Royal Hunt Cup Tips – Royal Ascot
The Royal Hunt Cup is one of the most prestigious handicaps of the entire flat season and is another race run at Royal Ascot 2026 that is almost certain to attract a sizeable field of runners. Bookmakers will take a significant number of bets on this race compared to many during the week, and GG’s tipsters will provide their best bets for the race on this page as the Royal Hunt Cup approaches.
Royal Hunt Cup Race in 2026
Both of the last two winners of this race have since been sold abroad, so the line-up and winner of the 2026 Royal Hunt Cup is likely to be different compared to previous years. As a handicap, the field will not be known in any great detail until the week of Royal Ascot itself.
Royal Hunt Cup Tips
Ed Dunlop’s Skukuza has a listed win to his name, so if he can recapture his best form then he can run a huge race at big odds in the 2026 Royal Hunt Cup on Wednesday.
Royal Hunt Cup Racecard & Odds
Royal Hunt Cup Notable Trends
Though open to all horses aged four and upwards, it is the youngest generation who have boasted by far the most substantial success in the race in recent years. Since 2015, only Afaak and 2024 winner Wild Tiger have been aged older than four.
From a betting perspective, favourite backers had been sitting this race out until, Wild Tiger became a trends buster win, justifying joint favouritism in 2024. The last such favourite before him to score was Forgotten Voice way back in 2009, and yet My Cloud became the second successful favourite in a row when scoring in 2025.
Although there is a decent spread in terms of where the winners have emerged from in the handicap, it can pay to spot an unexposed type among the handicap. No horse in the top eight of the handicap has won this in the last decade, with five carrying a saddlecloth of 20 or greater.
Royal Hunt Cup History
For over a century, the Royal Hunt Cup was run over the equivalent of 7½f before its current distance of 1m. Despite its extensive history, only one horse has ever won the race twice, that being Master Vote in 1947 and 1948.
Its first winner was Knight Of The Whistle back in 1843, with the tradition of the winner getting to keep their trophy staying in place ever since then.
Lester Piggott is the joint winningest jockey in the race, riding the winner four times between 1963 and 1976. James Jewitt holds sway among the training contingent, with five wins before the turn of the 20th century.
2023 proved a sensational year for owners Chelsea Thoroughbreds. Their colours were carried to both first and second places courtesy of Ralph Beckett’s historically-named pair of Jimi Hendrix and Sonny Liston.
Royal Hunt Cup Past Winners
| Year | Horse | JOCKEY | TRAINER |
| 2025 | My Cloud | Silvestre De Sousa | Roger Varian |
| 2024 | Wild Tiger | Oisin Murphy | Saeed bin Suroor |
| 2023 | Jimi Hendrix | Rossa Ryan | Ralph Beckett |
| 2022 | Dark Shift | James McDonald | Charles Hills |
| 2021 | Real World | Marco Ghiani | Saeed bin Suroor |
| 2020 | Dark Vision | William Buick | Mark Johnston |
| 2019 | Afaak | Jim Crowley | Charles Hills |
| 2018 | Settle For Bay | Billy Lee | David Marnane |
| 2017 | Zhui Feng | Martin Dwyer | Amanda Perrett |
| 2016 | Portage | James Doyle | Michael Halford |
Tips for all the other races on Day 2 of Royal Ascot
| TIME | RACE |
| 2.30pm | Queen Mary Stakes: The second day of Royal Ascot 2026 begins with a 5f Group 2 for 2yo fillies. This is a blink and you’ll miss it start to kick off Wednesday’s card. |
| 3.05pm | Queen’s Vase: The Queen’s Vase is a 1m6f Group 2 for 3yos, this race usually produces future stayers, with 2017 winner Stradivarius a good example of that. |
| 3.40pm | Duke Of Cambridge Stakes: The Group 2 Duke Of Cambridge Stakes is a 1m Group 2 for fillies and mares aged 4yo or older. |
| 4.20pm | Prince of Wales’s Stakes: The Prince of Wales’s Stakes is the feature race on the second day of Royal Ascot, this is a 1m2f Group 1 for 4yos and older. |
| 5.00pm | Royal Hunt Cup: The big handicap on the second day of Royal Ascot is the Royal Hunt Cup, a 1m contest that is one of the most competitive races of the week. |
| 5.35pm | Kensington Palace Stakes: The Kensington Palace Stakes is a 1m handicap for 4yo and above fillies and mares. |
| 6.15pm | Windsor Castle Stakes: The 5f Windsor Castle Stakes is a Listed contest for 2yos. |