Coronation Stakes Key Trends: French the ones to watch

The penultimate afternoon of Royal Ascot 2025 will be headlined by the Group 1 Coronation Stakes, a mile event for three-year-old fillies that targets the winners of the Guineas races in Britain, France and Ireland.

This is a race that typically has been for export in recent times and, once more, a French horse dominates the betting.

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Coronation Stakes Key trends

Field open for the French

This race aims to bring together the winners of Europe's premier 1000 Guineas races run at Newmarket, the Curragh and Longchamp.

In 2015 the Aga Khan's Ervedya became the first winner of the French 1000 Guineas to win the Coronation Stakes since Toro in 1957, and the same iconic silks are set to be carried now by Zarigana, who was somewhat controversially awarded last month's French Classic after being pipped by She's Perfect only for the stewards' to overturn the result.

The Francis Graffard-trained daughter of Siyouni won't have to face the English and Irish Guineas heroines, however, as Desert Flower went from Newmarket to Epsom for The Oaks, while Lake Victoria impressively won at the Curragh but Aidan O'Brien now feels that the extra time to recover from winning the Irish 1000 Guineas will help the brilliant filly in the long run.

French-based fillies have a fine record in this race, with five winners this century already via Banks Hill, Immortal Verse, Ervedya, Qemah and Watch Me.

The 2020 winner Alpine Star is the only winner since 2011 that didn't contest any of the English, Irish or French Guineas' races before Royal Ascot. First-time-out winners in this race include Alpine Star and Inspiral (2022) recently.

Seven of the last 12 winners won on their last run before the Coronation Stakes, while 22 winners since 2000 have returned a single-figure SP, with 15 of those being found at odds of 4/1 or less.

Watch Me (2019) at 20/1 for Francis-Henri Graffard and Fallen For You (2012) for John Gosden at 12/1 are the most recent exceptions.

The Coronation Stakes is set for some extra spice after Jane Chapple-Hyam revealed she will supplement her unbeaten York Listed winner Kon Tiki into the Group 1 contest.

The unbeaten daughter of Night Of Thunder was forced to miss an original Group 1 target in the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket but following her impressive Knavesmire win, connections were happy to pay the £46,000 supplementary fee.

4.207f. 213yds. 11 Declared.
Coronation Stakes (Fillies' Group 1) (Rnd) (Class 1 ) of £725,750.00 3-y-o

• Formscan
• Race Info

1st - €411,573.00 2nd - €156,036.00 3rd - €78,091.00 4th - €38,900.00 5th - €19,523.00 6th - €9,798.00 Going - Good to Firm. 

Formscan - The fact that FALAKEYAH has been supplemented could be a tip in itself, and Owen Burrows' filly looked every inch a Group 1 performer in the making when landing the Pretty Polly at Newmarket. Jim Crowley's mount showed electric pace on that occasion and, as long as she settles, it may be difficult for Zarigana to peg her back. The daughter of Siyouni was awarded the French 1000 Guineas after interference and has given the impression on a couple of occasions that going over further than 1m may bring out the best in her. A slightly unlucky fourth in the Longchamp Classic when short of room, Exactly has a Royal Ascot pedigree being out of Queen Mary winner Heartache, but she will need to improve again. A taking winner of a Listed contest at York, Kon Tiki deserves a crack at this level and the booking of William Buick catches the eye.

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  Odds Shortening Odds Lengthening

119	2nd	Zarigana	2/1 11/8	6/4
62	9th	Falakeyah		9/4
93	7th	Kon Tiki	7/1 9/1	15/2
810	3rd	January	9/2 15/2	15/2
35	5th	Chantilly Lace	11/1 18/1	11/1
54	6th	Exactly		12/1
711	8th	Flight		28/1
21	1st	Cercene		33/1
16	4th	Cathedral	18/1 33/1	35/1
107	10th	Simmering		70/1
48	11th	Duty First		70/1
Betting Percentage				122%
Each-Way Terms				3 1/5

 

11⁹

Zarigana 4

6/4

2nd

Rating: 112

• Odds

Price

E/W

Moves

6/4

3 1/5

7/4 11/8 14:36

6²

Falakeyah 4

9/4

9th

Rating: 105

• Odds

Price

E/W

Moves

9/4

3 1/5

9³

Kon Tiki 4

15/2

7th

Rating: 100

• Odds

Price

E/W

Moves

15/2

3 1/5

7/1 9/1 14:36

8¹⁰

January 4

15/2

3rd

Rating: 105

• Odds

Price

E/W

Moves

15/2

3 1/5

5/1 7/1 16:10

3⁵

Chantilly Lace 4

11/1

5th

Rating: 108

• Odds

Price

E/W

Moves

11/1

3 1/5

14/1 20/1 10:31

5⁴

Exactly 4

12/1

6th

Rating: 111

• Odds

Price

E/W

Moves

12/1

3 1/5

7¹¹

Flight 4

28/1

8th

Rating: 111

• Odds

Price

E/W

Moves

28/1

3 1/5

2¹

Cercene 4

33/1

1st

Rating: 107

• Odds

Price

E/W

Moves

33/1

3 1/5

1⁶

Cathedral 4

35/1

4th

Rating: 106

• Odds

Price

E/W

Moves

35/1

3 1/5

18/1 33/1 16:05

10⁷

Simmering 4

70/1

10th

Rating: 109

• Odds

Price

E/W

Moves

70/1

3 1/5

4⁸

Duty First 4

70/1

11th

Rating: 109

• Odds

Price

E/W

Moves

70/1

3 1/5