Order Of St George to double up

Favourite aiming for back-to-back Gold Cups

Day three of the Royal Ascot meeting goes on Thursday from 2.30pm, with the Gold Cup the highlight of the schedule. Click here to back the winner of the race at Coral, or build your multiples.

We aim to nudge you in the direction of a winner in the big one, while those aiming to strike it lucky can follow our race-by-race selections, picked out to aid your chances of landing a memorable accumulator.

NAP an impressive winner last time

Race of the day, the 2017 Gold Cup, has attracted a talented 14-runner field, expected to post at 4.20pm. Two miles three furlongs lies ahead in this group one contest, and Coral traders have thrown their support behind Order Of St George, who opened as odds-on favourite.

Aidan O’Brien’s five-year-old, a product of the great Galileo, arrives at track with a stunning CV, boosted with a win last time at Leopardstown in the Saval Beg Stakes in May. Tipped by just about everyone betting on the race that day, he more than lived up to expectations, striding to a 2 ¼ lengths win over runner-up Twilight Payment, with the final result never in question.

Order Of St George to follow Yeats

He showed a fantastic turn of foot when winning that day, and proved what we all knew before the off – he had another gear to go through over his rivals. Timed to perfection over 1m 6f, it looked like he could’ve won by further.

The selection managed no better than fourth when last seen at this track, well-beaten in the Long Distance Cup, Sheikhzayedroad scoring off double-figure odds. Followers of Order Of St George will recall him winning the Ascot Gold Cup last year however, and he’s expected to become the first back-to-back winner since Yeats.

Big Orange a price to upset

Extremely popular in the run-up, we expect him to feature in a fair share of accumulators on the day. That should be a shrewd call too, as we’re taking him to give punters a massive helping hand.

Coral traders currently have Order Of St George priced at 5/6, and that looks just about fair, all things considered. Those planning to take the shortest price on will find Simple Verse leading the chasing pack at 15/2, while the ever-popular Big Orange can be backed at 8/1.

Ascot selections

2.30 – Santry

3.05 – Mirage Dancer

3.40 – Serenada

4.20 – Order Of St George

5.00 – Colibri

5.35 – Master Singer

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