Royal Ascot 2017 – Day Four Betting Tips

Aidan O’Brien notched up his 300th Group 1 winner at Royal Ascot this week but not everything has gone according to plan for the master at Ballydoyle. Things might fall into place a bit more for the Irish champion trainer on Friday.

A Ballydoyle Brace
Last week there was a lot of talk of a short priced five-timer that would bury the bookies but that certainly hasn’t transpired with Churchill and Order Of St George both turned over.

Confidence is high that Caravaggio can maintain his unbeaten record though.

5/6 is on offer for the horse that Aidan O’Brien has described as the quickest he has ever seen and that is a fair statement even from a man not short of such one liners but his form backs that up.

Over the winter months Caravaggio was a short enough price for the Guineas but connections opted against stepping up the son of Scat Daddy and instead keeping him at six-furlongs to conserve his blistering speed.

Scat Daddy has had some success at the royal meeting already this week and Caravaggio looks pretty bomb proof. He won the Coventry Stakes last season and went on to win the Keeneland Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh before being put away for the winter.

His seasonal reappearance at Naas was pretty explosive, albeit in a lesser quality field but you get the impression that even his connections were taken back by how impressive he was that day and while Blue Point and Bound For Nowhere are decent animals, Caravaggio is the classiest horse yet to grace the Commonwealth Cup and he should be an emphatic winner.

As should the dual Guineas winner, Winter.

This will be a short priced double with Caravaggio at 5/6 and Winter at 1/2 but this is probably as close as you’ll get to buying money at Royal Ascot. It has not been an easy week for the punters and the bookmakers are definitely in front but Winter ticks all the boxes here staying over a mile and only having to face six rivals, none of which would look to have enough form to get the better of Winter.

Dabyah was Group 1 placed as a juvenile and won on her seasonal return but Winter looks a filly still on the upward curve and should complete a Ballydoyle double.

Harrington To Open Royal Account
Another short priced one to go with the Ballydoyle duo is Jessica Harrington’s Alpha Centauri to give Harrington a first Royal Ascot success. Her other juvenile runner this week, Brother Bear, was something of an unlucky loser in the Coventry Stakes on Tuesday…

but Alpha Centauri looks one of the smartest two-year-olds around.

A concern would be the quick ground as this filly is a monster, who, according to Harrington weighed heavier as a two-year-old than some of her renowned national hunt horses, but her form has been good and the manner of her performances has been even better.

When Alpha Centauri won her debut she impressed anyone that saw her. At Naas – on quick ground – Alpha Centauri stayed on nicely to beat Actress by two and a half lengths with Shapes back in third a further length and a quarter back. At Naas the second day, it just happened to be that the same three horses filled the same three positions, Alpha Centauri beating Actress by five lengths this time and Shapes was six lengths off the winner. She improved dramatically from her first run to her second and if she does that again at Ascot tomorrow, she could well be quite a sight.

Maybe chance the treble.

Recommended Bets:
Alpha Centauri (9/4) – 2.30 Ascot
Caravaggio (5/6) – 3.40 Ascot
Winter (1/2) – 4.20 Ascot

*Prices correct at time of publication.