Royal Hunt Cup Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Royal Ascot)

Explore the Royal Hunt Cup, analysing the success of trainers and jockeys. Investigate past winners to uncover patterns in this competitive mile handicap.
Royal Hunt Cup Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Royal Ascot)
Andy Powell
Andy Powell Content Editor

Horse Racing stats man, Andy has contributed to OLBG for 18 years - An Ipswich fan and F1 fanatic, he also contributes EFL football and Motor Sport opinion.

2026 Royal Hunt Cup Preview

The Royal Hunt Cup carries class 2 status and is scheduled to be run on Wednesday, the second day of the Royal Meeting. The handicap race is run over a straight one mile and is open to runners who are three years old or older.

One of the most competitive handicap races of the season, with 20+ runners spread across the track over Ascot's straight mile, it's no surprise that the draw can be a key factor.

Where the likely pacesetters are drawn is equally important in deciphering where the race is likely to unfold, and we will take a look at the pace angle in greater detail when we have the final declarations and confirmed draw on Monday of Royal Ascot week.

There is quite often a notable gamble on a runner which takes place on race day in the Royal Hunt Cup, so keeping an eye on the betting market moves in the build-up may pinpoint this before it gathers pace, they don't always win though!

Royal Hunt Cup Information:

Our dedicated Royal Ascot tips page will not only bring you predictions from the OLBG racing tipsters for the upcoming card that includes the Royal Hunt Cup, but will also have predictions for each meeting at Royal Ascot throughout the season, so be sure to head over there. We cover every race at Royal Ascot, and below you can find links to all of the races for each of Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday. In addition to those, we also cover numerous races at Ascot during the flat season; you can find links to those here.

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How competitive is the Royal Hunt Cup market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2009 when the race had an over-round of 109%. The race in 2025 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 147%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Royal Hunt Cup, the over-round has been 138%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £138 which is bet.

Below you will find the 2026 Royal Hunt Cup Trends. See which patterns have occurred over the recent renewals that you may be able to use for the next renewal. We also have a section that looks at the Royal Hunt Cup Trend Analysis.

These are the top three quickest-run Royal Hunt Cup races over the last 20 renewals:

  1. Invisible Man (1:37.16) in 2010
  2. Zhui Feng (1:37.82) in 2017
  3. Field Of Dream (1:37.88) in 2014

Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? Over the past 20 renewals, if you had followed the winner of the Royal Hunt Cup next time out, then you would have backed a total of 1 winner. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of -16.12. Whilst we wait for the 2026 Royal Hunt Cup, remember you can get daily racing predictions from the expert tipsters on the racing predictions page.

The runner that holds the record over the past 20 renewals for the slowest time in the race was set in the 2016 renewal when Portage from M Halford under the guidance of James Doyle, won in a time of 1:43.01, whilst at the other end of the spectrum, Invisible Man, trained by Saeed bin Suroor and ridden by Frankie Dettori set the quickest time of 1:37.16 in the 2010 renewal.

What the expert says...
<p>Whilst only five of the last twenty winners have come into the race having won last time out, in more recent times, that is three of the last four, so the tide could be turning, and form may be more important.</p>

Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com

Royal Hunt Cup Past Winners

Here are the Royal Hunt Cup past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the year of the race, the horse which won, along with the age & weight of the horse. Also detailed is the stall where the horse came from and the total number of runners in the race. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the Royal Hunt Cup are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.

YearHorse (Drawn)Info
2025
1:38.10
My Cloud (IRE)
4yo 9-1 (32 of 30) 3/1F
Silvestre De Sousa
Roger Varian (GB)
2024
1:38.20
Wild Tiger (GB)
5yo 9-0 (20 of 29) 11/2F
Oisin Murphy
Saeed bin Suroor (GB)
2023
1:39.48
Jimi Hendrix (IRE)
4yo 9-5 (7 of 30) 22/1
Rossa Ryan
Ralph Beckett (GB)
2022
1:39.13
Dark Shift (GB)
4yo 9-1 (15 of 29) 13/2
James McDonald
Charles Hills (GB)
2021
1:38.04
Real World (IRE)
4yo 8-6 (4 of 30) 18/1
Marco Ghiani (3lbs)
Saeed bin Suroor (GB)
2020
1:38.32
Dark Vision (IRE)
4yo 9-1 (11 of 23) 15/2
William Buick
Mark Johnston (GB)
2019
1:42.36
Afaak (GB)
5yo 9-3 (21 of 28) 20/1
Jim Crowley
Charles Hills (GB)
2018
1:39.42
Settle For Bay (FR)
4yo 9-1 (22 of 30) 16/1
W J Lee
David Marnane (IRE)
2017
1:37.82
Zhui Feng (IRE)
4yo 9-0 (26 of 29) 25/1
Martin Dwyer
Amanda Perrett (GB)
2016
1:43.01
Portage (IRE)
4yo 9-5 (4 of 28) 10/1
James Doyle
M Halford (IRE)

Where have the winning runners come from?

Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Royal Hunt Cup have been based:

  • GB: 18 winners with an additional 59 placings from 531 runners
  • IRE: 2 winners with an additional 0 placings from 31 runners
  • FR: 0 winners with an additional 1 placing from 3 runners
  • QA: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner
  • SAF: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner
  • NOR: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner
  • USA: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner

2025 Royal Hunt Cup Replay


Royal Hunt Cup Trainer Statistics

The leading trainer in the Royal Hunt Cup over the last 20 renewals is Saeed bin Suroor, who has won the race three times, with those three winners coming from Invisible Man (2010), Real World (2021) and Wild Tiger (2024). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the Royal Hunt Cup are John Gosden (2 wins) and Charles Hills (2 wins). Multiple trainers have not had the best of times over the last 20 renewals in the Royal Hunt Cup. David O'Meara (0-20), Andrew Balding (0-20), Richard Hannon (0-18), Richard Fahey (0-14), David Simcock (0-10) and William Haggas (0-10) have all failed to produce a single winner despite sending multiple runners to the race.

Here are some of the top Royal Hunt Cup trainer statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

TrainerR-W-PWinEW
Saeed bin Suroor12-3-4+42.50+26.19
John Gosden16-2-5+3.00+10.88
Charles Hills11-2-4+17.50+12.94
Jamie Osborne15-1-4+6.00+10.50
Roger Varian13-1-2-9.00-6.49
George Baker9-1-1+25.00+12.63
Ralph Beckett7-1-3+16.00+12.94
David Marnane5-1-1+12.00+6.00
Tom Tate4-1-1+13.00+7.00
James Fanshawe4-1-1+11.00+5.75

Royal Hunt Cup Jockey Statistics

The leading jockey in the Royal Hunt Cup over the last 20 renewals is James Doyle, who has won the race two times, with those two winners coming from Belgian Bill (2013) and Portage (2016). Two jockeys have not had the best of times over the last 20 renewals in the Royal Hunt Cup. Daniel Tudhope has ridden 12 runners in the race without recording any wins, whilst Pat Dobbs has ridden 11 without a winner.

Here are some of the top Royal Hunt Cup jockey statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

JockeyR-W-PWinEW
James Doyle13-2-4+32.00+23.01
Jamie Spencer19-1-4-4.00+4.50
Ryan Moore19-1-7-10.00-0.61
William Buick18-1-2-9.50-10.87
Frankie Dettori15-1-2+14.00+6.50
Silvestre De Sousa14-1-3-10.00-2.86
Jim Crowley12-1-2+9.00+3.25
Adam Kirby10-1-1+11.00+3.50
Oisin Murphy10-1-1-3.50-5.56
James McDonald6-1-1+1.50-0.94

Royal Hunt Cup Trend Analysis

✅ The trend factor, which has produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +71.00, is when runners were Colts.

❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had a highest class run of Class 1 (G3), when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-84.

Here are the most recent winning draws, along with the further placings in brackets:

  • 2025: Winner in 32 (2,1,30) [30 Runners]
  • 2024: Winner in 20 (19,17,10) [29 Runners]
  • 2023: Winner in 7 (22,29,21) [30 Runners]
  • 2022: Winner in 15 (4,16,9) [29 Runners]
  • 2021: Winner in 4 (27,30,33) [30 Runners]

The course which has produced the most winners of the Royal Hunt Cup is Newmarket (Rowley); there have been a total of 4 winners of this race who ran at Newmarket (Rowley) last time out. The next best course, which has produced the second most winners, is Newbury; there have been a total of 3 winners of this race who ran at Newbury last time out.

The race is open to both sexes, with the Male runners having produced a total of 20 winners from a total of 556 runners, whilst the Female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 13 runners.

Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Royal Hunt Cup:

  • Dark Angel (2 Wins)
  • Oasis Dream (2 Wins)

These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the Royal Hunt Cup despite multiple attempts:

  • Pivotal (0 Wins from 17 runners)
  • Kingman (0 Wins from 16 runners)
  • Medicean (0 Wins from 9 runners)
  • Dansili (0 Wins from 7 runners)
  • Kodiac (0 Wins from 7 runners)

Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Belgian Bill in 2013, winning for George Baker at odds of 33/1 under the guidance of James Doyle. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals, there have been 3 winning favourites in the race. Remember to bookmark the best racing tipsters page so you can get easy access to the best OLBG racing tipsters.

Route to the Royal Hunt Cup

Many trainers will target races to use as prep races before coming to the Royal Hunt Cup. These are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:

InfoLast Race
2025 - My Cloud
Newbury - 1st of 11 (5/6)
Boylesports Home Of The Early Payout Handicap
2024 - Wild Tiger
Goodwood - 1st of 12 (7/4)
William Hill Epic Boost Handicap
2023 - Jimi Hendrix
Newmarket (Rowley) - 8th of 17 (4/1)
Suffolk Stakes
2022 - Dark Shift
Nottingham - 1st of 6 (3/1)
racingtv.com Handicap
2021 - Real World
Meydan - 4th of 15 (13/2)
Riviera By Azizi
2020 - Dark Vision
Newcastle (AW) - 2nd of 11 (5/2)
Betway Handicap
2019 - Afaak
Newmarket (Rowley) - 25th of 33 (25/1)
Cambridgeshire Handicap
2018 - Settle For Bay
Leopardstown - 4th of 16 (16/1)
John R Fitzpatrick Agricultural Contractor Handicap
2017 - Zhui Feng
Ascot - 3rd of 24 (25/1)
Victoria Cup
2016 - Portage
Curragh - 1st of 6 (7/4)
TRI Equestrian Silver Stakes

Schedule for Tuesday at the Royal Ascot Meeting

The five-day Royal Ascot meeting kicks off on Tuesday with three Group 1 events on the seven-race card, with the Queen Anne Stakes, King Charles II Stakes and St James's Palace Stakes all part of the British Champions Series.

RaceLast WinnerInfo
14:30 Royal Ascot
Queen Anne Stakes
Docklands (GB)
5yo - 14/1
Harry Eustace
Mark Zahra
15:05 Royal Ascot
Coventry Stakes
Gstaad (GB)
2yo - 7/2
A P O'Brien
Ryan Moore
15:40 Royal Ascot
King Charles III Stakes
American Affair (GB)
5yo - 11/1
Jim Goldie
Paul Mulrennan
16:20 Royal Ascot
St James's Palace Stakes
Field Of Gold (IRE)
3yo - 8/11
John & Thady Gosden
Colin Keane
17:00 Royal Ascot
Ascot Stakes
Ascending (IRE)
6yo - 20/1
Henry De Bromhead
W J Lee
17:35 Royal Ascot
Wolferton Stakes
Haatem (IRE)
4yo - 8/1
Richard Hannon
James Doyle
18:10 Royal Ascot
Copper Horse Stakes
French Master (IRE)
4yo - 5/2
John & Thady Gosden
James Doyle

Schedule for Wednesday at the Royal Ascot Meeting

The feature race on the second day of Royal Ascot is the Prince of Wales's Stakes, a race which carries a prize fund of £1m and is part of the British Champions Series.

RaceLast WinnerInfo
14:30 Royal Ascot
Queen Mary Stakes
True Love (IRE)
2yo - 9/4
A P O'Brien
Ryan Moore
15:05 Royal Ascot
Queen's Vase
Carmers (IRE)
3yo - 9/2
P Twomey
W J Lee
15:40 Royal Ascot
Duke of Cambridge Stakes
Crimson Advocate (USA)
4yo - 13/2
John & Thady Gosden
James McDonald
16:20 Royal Ascot
Prince of Wales's Stakes
Ombudsman (IRE)
4yo - 7/1
John & Thady Gosden
William Buick
17:00 Royal Ascot
Royal Hunt Cup
My Cloud (IRE)
4yo - 3/1
Roger Varian
Silvestre De Sousa
17:35 Royal Ascot
Kensington Palace Stakes
Miss Information (IRE)
4yo - 11/1
Andrew Balding
Oisin Murphy
18:10 Royal Ascot
Windsor Castle Stakes
Havana Hurricane (GB)
2yo - 7/1
Eve Johnson Houghton
Charles Bishop

Schedule for Thursday at the Royal Ascot Meeting

There are a couple of decent handicaps on the third day of Royal Ascot, the highlight of the day, though, is the Ascot Gold Cup, a Group 1 marathon for the flat runners.

