King Charles III and Queen Camilla have four horses entered at Royal Ascot 2024. The heads of the Royal Family are expected to be in attendance at the Berkshire race track to watch their beloved thoroughbreds in action.
Thousands of spectators will descend on the race track for five days of racing at one of the most iconic racecourses in the world. Last year, His Majesty King Charles was visibly moved when Desert Hero, bred by his late mother Queen Elizabeth II, won the King George V Stakes.
Desert Hero will be competing at Royal Ascot once again this time around, along with with three other horses owned by the Royal family. Here, we take a look at which horses King Charles and Queen Camilla have running this week.
Desert Hero
Last year’s 18/1 winner of the King George V stakes will be looking to do it all over again in the Group Two Hardwicke Stakes on Saturday. The four-year-old is the joint third favourite with odds of 10/1 to win, at the time of writing.
The William Haggas-trained star finished second in the Group 3 Gordon Richards Stakes in his seasonal opener, before a disappointing fifth when favourite in the Aston Park Stakes at Newbury last time out. He’ll be looking to put that right when he returns to the scene of his victory 12 months ago.
Hard To Resist
Hard to Resist is set to compete on Friday in the Sandringham Stakes, which is a handicap contest. The race is due to take place at 5:05pm and marks the filly’s first appearance of the season.
The three-year-old hasn’t been since last October’s disappointing fourth at Chantilly in the Prix Miesque.
Gilded Water
Gilded Water is currently entered for two races, but it is unlikely the three-year-old will take part in both of them. Another trained by William Haggas, Gilded Water has already run three times in this, his debut season, tasting victory for the first time at Chepstow last month after stepping up to 1m 2f for the first time.
He is currently entered in two races at Royal Ascot; the King George V Stakes at 3:05 on Thursday and the Golden Gates Stakes at 5:40 on Saturday. While prices are subject to vary, he is currently around 12/1 for both.
Treasure
Having initially been entered into two races at Royal Ascot, Treasure will now only go for the penultimate contest of the meeting; the Golden Gates Stakes at 5:40 on Saturday.
The three-year-old impressed to win on debut at Nottingham in October 2023 and was subsequently put away for the winter. She hasn’t been able to show that same form so far this term, coming up short in an Oaks trial and the Oaks itself at Epsom.
