2023 Duke of Cambridge Stakes Tips

The Duke of Cambridge Stakes is one of the highlight races on Day Two of the 2023 Royal Ascot meeting, with this one mile encounter likely to take place on good ground. This Group Two clash could see Inspiral line up depending on the decision made over whether the filly is tilted at this race or alternatively tilted at the Queen Anne Stakes the day before.

Inspiral was unable to make headway when sent off as the 11/10 favourite in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes and the main reason was a slow start which saw Frankie Dettori with too much work on his hands to overhaul the rest of the field. However, there was lots to like about the way in which the horse won the Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois.

That was at Deauville Racecourse on 14 August, with Above The Curve a more likely runner who might wind up being favourite for this clash. The horse was successful when winning the Prix Corrida at Saint-Cloud on 28 May, with the Joseph O’Brien-trained charge obliging by two lengths and this was over a distance of one mile, two and a half furlongs.

Laurel is another Gosden runner who didn’t perform particularly well in the Lockinge Stakes, with the horse finishing third last in the race. Previously to this, there was a Fillies’ Stakes victory at Kempton on the all-weather track, with this coming in early April and a repeat performance might be enough to have a say when it comes to the 2023 Royal Ascot meeting.

2022 Duke of Cambridge Stakes Tips

The Duke of Cambridge Stakes takes place on 15 June, with Alcohol Free having run twice and she finished third and fourth respectively in her races. Sent off as the 7/4 favourite in the bet365 Mile at Sandown Park on 22 April, she was in a great position behind the leaders and jockey Rob Hornby looked ready to pull the trigger.

However, the horse was unable to gain the requisite ground on the two leaders and the eventual winner was Lights On who is likely to run in this encounter for trainer Sir Michael Stoute. Alcohol Free was then fourth in the more competitive Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes when finishing behind the impressive Baaeed at Newbury.

Lights On could be the better value based on the victory in the Bet365 Mile and it appears that the Cheveley Park Stud-owned charge has found some improvement as a five-year-old, having fallen well short of victory in the Kensington Park Stakes at the 2021 Royal Ascot meeting.

Pearls Galore is an interesting runner in the field and has to be respected on account of her recording back to back successes this season. The five-year-old won the Gradguide Heritage Stakes on 6 April when obliging as the 4/5 favourite and then scored in the Lanwades Stud Stakes at The Curragh although this race is clearly a step up in class.

Saffron Beach has to be respected and fits the Royal Ascot trends better as a four-year-old. The Jane Chapple-Hyam runner has featured in some esteemed company and that includes the Dubai Turf race when finishing in fourth place behind Panthalassa, Lord North and Vin De Garde.

2021 Duke of Cambridge Stakes Betting

The Duke of Cambridge Stakes is a relatively new addition to the Royal Ascot racecards, with this Group 2 encounter having been established in 2004 for some of the older fillies competing across Europe and we’ve had several exciting renewals since that year.

Integral, Amazing Maria and Nazeef are among the recent winners, with the latter obliging in 2020 when scoring for trainer John Gosden although it doesn’t appear that the legendary handler is going to have anything that might potentially win the 2021 Duke of Cambridge Stakes according to the latest horse racing odds.

Thundering Nights Heads Duke of Cambridge Betting Market

Joseph O’Brien is quickly getting a strong reputation when it comes to following in his father’s footsteps as a trainer and Thundering Nights can hand him a 2021 Royal Ascot success, with the filly having produced a fine performance to finish second behind odds-on favourite Broome in a one mile two furlong encounter at The Curragh.

Thundering Nights found some of the other runners too hot to handle in the Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes when finishing midfield, although she’s among the betting favourites on the Royal Ascot racecard for this encounter and did win the Snow Fairy Fillies Stakes back in August.

Who Are the Other Duke of Cambridge Betting Favourites?

Champers Elysees is trained by former legendary jockey Johnny Murtagh, with this potentially the best chance of a Royal Ascot win for the Irishman and we saw the horse finish fourth in the Kingdom Of Bahrain Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket back in October after being sent off as favourite.

The four-year-old was also the betting market favourite at The Curragh over seven furlongs before finishing in fourth place and it will be interesting to see if the horse can rediscover the form that saw her score four consecutive victories last year.

Queen Power has rarely been out of the frame during her recent career and the five-year-old was close to obliging when missing out on the Betfair Dahlia Stakes at Newmarket on 2 May, with the filly having been sent off as the joint-favourite in the 2020 Duke of Cambridge Stakes only to finish in third place.

Trainer William Haggas won this race with Move Swiftly two years ago and could have the potential winner in the form of With Thanks, with the four-year-old having finished first or second in all five of her races to date, with the latest being a Group 3 encounter at Naas during the back end of last year.