RaceLast WinnerInfo
14:30 Royal Ascot
Norfolk Stakes
Charles Darwin (IRE)
2yo - 8/13
A P O'Brien
Ryan Moore
15:05 Royal Ascot
King George V Stakes
Merchant (IRE)
3yo - 3/1
William Haggas
Tom Marquand
15:40 Royal Ascot
Ribblesdale Stakes
Garden Of Eden (IRE)
3yo - 7/1
A P O'Brien
Ryan Moore
16:20 Royal Ascot
Ascot Gold Cup
Trawlerman (IRE)
7yo - 85/40
John & Thady Gosden
William Buick
17:00 Royal Ascot
Britannia Stakes
Arabian Story (IRE)
3yo - 15/2
Saeed bin Suroor
Oisin Murphy
17:35 Royal Ascot
Hampton Court Stakes
Trinity College (IRE)
3yo - 5/2
A P O'Brien
Ryan Moore
18:10 Royal Ascot
Buckingham Palace Stakes
Never So Brave (IRE)
4yo - 4/1
Andrew Balding
Oisin Murphy

Schedule for Friday at the Royal Ascot Meeting

A couple of British Champions Series races on the Friday at Royal Ascot, the Commonwealth Cup over six furlongs and then the Coronation Stakes over just shy of a mile.

RaceLast WinnerInfo
14:30 Royal Ascot
Albany Stakes
Venetian Sun (IRE)
2yo - 7/1
K R Burke
Clifford Lee
15:05 Royal Ascot
Commonwealth Cup
Time For Sandals (IRE)
3yo - 25/1
Harry Eustace
Richard Kingscote
15:40 Royal Ascot
Duke of Edinburgh Stakes
Ethical Diamond (IRE)
5yo - 3/1
W P Mullins
Ryan Moore
16:20 Royal Ascot
Coronation Stakes
Cercene (IRE)
3yo - 33/1
Joseph G Murphy
Gary Carroll
17:00 Royal Ascot
Sandringham Stakes
Never Let Go (GB)
3yo - 22/1
Ed Walker
Kieran Shoemark
17:35 Royal Ascot
King Edward VII Stakes
Amiloc (GB)
3yo - 11/8
Ralph Beckett
Rossa Ryan
18:10 Royal Ascot
Palace of Holyroodhouse Stakes
Adrestia (GB)
3yo - 10/1
Simon & Ed Crisford
Oisin Murphy

Schedule for Saturday at the Royal Ascot Meeting

The final day of Royal Ascot is all about the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes, a Group 1 race run over six furlongs which is part of the British Champions Series and carries a prize fund of £1m.

RaceLast WinnerInfo
14:30 Royal Ascot
Chesham Stakes
Humidity (GB)
2yo - 4/1
Andrew Balding
James Doyle
15:05 Royal Ascot
Hardwicke Stakes
Rebels Romance (IRE)
7yo - 6/4
Charlie Appleby
William Buick
15:40 Royal Ascot
Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes
Lazzat (FR)
4yo - 9/2
J Reynier
James Doyle
16:20 Royal Ascot
Jersey Stakes
Noble Champion (IRE)
3yo - 25/1
Ed Walker
Kieran Shoemark
17:00 Royal Ascot
Wokingham Stakes
Get It (GB)
7yo - 28/1
George Baker
Seamie Heffernan
17:35 Royal Ascot
Golden Gates Stakes
Quai De Bethune (FR)
3yo - 12/1
Andrew Balding
Oisin Murphy
18:10 Royal Ascot
Queen Alexandra Stakes
Sober (FR)
6yo - 4/5
W P Mullins
Ryan Moore

Article Contributor Information

We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Royal Hunt Cup Preview are at hand, Andy and James. They both work on the Horse racing tips team team looking after the tipsters and managing the tips settlement, whilst also creating and managing all of the horse racing event previews for Flat Racing.

James Banting

James Banting

Tipster Competition Assistant

James Banting, a passionate horse racing enthusiast and aficionado, brings a wealth of experience to OLBG, having attended numerous race meetings over the years. His background working with the Jockey Club provides him with a unique insider's perspective on the industry.
Andy Powell

Andy Powell

Content Editor

Andy, a seasoned horse racing expert with over 15 years of experience, possesses a comprehensive understanding of the sport, from delving into complex statistical data for flat racing in the UK and Ireland to crafting insightful flat racing blogs for OLBG.

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