Is Churchill the banker of Royal Ascot?

Aidan O’Brien’s superstar the short priced fav for Tuesday’s feature

Tuesday is the first day of the illustrious Royal Ascot meeting, where even Her Majesty The Queen finds the time to attend, accompanied by her hundred-strong procession of course.

The feature race on day one is the St James’s Palace Stakes, where Churchill is strongly fancied to win for top trainer Aidan O’Brien. Below, we preview the race ask the question – is Churchill the banker of the entire Royal Ascot meeting?

Standout form in the field

Of the eight runners expected to line up for this race, Churchill’s form stands out on numbers alone, winning seven of his eight career races. That one defeat being on his debut last May, we’ll forgive him for that. Things swing even more in his favour when you delve further into that form, though.

Of his seven career wins to date, the last four have come in Group 1 company, more than any other horse in the race. The most recent of those victories was a very satisfying Irish 2,000 Guineas win, where he stretched away from the re-opposing Thunder Snow in such a fashion as to suggest he always had the beating of the Godolphin colt. You can watch that race below:

One thing backers should note, Churchill is not a flashy horse. He does win his races, but he does just enough in doing so, something that could leave favourites backers with their hearts in their mouths coming into the final furlong on Tuesday.

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