Such is the pace of the 2025 flat campaign that we are now less than a month away from the most spectacular multi-day meeting of the year. Kicking off on Tuesday, 17th June and concluding on Saturday, 21st June, Royal Ascot looms ever larger on the horizon.
Featuring Royal processions, millenary masterpieces, and an international flavour, the Berkshire bonanza provides a spectacle unmatched elsewhere in the racing world. It also happens to be one of the biggest betting meetings on the glittering summer programme.
With the ante-post markets for the main events having been open for some time, punters are always on the lookout for potentially profitable clues. With that in mind, Naas Racecourse drew more than its usual share of attention on Sunday afternoon, as the County Kildare track staged Royal Ascot Trials Day. Whether there were any Royal Ascot winners on show remains to be seen, but the following trio enhanced their claims in impressive style.
Babouche – Goffs Lacken Stakes
In plundering three of the eight races on offer, the Ger Lyons and Colin Keane combo enjoyed an afternoon to remember at Naas. The pick of the performances came in this Group 3 sprint affair over the six-furlong trip, as the Juddmonte-owned Babouche bounced back to form in no uncertain terms.
Goffs Lacken Stakes 2025 Result
| Position | Horse | SP | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Babouche | 2/1 | Ger Lyons | Colin Keane |
| 2nd | Whistlejacket | 4/5 | Aidan O’Brien | Ryan Moore |
| 3rd | Carla Ridge | 10/1 | Eddie & Patrick Harty | David Egan |
This daughter of strong speed influence, Kodiac, enjoyed a near-perfect juvenile campaign, rattling off three successive wins before finding the combination of Lake Victoria and soft ground too hot to handle in the Cheveley Park Stakes. The pick of those wins saw the filly show a clean pair of heels to Whistlejacket in the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh.
Fast forward to 2025, and a Listed defeat in her comeback outing left Babouche with a question to answer here, with Whistlejacket lying in wait amongst the opposition. Whereas Babouch looked below her best on her seasonal return, the Aidan O’Brien star kicked off his campaign with a smooth win at Navan.
Those most recent outings saw Whistlejacket sent off as the odds-on favourite, but this version of Babouche was an altogether different animal from that which rocked up at Cork earlier in the month. Travelling smoothly throughout, the three-year-old turned on the afterburners in the final furlong to score an easy win by almost three lengths. The Commonwealth Cup is the obvious next port of call on this evidence – a race for which Babouche is now clear second favourite at a general 5/1.
Lady Iman – Coolmore Stud Irish EBF Blackbeard Sprint Stakes
Lyons and Keane enjoyed a productive afternoon with their sprinting fillies at Naas. Thirty minutes before the success of Babouche, the trainer and jockey combined to land this Group 3 contest for the juveniles.
Blackbeard Fillies Sprint Stakes 2025 Result
| Position | Horse | SP | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Lady Iman | 2/1 | Ger Lyons | Colin Keane |
| 2nd | Green Sense | 8/1 | Joseph Patrick O’Brien | Declan McDonogh |
| 3rd | Signora | 12/1 | Aidan O’Brien | Wayne Lordan |
Having claimed a Maiden event at Dundalk and the Listed First Flier Stakes at the Curragh, Lady Iman brought a perfect two from two record to the table. Nevertheless, the betting mirrored that of the Lacken Stakes, with Lady Iman finding herself second in the market behind an Aidan O’Brien-trained odds-on shot.
By Wootton Bassett and out of the superstar mare Minding, the 4/5 chance Simply Astounding blew her rivals out of the water on the breeding page. However, she didn’t come close to doing so at the track. Whilst the mount of Ryan Moore floundered from a long way out, Lady Iman travelled like a dream before kicking clear for a solid three-quarter-length victory. Reflecting on this effort, Lyons stated:
“She had Queen Mary Stakes written all over her.”
The odds compilers agreed with that assessment, making the daughter of Starman the 5/1 favourite for that Day 2 contest.
Charles Darwin – Coolmore Stud The Antarctic Race
Aidan O’Brien may have come up short with Whistlejacket and Simply Astounding, but he was not to be denied in the opening five-furlong event for the juveniles. In fairness, it would have been a major surprise if he had tasted defeat, with his representative Charles Darwin sent off at the prohibitively short price of 1/14.
The Antarctic Race 2025 Result
| Position | Horse | SP | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Charles Darwin | 1/14 | Aidan O’Brien | Ryan Moore |
| 2nd | Cardiff By The Sea | 12/1 | James Stack | Seamie Heffernan |
| 3rd | Fresh Fade | 33/1 | Michael O’Callaghan | Leigh Roche |
Short as that price was, the No Nay Never colt still needed to get the job done to book his Ascot ticket. Those who took the odds may have had a palpitation or two at the one-furlong pole, but once Charles Darwin opened up his immense stride, the race was all over.
Charles Darwin starts off Royal Ascot Trails Day in style under Ryan Moore for Aidan O’Brien in the @coolmorestud The Antarctic Race. pic.twitter.com/kFPsaruB5w
— Naas Racecourse (@NaasRacecourse) May 18, 2025
The margin was just shy of four furlongs at the line for a horse who now tops the Norfolk Stakes market at a general price of 7/2.
