Ascot racecourse will open its gates for Britain’s richest flat meeting next week – the 2025 Royal Ascot Festival.
Thirty-five races – including eight Group Ones – will run across the five-day event, which is expected to attract crowds totalling around 300,000 people.
Each day will commence with the Royal Procession, a parade down the course’s straight mile, usually with the reigning monarch in attendance as well as other royals and invited VIPs.
This year, the Procession will celebrate its 200th anniversary as it continues to serve as a fitting ceremony that acknowledges the illustrious nature of the event and precedes some of the finest action that horse racing has to offer.
Along with the procession, each day boasts a feature race and Day Two’s is The Prince Of Wales’s Stakes.
This Group One contest will see horses aged four and older compete over a mile and one furlong, for a place in the ‘history book’ and prize money worth a huge one million pounds.
Aidan O’Brien
The 2025 renewal will see leading-Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien look to continue his outstanding form this season.
Having taken a ‘clean sweep’ at Epsom, the Irishman will arrive in Berkshire ready to continue his domination.
He trains the ante-post favourite Los Angeles, who sees himself the clear (9/4) favourite after last year’s Irish Champion Stakes winner Economics – due to make his seasonal reappearance – was withdrawn by trainer William Haggas
O’Brien’s horse is undefeated in his two runs this season and reappeared with a win in Group Two at The Curragh, before taking victory in the Tattersalls Gold Cup, at the same track – 20 days later.
After the race, O’Brien said: “The plan would be to come back here for the Tattersalls Gold Cup and, if that went well, he would go to Ascot for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes.”
It will be Los Angeles’ maiden run at the Royal meeting, and he will look to give last year’s winning trainer his sixth win in the race.
According to ante-post markets, he is set for a rematch with the second-placed horse in that race – Anmaat.
Owen Burrows
Trainer Owen Burrows’ horse was making his seasonal reappearance at The Curragh, after defeating the well-backed Coronation Cup-second Calandagan, in the Champion Stakes – at this course, in October.
He remains very lightly-raced, as that was only his sixth racecourse visit since winning a French Group Two in October, 2022.
Burrows said: “Unless it’s very fast, it is all systems go for the Prince of Wales’s. I’ll look forward to taking them on again at Ascot.
“I spoke to Ryan Moore afterwards (the Tattersalls Gold Cup) and he said Los Angeles is a very good horse.
“I respect him massively, but he’d had a run and we’d go into the race very hopeful of reversing the form.”
He currently trades as the (4/1) second favourite, whilst the third-placed horse – Kalpana – trades at 12/1 for trainer Andrew Balding.
She – like Anmaat – was making her seasonal debut in that race, after winning the Group One Champions Fillies and Mares stakes, at Ascot, in October.
White Birch was the 2024 winner of that race – defeating the top-class Augeste Rodin – and was perhaps unlucky in-running when trying to make it back-to-back successes.
Other Trainers
It was the last of three victories which saw trainer John Joseph Murphy’s five-year-old enjoy a perfect campaign.
He is in the betting for this race at 9/1.
Francis Graffard is looking to become the first French trainer to win The Prince Of Wales’s Stakes since Andre Fabre, in 2010.
His four-year-old, Map Of Stars, has campaigned exclusively in France, where he has won five of his seven races – two of which came in three runs this season.
He won a Group Two on his reappearance at Saint-Cloud, in March, before winning the first of back-to-back races – at Longchamp – in April.
The first of which was a Group Two race and, in the latter, he finished second in his first Group One run.
He will likely be ridden by Qatari owner-group Wathan racing’s first-choice jockey James Doyle, who is looking for his fourth win in the race.
Other Favourites
Others at the top of the market include Godolphin-owned Ombudsman, who finished second to Almaqam – also in the betting at 12/1 – in a Group Three race, at Sandown, on his seasonal reappearance.
He trades at 6/1 and is looking to give trainers John and Thady Gosden a second win in the race, after seeing Mostahdaf win in 2023.
The former had also trained four other winners of this race, before partnering his son in training.
The race is due off at 4:20pm – on Wednesday, June 18 – and you can catch the action on ITV or on Sky Sports Racing (channel 415) for subscribers only.
By Callum Close
READ MORE: Royal Ascot 2025 – Dates, how to watch on TV, trainers and jockeys to watch
