epsom, I think this is more his trip and I’m expecting an improved performance.
