Horse racing has always been known as the sport of kings and there’s one festival that might just encapsulate that name better than any, Royal Ascot. With Royal Ascot around the corner there are plenty of tips flying around for which horse might win what. As proud Welsh patriots though, perhaps the most interesting race is the Princess of Wales Stakes, so named after Alexandra of Denmark, who became the Princess of Wales in 1863. We’ll look into the horses that stand the best chance of passing the finish line first, after a mile and two furlongs of this testing Group 1 race.
Love, Last Year’s Winner
In order to predict the future, it’s always helpful to look to the past. Last year, a chestnut filly called simply Love won the Princess of Wales Stakes. She’d previously shown good form over one mile and four furlongs, so this was a step down in trip for her. However, her trainer Aidan O’Brien was confident that she’d handle it well and she did, winning by 3/4 of a length. Despite her impressive performance, she’s not bagged another win yet, but there’s an interesting similarity about this year’s favourite.
Adayar, The Current Favourite
Adayar is a stunning bay colt, sired by the legendary Frankel and still owned by the Godolphin Stud. Together with his trainer Charlie Appleby, the pair make a formidable team and the bookmakers have noticed, judging him the most likely to win. Charlie recently commented to the Racing Post that Adayar would likely not be running at Epsom this year, which means that his sites will be firmly set on the Princess of Wales Stakes at Ascot instead. So far, Adayar’s biggest wins have both been over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs, just like last year’s winner, Love. He has also won at Ascot before, though on his most recent outing at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs he was well beaten in fifth place. Whilst Adayar is certainly a classy horse with previous winning form, if he doesn’t take to the new distance then he might not be as unopposable as the bookmakers seem to think.
Lord North, Previous Winner
Lord North is a 6-year-old bay gelding owned by HH Sheikh Zayed bin Mohammed Racing and trained by John and Thadey Gosden. He is an interesting joint-second favourite, as he has actually won this very race before, back in 2020. Since then he’s been racing a lot at the Meydan track with some big successes, seeming almost unbeatable over 1 mile and 1 furlong. It could well be that the only thing stopping Lord North from being the outright favourite is his entry into the Queen Anne Stakes the day before, only time will tell which race the Gosdens think he stands the best chance in.