Royal Ascot Day 3 Picks, Preview, and Odds (Jun 19)

The action at Royal Ascot continues into day 3, with the feature of the week being run on Jun 19, as the 2025 Gold Cup champion will be crowned. As well as the Group One, there are also three further Group races staged on Ladies’ Day at Ascot. You can find our Royal Ascot Day 3 picks here.

How To Watch

• When: Thursday, June 19, 2025, from 9:30 PM ET
• Where: Ascot Racecourse, England
• How To Watch: FanDuel TV

Norfolk Stakes Picks

The action on Gold Cup Day gets underway with the G2 Norfolk Stakes. This race is for horses aged two, with a total distance of five furlongs being covered. Aidan O’Brien’s Charles Darwin will be a red-hot favorite, but there could be value in taking on the market leader.

Karl Burke has an excellent record with his two-year-old runners, and Naval Light is very highly regarded by connections. The two-year-old was green on debut at the end of last month when narrowly beaten by Old Is Gold. However, he could make amends for that defeat on this second career start.

Free Pick:

• Naval Light

READ More: U.S. Open Odds, Preview, and Picks (2025)

Ribblesdale Stakes Picks

The final race before the Gold Cup comes in the form of the G2 Ribblesdale Stakes. This contest will feature a number of the horses that were previously lined up for a run in the Epsom Oaks. Garden of Eden and Catalina Delcarpio both look like exciting prospects, but a chance is taken on Serenity Prayer.

Oisin Murphy is already booked to take the ride on the Andrew Balding runner, and she was far from disgraced when finishing best of the remainder behind Whirl to take second in the G3 Musidora Stakes. Likely to take a step forward following that run, and she could be very hard to beat.

Free Pick:

• Serenity Prayer

Gold Cup Picks

The feature of the Royal Ascot meet comes in the form of the G1 Gold Cup, which will be run over a distance of two miles and four furlongs. Aidan O’Brien’s superstar stayer Kyprios was pulled out of the race a few weeks back, but the trainer is still represented by Illinois.

However, stamina concerns mean that there are questions surrounding the favorite. Therefore, Sweet William could be a very interesting selection for the John & Thady Gosden team.

The six-year-old already has a run under his belt this season after finishing a fine third in the G2 Yorkshire Cup Stakes, while he has form that closely ties in with Kyprios when second behind last year’s Gold Cup winner in the G2 Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot in October.

Free Pick:

• Sweet William

Other Royal Ascot Day 3 Picks