Royal Ascot tips: Our expert’s predictions for every race of the 2026 festival

Day four tips: Friday June 19 2.30 Albany Stakes Six furlong contest for fillies. Aidan O’Brien’s Sun Goddess is likely to be a warm order for this after a six lengths demolition of her opposition at The Curragh on her second start. It is hard to pick holes in that performance and it is hard to oppose her and her trainer. The King and Queen’s King’s Prize is one of those. She was an early two-year-old winner for the yard when they weren’t firing on all cylinders and had plenty of time to mature but this might be Amo’s time finally. Controlla blew the start then refused to settle in the last on Wednesday but Silent Beauty can restore Kia Joorabchian’s equilibrium. Marlborough’s tip: Sun Goddess Charlie Brooks’s tip: Sun Goddess 3.05 Commonwealth Cup A six furlong Group One sprint for speedy three-year-olds. Ascot’s stiff six may be just what Albert Einstein needs but for me he has been a bit disappointing. If you fancy him you should also fancy Song of The Clyde who beat him at Newbury and will be three times the odds. Clive Cox also has the quick Coppul in this. Venetian Sun, last year’s Albany winner, will probably start favourite on the back of her Sandy Lane three length success but it might be worth taking a punt on Amo’s Wesley Ward trained Outfielder who has looked blisteringly quick on his first two starts in the US this year. Each-way 50-1 shot Spicy Marg will enjoy being back on the quick ground again. Marlborough’s tip: Venetian Sun Charlie Brooks’s tip: Albert Einstein 3.40 Duke of Edinburgh Stakes The King and Queen have Warrant Holder in this mile and a half handicap for three-year-old plus. I suspect a few others have been laid out for this race but he looks to have as good a chance as any here. He has won half of his six races and came back better having being gelded, beat 14 rivals at York and looks like he’d appreciate the step up in trip today. Sometimes I wonder if York and Ascot form ever totally correlates but we will find out today. Marlborough’s tip: Warrant Holder Charlie Brooks’s tip: Warrant Holder 4.20 Coronation Stakes A mile on the round course for three-year-old fillies, the St James’s Palace for the ladies as it were. After running down the field in the Guineas at Newmarket Precise looked rocket-propelled, reversing the form with stable companion True Love, in the Irish equivalent. Anything like a reproduction of that would make her hard to beat. Ryan Moore has developed a habit of picking the wrong one when he has Precise and True Love to pick from but on the Irish Guineas form, that’s True Love’s best hope. Marlborough’s tip: Precise Charlie Brooks’s tip: True Love 5.00 Sandringham Stakes A mile handicap for three-year-old fillies. I am a bit conflicted here between Symbol of Majesty and the French filly Repel. Symbol of Majesty had no sort of a run at Wolverhampton on her third start after winning on turf first time out this season but that probably did not do her handicap too much harm, this is an easier option than the Coronation for which she also had an entry and in Saffie Osborne she has an excellent light-weight jockey. Glyfada, trained by a third O’Brien, Donnacha, and a cosy winner last time, from France look interesting too. Marlborough’s tip: Passing Thought Charlie Brooks’s tip: Seet 5.35 King Edward VII Stakes Mile and a half Group Two for three-year-old colts and geldings. A bit of a Derby consolation and a few of those who ran below expectation at Epsom may get out again today including the controversial Derby non-runner, Benventuto Cellini who got his hind leg stuck on a stall but still finished 10th. That is less than a fortnight ago and personally I would be looking elsewhere. It was all a bit too much of a rush to get Water To Wine to Epsom after his missed Chester with a temperature but he looks tailor-made for this. He is now two from two with an aggregate winning distance of 15 lengths having warmed up for this impressively on the all-weather. Marlborough’s tip: Causeway Charlie Brooks’s tip: Water to Wine 6.10 Palace of Holyroodhouse Stakes A five furlong sprint for three-year-olds. It is a very different course to Epsom but Gemma Tutty’s Call Margot had all the doors shut in her face at a critical point in the Dash on Derby day and but for that would surely have won. At Ascot, at least, there should be less in the way of traffic problems. The trainer had a second here before. That said, could Gold Digger be the one to break Saffie Osborne’s duck at the meeting? She certainly thinks so. Sixth in the Albany last year, Richard Spencer’s filly was a cosy winner at Windsor on her first start since. Marlborough’s tip: Simplify Charlie Brooks’s tip: Jazl