3:05 Royal Ascot: Hamish McGonagall the value in sprint field

The King’s Stand Stakes is truly an international showpiece and so it would offer some satisfaction if a horse with a Scottish name can land the spoils, with Hamish McGonagall looking a particularly big each-way price at 33/1.

Australian runners have triumphed in four of the last nine renewals of the King’s Stand Stakes and Ortensia is their only representative this year.

Ortensia is 6/1 in the Royal Ascot odds and arrives with back-to-back Group One victories.

But there are doubts as to her draw, with low numbers not typically seen as ideal on the opening day of Royal Ascot.

In fact, seven of the last nine winners of the 5f sprint have been positioned between stalls nine and 15.

This bodes well for 11/2 favourite Wizz Kid, who has also performed well at Royal Ascot before when second to Deacon Blues on British Champion’s Day towards the end of last season.

However, the fact that he has never triumphed in Group One company is a negative for a horse so short in the betting.

Bated Breath and Sole Power are the other two horses that are well fancied, but they are usually best seen on firm ground, meaning that the recent rain is a blow to their chances.

Therefore, it may pay to consider some of those further down the betting and Hamish McGonagall has shown the capacity before to finish in the first three in such a hot race.

He chased home Margot Did in the Nunthorpe at York last year in his only other try in Group One company and in total has been in the frame in six of his last seven starts.

Meanwhile, Hamish McGonagall was only beaten by two lengths by Wizz Kid on his latest outing in France and so it is a slight surprise that he is six times the price as a result, especially as his style of running means he is less likely to encounter trouble.

Stall 14 is also perfect for Hamish McGonagall and so he is certainly worth considering as an each-way option.

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