Cicero's Gift has won twice in its last five starts and acts on soft, good and AW, but the ground here may be on the quick side for this one, and last time out's seventh in the Lockinge — beaten over seven lengths — tempers enthusiasm despite that Group 1 backdrop.
Form last 6211-47
★AI Rating★★☆☆☆
111SR—RPR118OR—Votes
✦AI verdict
Rated 111 with inconsistent form (211-47) and carrying 9-2 weight, Cicero's Gift lacks the market confidence for Group 1 level.
Damysus arrives on the back of a 6¼-length thumping in a Group 1 at Newbury last time, with lack of pace exposed over a mile, and today's test looks similarly sharp for a horse who really comes into his own at nine or ten furlongs.
Form last 6011-16
★AI Rating★★☆☆☆
112SR—RPR119OR—Votes
✦AI verdict
Rated just 112 with inconsistent form (011-16) and carrying 9-2 weight, Damysus lacks the market confidence for a Grade 1 assignment.
Docklands won this race last year and shaped with promise on return when a close third in a Group 1 at Sha Tin 51 days ago, so course-and-distance form reads well; first-time headgear and a trainer in form add appeal, though a rating of 118 versus our figure of 114 suggests the handicapper holds a slight edge.
Form last 6494-13
★AI Rating★★★☆☆
101SR—RPR118OR—Votes
✦AI verdict
Recent form shows a win and third, but a Saturday Rating of 101 looks insufficient against stronger Group 1 market rivals.
Winless in its last five starts and absent for 179 days, First Conquest shaped respectably with a close third in a Meydan Group 2 last time but looks likely to fill a pacemaking role for better-fancied stablemates here, making it very hard to fancy at big odds.
Form last 633433-
★AI Rating★★★☆☆
95SR—RPR111OR—Votes
✦AI verdict
Rated 95 with uninspiring form figures of 33433 and carrying 9-2 weight, First Conquest lacks the consistency for Group 1 favouritism.
Ran a career-best when runner-up in the Lockinge Group 1 last time, showing real progression at a mile on a sound surface, and this stiff track could bring him even closer to the principals — though there's a nagging question over whether that ceiling has now been reached.
Form last 62114-2
★AI Rating★★☆☆☆
114SR—RPR121OR—Votes
✦AI verdict
Rated 114 with inconsistent form (2114-2) and carrying 9-2 weight, More Thunder lacks the profile to challenge at Group 1 level.
Notable Speech has won five G1s and was imperious when scooting clear in the Lockinge last time, marking it out as probably the world's number-one miler; carrying 128 lb from stall 1, the course record is a minor query but fast ground suits and this is the one to beat.
Form last 6211-41
★AI Rating★★☆☆☆
111SR—RPR125OR—Votes
✦AI verdict
A Saturday Rating of 111 and inconsistent form (211-41) suggest Notable Speech lacks the class needed at Group 1 level despite carrying 9-2 weight.
Four wins in its last five starts, Opera Ballo has progressed into one of Europe's leading milers — most recently dictating and winning the bet365 Mile (Group 2) at Sandown by 3l from a multiple G1 winner — and acts on today's conditions. First-time headgear is the one unknown.
Form last 6121-11
★AI Rating★★★☆☆
117SR—RPR125OR—Votes
✦AI verdict
Solid form (121-11) and a 117 Saturday Rating justify mid-tier appeal, but 9-2 weight and non-favourite market status limit confidence.
Ten Bob Tony won a Group 3 at Epsom ten days ago, but that victory came on ground with cut and this looks a stiffer test — rated 108 on our figures and ranked last of nine, there are serious doubts about whether it can match those elite rivals here.
Form last 630-481
★AI Rating★★☆☆☆
100SR—RPR112OR—Votes
✦AI verdict
Rated just 100 with inconsistent form (30-481) and carrying 9-2 weight in a Group 1, Ten Bob Tony lacks the class to compete.
Zeus Olympios arrives on the back of a career-best effort when finishing third in the Lockinge Stakes, and his three wins in his last five starts underline a horse in fine fettle — the main reservation is whether he can quite bridge the gap to outright Group 1 winning class today.
Form last 6111-33
★AI Rating★★★☆☆
105SR—RPR120OR—Votes
✦AI verdict
Recent form shows two consecutive third-place finishes, and a Saturday Rating of 105 suggests he's below top Group 1 level at 9-2 weight.
Prices update each odds sync. Green ▼ = shortened (steamer),
Red ▲ = drifted, Blue = = unchanged since last sync.
Best column highlights the bookmaker offering the longest price.
Opera Ballo owns one of the strongest chamber scores in this field. The Balanced lens likes the blend of SR strength (65) and market confidence (82). The profile stays composed even after the chamber introduces race-day variance.
4/1Charlie ApplebyBilly Loughnane
65%Confidence
⚠ Danger Runner
More Thunder
Nearest rival if the simulation drifts off the primary path.
7/2 · William Haggas✓ Value Signal
Cicero's Gift
Strongest upside if you want a less obvious route through the field.
40/1 · Charles Hills◈ Chamber Memory
Balanced
Even weighting across form, market confidence and race-day volatility.
Opera Ballo (SR 117) is the highest-rated horse in the field and carries the strongest recent form string — 121-11 — showing back-to-back wins leading into this race, both at a level consistent with a Group 1 contender stepping up. At 4 years old for Charlie Appleby, the trainer has a strong record at Royal Ascot and this profile fits the improving miler archetype that wins the Queen Anne. The SR 117 edges the field by 3 points over the next-best More Thunder (SR 114), and the equal weights at 9-2 across the board mean that advantage translates directly into a win edge without any weight penalty to offset it. Good to Firm ground at Ascot over 1m is precisely the conditions Appleby's string excel on.
Each-way alternative: More Thunder.
Main danger: More Thunder — More Thunder (SR 114) for William Haggas shows a 2114-2 form string with consistent placed efforts at the top level, and Haggas excels with milers at Ascot on Good to Firm — a finishing second last time out suggests peak fitness rather than a decline.
ShortlistOpera Ballo, More Thunder, Notable Speech