6:10 Royal Ascot Tips

Much depends on how well Oisin Murphy can get Andrew Balding's lightly-raced 4yo to settle. He was desperate not to win at Chester & is basically a winner with a 4lb rise. If he drops the bit he'll take all the beating.

The last time Witch Hunter ran off todays mark of 103 was when winning this race in 2023. Has run some decent races off higher marks since and I'm hoping back here in a big field off a competitive mark he returns to form.

Another typically impossible race to read, with several holding claims on paper. I'm siding with a long shot in Divine Libra, currently available at 20/1. He looks to be building towards peak fitness after two runs this term, including a slightly unlucky effort last time out at Chester, where he found little room in a tight finish for the places. There's plenty of solid form in his book ??' notably a two-length defeat to Myal at reappearance, which ties him in quite closely with Never So Brave, who despite carrying a 4lb penalty sits towards the head of the market. Divine Libra was well fancied and finished sixth in this race last year when denied a clear passage, so it’s fair to assume this has been a long-term target. The booking of James McDonald looks a significant plus, and he's worth an each-way play at the price, with bookies going 6 places.

This is clearly a very progress type of horse and he will need to find even more today off this increased mark. The booking of Rossa Ryan indicates that connections think he can do just that and at these odds with 6 places paid he must be great ew value and winning outright is not at all out of the question.