Andrew made a good profit with his buy of DOUBLE DRAW OF WINNER in Ascot’s 3.05 yesterday (market made up at 36) and he has three recommended bets/trades on day 4 of the Royal meeting (Friday, June 21st).

ASCOT 4.25

Like in yesterday’s 1m4f King George V Handicap when the first two home came from stalls 18 and 19 of 19, a high draw can prove vital in the Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes over the sae course and distance and a buy of DOUBLE DRAW OF WINNER (27-29) is again recommended. Those drawn in the five lowest stalls are 0-50 in this race in the past the years and stalls 1-8 are just one from 80. The Willie Mullins-trained ETHICAL DIAMOND (stall 18) of 22 heads the market and holds obvious claims, though I’ve bet BAGUE D’OR each-way (stall 22) and respect the claims of SHADOW DANCE (stall 19), despite the 252-day absence. MANDOOB (stall 17) is not without hope on his return from a 714-day absence and ZIGGY (stall 13) would have a squeak having done best of those to chase the strong early pace when runner-up at Epsom.

Recommendation: Buy DOUBLE DRAW OF WINNER in Ascot 4.25

ASCOT 5.05

James Ferguson has a fine record with his handicappers in 2024, scoring with 14 from 55 runners (25.5% strike-rate) for a profit of £32.45 to a £1 level stake at SP (expected winners = 7.75, A/E = 1.81). NOCTURNAL, who looks well drawn in stall 32, is two from two since her debut with the latest win a six-length romp on Wolverhampton’s Tapeta surface. Last-time out all-weather winners have a three from 14 record in the Sandringham Stakes in the past ten years (+30.75) and while the daughter of Night Of Thunder is bred to appreciate some cut in the ground, she did score on good to firm going at Lingfield last summer. Buy at 5 in the Spreadex 50-30-20-10 market or take a fixed odds price (20-1 at the time of writing).

Recommendation: Back NOCTURNAL in Ascot 5.05

ASCOT 6.15

Kevin Ryan is already on the board at Royal Ascot this week and VANTHEMAN can also get on the scoresheet in the Palace Of Holyrood House Stakes. The gelding emerged clear best of those drawn high when runner-up in a 5f handicap at York last time (first four drawn 1, 11, 2 and 3 of 17, once adjusted for the non-runners) and bolted up at Newcastle last month on his only other start at the minimum trip. His stall 14 draw should be fine. Buy at 11 in the Spreadex 50-30-20-10 market or take a fixed odds price (8-1).

Recommendation: Back VANTHEMAN in Ascot 6.15

Please note that these are examples of winning bets from the past week, and it is important to remember that spread betting carries a high level of risk to your capital and can result in losses larger than your initial stake/deposit.