There are a number of specials surrounding next week’s Royal Ascot. The most popular are traditionally the markets surrounding Top Trainer and Top Jockey, though there are odds-on favourites in both.
Aidan O’Brien has been Top Trainer at the Royal meeting for the past four years and a powerful team has been assembled to ensure the master of Ballydoyle takes the lion’s share of the prize money again. O’Brien amassed a record tally of 28 Group or Grade 1 winners in 2017 and has already sent out two UK classic winners this season in Saxon Warrior and Forever Together. Rhododendron, U S Navy Flag, Hydrangea and Order Of St George are just a few of the stars that the Irish trainer will be sending over.
Coral are among those layers offering 1/2 that O’Brien is top dog again this year but the Cashel-based team is not the only one expecting the winners to flow at Royal Ascot next week. John Gosden will run Cracksman and also has high hopes for the likes of Without Parole, Stream Of Stars, Lah Ti Dar and Stradivarius. The yard has been in cracking form so the general 7/2 will make plenty of appeal. Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin team won the Epsom Derby a couple of weeks ago but the operation’s leading trainer, Charlie Appleby, is as big as 14/1 to be Top Trainer at Royal Ascot and Sir Michael Stoute is 16/1 in places.
Royal Ascot 2018 Top Trainer Betting
Aidan O’Brien 8/11
John Gosden 7/2
Charlie Appleby 14/1
Sir Michael Stoute 16/1
Mark Johnston 25/1
William Haggas 25/1
Roger Varian 33/1
Wesley Ward 33/1
Clive Cox 50/1
Saeed bin Suroor 50/1
The Top Jockey betting is shaping up to be a match between Ryan Moore and Frankie Dettori.
Moore holds the record for most number of wins at a single Royal Ascot meeting, riding nine in 2015. He’s been Top Jockey at the meeting for the past four seasons but Dettori has won 50 races down the years at Royal Ascot, including that famous ‘Magnificent Seven’ in 1996. The pair are backed by the two stables that are likely to dominate proceedings so will have plenty of ammunition and are 8/11 (William Hill) and 7/2 (Betway) respectively to top the charts in 2018. Godolphin’s retained jockeys, James Doyle and William Buick, are respectively a best 10/1 and 12/1 but you can get 20/1 about Hamdam Al Maktoum’s retained jockey Jim Crowley, even though he has a possible plum ride on Battaash in the King’s Stand Stakes. Champion jockey Silvestre De Sousa is 33/1 with several bookmakers.
Royal Ascot 2018 Top Jockey Current Best Odds
Ryan Moore 8/11
Frankie Dettori 7/2
James Doyle 10/1
William Buick 12/1
Oisin Murphy 16/1
Jim Crowley 20/1
Adam Kirby 25/1
Andrea Atzeni 33/1
Silvester De Sousa 33/1
Jamie Spencer 40/1
Paul Hanagan 66/1
