St James's Palace Stakes: Analysing the contenders

One of Royal Ascot’s best races, the Group 1 St James's Palace Stakes is run over a mile on the round course and it’s open to three-year-olds only. It is a prestigious race with an illustrious roll of honour and every trainer wants to get their hands on the trophy.

The 2025 running is set to be a cracker and Aidan O’Brien will be seeking to earn a record-extending tenth win in the race, but the likes of John and Thady Gosden and Charlie Appleby will be trying to stop him.

Eleven horses remain at the latest confirmation stage so we’re going to take a close look at each entry and assess their chances of coming out on top.

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Main contenders

Field Of Gold was perhaps an unlucky loser in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket and may have been given too much to do. John and Thady Gosden’s colt went one better in spectacular style in the Irish equivalent next time and will be well fancied to win here with that in mind. Juddmonte’s newly-announced retained rider Colin Keane was on board that day and the partnership is therefore likely to continue.

Ruling Court got the better of Field Of Gold at Newmarket and is likely to line up, having missed the Derby due to the soft ground. Obviously Charlie Appleby’s colt needs to come under serious consideration and he has the opportunity to confirm the form with Field Of Gold.

Henri Matisse is also a Classic winner after he was produced late to win the Poule d'Essai des Poulains at Longchamp last time. That form is working out well, as stablemate Camille Pissarro finished third and has since gone on to win the Prix du Jockey Club. Henri Matisse will still need to step forward in order to compete with British and Irish Guineas form, but there is no one better than Aidan O’Brien.

Outsiders with chances

Andrew Balding ’s Jonquil was only just beaten by Henri Matisse in the Poulains, and having won the Greenham before that he clearly isn’t too far away from the top of the tree. He will probably need to find some improvement in this red-hot running, but that’s not out of the question.

Opera Ballo was far too keen for his own good when a little disappointing in the Craven Stakes at Newmarket in April, but he has since been a very comfortable winner of a Listed contest at Sandown. Charlie Appleby’s colt has the ability to compete, but needs to do himself a favour and learn to settle.

Shadow Of Light is another Appleby colt, who was an exceptional two-year-old. Only a length behind when third in the Guineas, he’s entitled to step forward from that run and would surely be in the mix if doing so. He’s also a leading fancy for the Commonwealth Cup later on the Friday.

Rashabar and Officer were both well beaten in the Irish 2,000 Guineas, but both have scope for further improvement, particularly the latter.

Other runners

Scorthy Champ won the National Stakes as a juvenile but hasn’t reached that level this season so he’s probably best watched. Windlord is a potential pacemaker for Juddmonte’s more fancied runners and it’s hard to be too hopeful with that in mind. The same can be said for First Wave, who looks out of his depth and could be the Ballydoyle pace option.