Royal Ascot 2025 Day 3 Selections | In Trawlerman we trust

We’re at the halfway point of Royal Ascot 2025, and the third day has no guarantees of being any easier than the first two.

True Love delivered for the column yesterday, and Fallen Angel gave us a good run for our money in the Duke Of Cambridge, so things could be worse.

With a few big-priced selections to talk about for day three at the Royal Meeting, let’s plough on.

Royal Ascot 2025 Day 3 Selections

3:05 Ascot – Pantile Warrior @ 33/1 with William Hill (5 places) – 1pt EW

Pantile Warrior has had the displeasure of me backing him twice this season, and I’m making it a hat-trick in the King George V Stakes.

I keep coming back to his brilliant form as a juvenile, as he chased home Ruling Court on his second start before finishing second to Glittering Legend in a strong Goodwood maiden in September.

Glittering Legend is now rated 104 having won three races (one Listed class) since, and Ruling Court is a Guineas winner.

His two recent runs in handicap company have showed promise, notably his run at York two starts ago when he stayed on to finish fourth to Merchant, Rahiebb, and Many Men.

He gets an 8lb swing in the weights with Merchant now, Rahiebb was third in the Queen’s Vase today, and Many Men went on to beat Pantile Warrior at Goodwood, so the form looks decent.

He’s a Frankel half-brother to the fast ground-loving Group 2 winner Beshaayir, so his page is decent, and he could land a blow off a mark of 87.

3:40 Ascot – Caspi Star @ 10/1 with Boylesports – 0.5pts EW

I don’t think the Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes is vintage this year, and Caspi Star really caught my eye at Chester last month in the Listed Cheshire Oaks.

She and Lady Vivian were 1-2 in a Southwell maiden in March, so she could be interesting, though Richard Brown, Wathnan Racing’s racing adviser, thinks this might be a bit too much too soon for her.

Caspi Star was having her first run of the year when Lady Vivian got the better of her at Southwell in March, and she came on for the run to bolt up in a Musselburgh maiden one month later.

After that, she had a horrid run through the Cheshire Oaks at the start of May, though she did well to pick up third behind the subsequent Epsom Oaks winner Minnie Hauk.

She holds an Irish Oaks entry, but I love the fact that she is coming to this lower-class race, and box one should cause any issues for her.

I’m very intrigued to see how she goes, because she could land a small surprise here.

4:20 Ascot – Trawlerman @ 5/2 with William Hill – 2pt Win

In the lead-up to this week, a few people I know have asked me for my one horse to back at Royal Ascot 2025. After telling them that I’m a professional loser, I eventually shared that Trawlerman will win the Gold Cup.

A bold claim for Royal Ascot’s most historic prize.

Yes, Illinois and Candelari could lay a glove on him, but if Trawlerman runs to the same level as his performance in this race last year, it will really take a good one to beat him.

It took every effort from Kyprios to down John & Thady Gosden’s Golden Horn seven-year-old in the Gold Cup 12 months ago, and let’s not forget that Trawlerman beat Kyprios in the 2023 Long Distance Cup on ground that arguably wasn’t for him.

Since his trip to Meydan and Riyadh in early 2023, he has been very consistent, so he should run to his best ability, and there’s also a chance that he will come on further from his Group 3 Henry II Stakes success last month after a 52-day break.

If Trawlerman wins, everything is all okay.

5:35 Ascot – Detain @ 7/2 with William Hill – 1pt Win

Detain looks to have very solid claims in the Group 3 Hampton Court Stakes, and his price isn’t too bad at all.

He ran an eye-catching race in the French Guineas in May behind Henri Matisse, and then he stuck on well through the line in the French Guineas behind Camille Pissarro and ahead of Trinity College, his market rival.

His poor effort in the Group 1 Futurity Stakes at the end of last season can be forgiven as it came quickly after his Kempton win, and it was run on soft ground.

If you ignore that race, he has a pretty clean record, and he could well win this without needing to improve.

6:10 Ascot – Ramazan @ 12/1 with Boylesports (6 places) & Array @ 25/1 with Boylesports (5 places – 0.5pt EW

Finally, I’ll take two at each-way prices in the Buckingham Palace Stakes with Ramazan and Array.

The former has dropped nicely through the handicap to a mark of 96, which is 2lbs his last winning mark and 9lbs below the mark he had when a close second in last season’s Victoria Cup.

Furthermore, the useful Warren Fentiman gets the ride, so his 5lb claim is helpful, and his record at Ascot is not bad at all based on that Victoria Cup effort and his ninth in the 2023 Britannia Stakes.

Richard Fahey’s yard has just started to come into form over the last few days, which also helps.

As for Array, he won the 2023 Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes when beating Haatem and Seven Questions, and since returning off a 546-day break, he’s finished fifth at Thirsk and fifth in the Listed Spring Trophy Stakes at Haydock.

He fell out of the stalls last time, so his effort can be upgraded, and this is his handicap debut off 102.

With decent juvenile form alongside Starlust, a subsequent Breeders’ Cup winner, he looks like one flying below the radar.