Irish raiders to follow on Day 1 of Royal Ascot

By irishracing.com news

Royal Ascot kicks off on Tuesday and Day 1 is arguably the best card of the week. There are no fewer than three Group 1 races to look forward to and the Irish are sending over a strong raiding party for the first day, so we’ve picked out three particularly interesting candidates.

Aidan O’Brien has a fair record in the Coventry Stakes and he runs Warsaw this year, whilst Classic winner Henri Matisse lines up in the St James’s Palace Stakes.

Adrian Murray runs the interesting outsider Bucanero Fuerte in the King Charles III Stakes and we’ve assessed the chances of all three Irish raiders. See more Royal Ascot tips and don't miss out on a host of Royal Ascot free bets.

Warsaw - Ascot 3.05 @ 6/1

Wootton Bassett has been a game-changing sire for Coolmore and Ballydoyle in recent seasons and he may have produced another future star in the shape of Warsaw.

Aidan O’Brien’s two-year-old is out of an unraced sister to Group 1 winners Forever Together and Together Forever, and the former was an Oaks winner.

He made the perfect start to his career in a maiden over 5f at Navan earlier this month, pulling clear of his rivals impressively at the finish to score by just shy of three lengths.

That performance suggests that the extra furlong will be no problem at all and he may want even further in time. Ballydoyle juveniles tend to improve significantly for their debuts and this horse will be one to watch if doing so.

Bucanero Fuerte - Ascot 3.40 @ SP

Bucanero Fuerte hails from the Adrian Murray yard and he was a very talented performer at two. He was only a length behind winner River Tiber in the 2023 Coventry Stakes and went on to win the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes by four lengths two starts later.

The son of Wootton Bassett began his three-year-old campaign with a game Group 3 success at the Curragh in May and wasn’t seen again until the Autumn. Murray’s colt was only beaten four lengths despite finishing seventh in the Flying Five at the Curragh.

Returning to winning ways on seasonal debut, he was a comfortable winner of a Listed event at Naas over the minimum trip. Five furlongs could be the way forward for this horse and he’s a lively outsider at a decent price here.

Henri Matisse - Ascot 4.20 @ SP

Aidan O’Brien mopped up both of the French Classics for the colts this season and Henri Matisse did the business in the Poule d'Essai des Poulains. Ryan Moore delivered him just late enough and the form of that race has worked out well.

Stablemate Camille Pissarro was back in third that day and he went on to win the Prix du Jockey Club. Henri Matisse managed to win a Guineas trial over 7f on seasonal debut and the yard was out of form at the time, making the success all the more impressive.

This colt was also a very smart two-year-old and he got the job done in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar. A strongly run mile gives him a chance to arrive late with his devastating turn of foot and a big run could very well be on the cards.

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