The penultimate day of Royal Ascot 2025 features two excellent Group One races - the Commonwealth Cup and the Coronation Stakes. Aidan O'Brien's Signora is poised for a strong performance in the Albany Stakes, while Fairy Oak also emerges as a significant contender. Other horses to watch include Stressfree in the Duke Of Edinburgh Handicap, Zahrann in the King Edward VII Stakes, and Brosay in the Palace Of Holyroodhouse Stakes. Zgharta and Miss Nightfall offer value in the Sandringham Stakes. Stay tuned for thrilling races with top-notch performances.
Two Group Ones feature on the card at Ascot on Friday 20th June
Stressfree, Zgharta and Zahrann feature in our day four selections
Expired
Royal Ascot 2025. (Getty)
Day 4 Tips
Royal Ascot 2025 Day 4 Racecard
2:30pm Ascot - Albany Stakes Tips
3:05pm Ascot - Commonwealth Cup Tips
3:40pm Ascot - Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes Handicap Tips
4:20pm Ascot - Coronation Stakes Tips
5:00pm Ascot - Sandringham Stakes Handicap Tips
5:35pm Ascot - King Edward VII Stakes Tips
6:10pm Ascot - Palace Of Holyroodhouse Stakes Handicap Tips
Two excellent Group One races feature on the penultimate card at Royal Ascot. Strong field have been declared for both the Commonwealth Cup and the Coronation Stakes, with five lucrative races surrounding the co-main events.
Here are my best betting tips on day four of Royal Ascot...
Royal Ascot 2025 Day 4 Racecard
Time
Title
Status
2:30pm
Albany Stakes
Group 3
3:05pm
Commonwealth Cup
Group 1
3:40pm
Duke Of Cambridge Stakes
Handicap
4:20pm
Coronation Stakes
Group 1
5:00pm
Sandringham Stakes
Handicap
5:35pm
King Edward VII Stakes
Group 2
6:10pm
Palace Of Holyroodhouse Stakes
Handicap
Royal Ascot 2025 Day 4 Tips
2:30pm Ascot - Albany Stakes Tips
Signora will bid to hand Aidan O'Brien yet another juvenile winner at this year's Royal Ascot. Seven of the last ten Albany's have been won by fancied fillies, but there have been plenty of upsets down the years too, so I'm going to chance my arm with FAIRY OAK (33/1).
Mick O'Callaghan's filly only made her debut at Navan two weeks ago. Fairy Oak was outpaced in the early stages of that five furlong maiden, but caught the eye as she made rapid progress during the final half of the race, eventually finishing second between two of Aidan O'Brien's colts.
Fairy Oak is by a former Norfolk Stakes winner in A'Ali, but her dam was Listed placed over 10 and 12 furlongs, so there's stamina and speed in her pedigree. O'Callaghan's filly looked ready for the step up to six furlongs at Navan and Ireland's Champion Jockey, Colin Keane comes in for the ride.
3:40pm Ascot - Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes Handicap Tips
Not a race that I usually get too involved in, but I am keen to back STRESSFREE (16/1) at an each-way price. David O'Meara's five-year-old won over hurdles during the winter, and has improved with each effort since returning to the flat.
Danny Tudhope's mount was beaten a length behind City Of Delight on his first couple of starts, before losing out by a head to second-favourite Almosh'her on his first crack at a mile-and-a-half at York. Tudhope gave Stressfree plenty to do at Haydock last time out, but O'Meara's gelding came with a late rattle to snatch victory under the shadow of the post.
A five-pound rise for that victory doesn't seem overly harsh and this consistent performer has seemed to enjoy nicer ground on recent starts. He offers plenty of value in a typically open handicap.
Hollie Doyle riding Zgharta (L, green) win The Darley EBF Maiden Fillies' Stakes at Newmarket. (Getty)
5:00pm Ascot - Sandringham Stakes Handicap Tips
I'm hoping that the high side of the track is the place to be once again, as I like two fillies drawn towards the stand's rail. ZGHARTA (14/1) is one of several making their handicap debuts, and this daughter of Ghaiyyath looks well-treated off her opening mark.
Third on her sole juvenile start, Zgharta plugged on gamely to finish second on her reappearance at Newmarket behind Victory Queen, who followed up in a good race here at Ascot. Andrew Balding's filly got off the mark in a competitive ten furlong maiden next time out, but I'm not sure she was totally happy over that extended distance and we could see a more explosive performance now back down over a mile.
