Royal Ascot 2026: horse racing updates from day five – live

3.05 HARDWICKE STAKES preview

This is officially a Group Two arena but it is simply a Group One successful each but name, pinch nary less than 5 erstwhile winners astatine nan highest level among nan twelve runners. That database includes Goliath, the King George victor complete this way and travel successful 2024; Ethical Diamond, the astonishment victor of nan Breeders’ Cup Turf for Willie Mullins astatine Del Mar past November; and Jan Brueghel, a Classic victor successful nan St Leger successful 2024 and besides nan victor of past season’s Coronation Cup astatine Epsom. The marketplace is headed, though, by Andrew Balding’s Kalpana, a dual victor of nan Group One title for fillies’ and mares complete this travel connected Champions Day successful October and besides nan runner-up down Calandagan – the top-rated equine connected nan satellite past twelvemonth – successful nan 2025 King George. She looked arsenic bully arsenic ever, if not possibly moreover amended for different winter, erstwhile successful successful nan Aston Park Stakes astatine Newbury successful May and will return each nan beating.

Timeform top-rated: Kalpana

SELECTION: KALPANA

I’m a instrumentality of this look! Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA

2.30 NORFOLK STAKES preview

A large chance for Aidan O’Brien to get one-and-a-half hands connected nan trainers’ trophy arsenic Carry The Flag heads nan section for this juvenile five-furlong sprint. The record-breaking trainer has not dominated this title successful nan past successful rather nan mode of immoderate events connected nan schedule, but Carry The Flag’s form down his unchangeable companion Great Barrier Reef looks rock-solid aft nan second colt’s triumph successful nan Coventry Stakes present connected Tuesday. Joseph O’Brien excessively has a azygous runner successful Star Prospect, who had Carry The Flag backmost successful second astatine nan Curragh successful April erstwhile some colts were making their racecourse debuts. Home-trained contenders salient successful nan betting see Orthodox, Flight Signal and Where Love Lives, all unbeaten, and Kevin Phillipart de Foy’s Force Noir, a caller transportation from Amo Racing’s main Irish stable, while nan American raider Wesley Ward fields 3 arsenic he attempts to travel up Friday evening’s somewhat arguable occurrence pinch Bacio.

Timeform top-rated: Carry The Flag.

SELECTION: FORCE NOIR

Eye-catching chapeau astatine Royal Ascot this morning. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA

I’m going to commencement launching previews of nan day’s action from our racing analogous and tipster Greg Wood, who is presently starring nan nationalist property situation successful nan Racing Post.

The going for time 5 of Royal Ascot, Saturday 20th June, is: Good to Firm.

There has been an atrocious batch of talk astir nan tie bias down nan consecutive way this week (with nan stands broadside and those drawn precocious very overmuch nan preference)

Here are nan GoingStick readings astatine 8.30am for what its worth:
Stands’ side: 9.0
Centre: 8.9
Far side: 8.9
Round: 7.7

Non-runners today
5.00pm Wokingham Stakes Handicap
13 Caburn (self certficate – going)

5.35pm Golden Gates Stakes (Handicap)
5 Accredit (self certificate – temperature)

Racegoers mingle up of racing connected nan 5th time of Royal Ascot. Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images

Hello from Ascot connected nan last greeting of nan 2026 Royal meeting, up of a time that will determine nan trainers’ and jockeys’ titles crossed nan meeting’s 35 races, and erstwhile we will besides observe whether aliases not Ryan Moore will request to hold different twelvemonth to subordinate his awesome employer, Aidan O’Brien, pinch a period of winners astatine nan meeting.

Moore, who is now connected 98 Royal winners successful each aft a double connected Friday, is beautiful overmuch location for each money successful nan jockeys’ title pinch six wins complete nan first 4 days, meaning that Billy Loughnane would request a four-timer astatine slightest from his six rides connected nan last time paper to overhaul him.

The trainers’ title, though, remains a fascinating family matter betwixt Aidan O’Brien, presently connected six winners, and his oldest son, Joseph, who has saddled 5 frankincense far. Both person runners successful nan aforesaid 5 races coming – missing retired connected nan 3.40 and 5.00 – pinch O’Brien snr owed to saddle 8 successful each and Joseph fielding seven.

The characteristic title of nan afternoon, meanwhile, is nan Group One Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes astatine 3.40, wherever 2 large names from overseas – nan Australian-trained Joliestar and Japan’s Satono Reve, last year’s runner-up – caput nan market.

The large section of Group One sprinters will reasonably alert down nan consecutive six furlongs, but a awesome constituent of liking will beryllium whether those towards nan stands’ obstruction proceed to alert conscionable that small spot faster, arsenic has been nan lawsuit successful races connected nan consecutive people each week. There is simply a quality of conscionable 0.1 successful nan GoingStick readings connected nan adjacent and acold sides this morning, a importantly smaller spread than yesterday’s, but whether that will beryllium capable to extremity jockeys successful low-numbered stalls veering near aft nan commencement remains to beryllium seen.

The going astatine Ascot remains good-to-firm aft 5mm of watering overnight, picks for nan last 7 races of Flat racing’s showpiece arena are here, and nan action is underway pinch nan Norfolk Stakes – wherever Aidan O’Brien fields nan apt favourite, Carry The Flag, at 2.30.

Getting nan “lippy” on. Photograph: Aaron Chown/PA