Money for Edinburgh Knight, but Glor Na Mara the Royal Ascot threat

There was plenty to like about Edinburgh Knight’s performance in the Lincoln at Doncaster earlier this season, but Glor Na Mara looks the better each-way bet for the Royal Hunt Cup among the horses on the brink of challenging for favouritism.

Edinburgh Knight has been backed into 12/1 from 16/1 in recent days for the handicap, known to be one of the most competitive races across the five days of Royal Ascot.

Part of the reason for this support is sure to be because of his performance in the Lincoln, when finishing a more than creditable fourth from top weight.

However, the horse has seen its official rating put up an additional 1lb in the weights, meaning that he will have to win off a career-high mark at Royal Ascot.

Furthermore, conditions at Doncaster were almost ideal on the good side of firm, but it is likely to be much softer at Ascot given the vast amount of recent rain.

Rock Critic is priced at 16/1 in the Royal Ascot odds and should not be too heavily impacted by the conditions given that he has form over an extended distance of 1m2f.

But, the fact he is a seven-year-old is a big negative given that 14 of the last 15 winners of the Royal Hunt Cup have been aged four or five.

This brings in Glor Na Mara, who is also 16/1 and remains unbeaten in her career over 1m.

Glor Na Mara has triumphed on both career starts over the distance and there is no reason to suggest that he will have issues coping with the straight course at Royal Ascot.

Furthermore, the horse was rated as highly as 113 as a juvenile when locking horns with the likes of Frankel and Pathfork and so a mark of 98 in the Royal Hunt Cup should not be beyond him.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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