Eight furlongs is unknown territory for MISS NIGHTFALL (20/1), who ran mostly over five and six furlongs as a juvenile. James Fanshawe's filly had her final juvenile start in the seven-furlong £100,000 2yo Fillies' Series Final at Goodwood, where she was backed into favouritism before the off, but her late charge from the rear was only good enough for second.
Again, Miss Nightfall was held up on her reappearance at Goodwood. Oisin Murphy's mount bumped shoulders with Silver Ghost as they both made progress from the rear, but the winner found a much easier path to the post down the outside and Miss Nightfall was forced to weave through the pack to finish second. Murphy takes the ride again and I'm hoping he can repeat the ride he produced on Miss Information on day two, as she too was running over a mile for the first time.
5:35pm Ascot - King Edward VII Stakes Tips
While I remain a big fan of Amiloc, Ralph Beckett's stable form has to be a worry for favourite backers. Puppet Master has a good chance for Aidan O'Brien too, and Regal Ulixes could be a player at a massive price.
Instead, I'm favouring ZAHRANN (11/2), following his excellent win at Leopardstown two weeks ago. I backed Johnny Murtagh's colt that day - having loved what he did during his maiden win at Cork - and Ben Coen's mount proved himself to be much the best when landing the King George V Cup.
Zahrann came from well off the pace and showed his inexperience by lugging left late on, but still managed to power two lengths clear of a decent field. There's still loads more to come from this speedy son of Night Of Thunder, and fast ground should be right up his street.
6:10pm Ascot - Palace Of Holyroodhouse Stakes Handicap Tips
I'm backing two outsiders in Friday's finale, starting with BROSAY (22/1). This speedy son of Tasleet arrived at Paul Attwater's yard in December, having shown plenty of speed for Diego Dias, and won nicely on his stable debut at Southwell.
On his return to turf at Sandown, Brosay was outpaced early on, but made relentless progress from the rear to finish just half-a-length adrift of Queen All Star. Eddie Greatrex's mount jumped the path at the furlong pole, and still managed to finish ahead of Redorange, Zayer and some other capable rivals. Attwater and Greatrex teamed up with a 66/1 placer in the Kensington Palace Stakes on day two, and Brosay is a player here, despite his price.
While I'm not crazy about her low draw in stall three, MAW LAM (33/1) is massively overpriced. Adrian Nicholls' filly finished a close third in the Queen Mary Stakes at this meeting 12 months ago, and went on to suffer narrow defeats in both the Prix de la Vallee d'Auge and the Firth Of Lyde Stakes.
Nothing has gone right for Maw Lam this term. She didn't see out seven furlongs in the Fred Darling, had a troubled run from the rear in the Polonia Stakes at Cork, and failed to see out six furlongs on her most recent start at Haydock. Over the flat five furlongs, Maw Lam's record is very good and Adrian's 18-year-old son, Jack Nicholls takes a valuable seven pounds off her back.
Verdict
Royal Ascot 2025 Day 4 Top Tips:
Best Bet1: Zahrann 5:35pm Ascot @11/2 at BOYLE Sports - 5 Units
Best Bet2: Zgharta E/W 5:00pm Ascot @14/1 at bet365 - 5 Units
Best Bet3: Stressfree E/W 3:40pm Ascot @16/1 at 10bet - 5 Units
Best Bet4: Brosay E/W 6:10pm Ascot @22/1 at Star Sports - 5 Units
18+. New UK customers (Excluding NI) only. Min Deposit £10. Min stake £10. Min odds Evs. Free bet applied on 1st settlement of any qualifying bet. 30 days to qualify. Free bets expire in 7 days. Cashed out/Free Bets won’t apply. Account & Payment method restrictions apply. 1 Free Bet offer per customer, household & IP Address only. 18+. T&Cs apply.
Available to new customers only. Make a qualifying deposit of £5 or more and claim the offer within 30 days of registering your account to qualify for 300% of that amount in Bet Credits, up to a maximum of £30 in Bet Credits. Once released, your Bet Credits will be held in your account balance and are non-withdrawable. Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of qualifying bets. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Registration required. Time limits and T&Cs apply. The bonus code NEWBONUS can be used during registration but does not change the offer amount in any way. #ad
18+ New customers only. Bet £20 (or more) EVS (2.0) or greater Get 2 x £5 Free Bets. 1 x £5 Free Bet paid automatically & following £5 Free Bet after 24hrs. Min Free Bet odds 4/1 (5.0) on accumulators Trebles & upwards. Expires after 24hrs. Full T&Cs apply. GambleAware.org