Prince of Wales Stakes: Time for some each-way thievery at a fantastic 40/1

OK, so it’s a dangerous business, trusting a mid-range weather forecast. But at the time of writing (afternoon of Monday 9 June) it’s looking like the extraordinarily dry spring of 2025 is set to continue in the South-East of England for the next couple of weeks. Which would mean fast summer ground for the Royal meeting at Ascot next week.

One race that looks likely to be decimated in terms of its numerical population if that meteorological constellation holds is the feature race on Wednesday 18 June, the Prince of Wales Stakes. A whole host of horses, including some of the classiest in the field as things stand, can be expected to bypass the 10-furlong feature on the Wednesday if the ground is riding fast or at least have their chances greatly diminished if they do participate: Anmaat, Almaqam, White Birch, Kalpana, Tamfana, and Royal Rhyme.

What’s more, Diego Velazquez and Facteur Cheval are both also entered in the Queen Anne, and the former is surely going to head there – if he appears at all, having not run since last September – for a stable who already have this race covered.

With this in mind, The AntePoster believes The Foxes is a very sporting each-way play for Andrew Balding’s stable. This 5-year-old entire is not far behind the leading players on the ratings and is now building up the profile of a highly reliable performer. Of his last four races, two have been easy victories (a three-length win over Dubai Honour on Newcastle’s all-weather track last November, a comfortable win in the Huxley Stakes at Chester a month ago, where he “won going away”), while his two defeats have been a length defeat to the excellent Rebel’s Romance and a fourth-placed finish in a red hot Hong Kong Cup last November won by Romantic Warrior (third-placed Tastiera franking the form further next time out).

To be clear, The AntePoster does not consider The Foxes a strong candidate to win the Prince of Wales Stakes next week. The “win” portion of the bet is therefore likely to go up the Swannee, quite possibly with a probability reflected by the current price of 40/1. So there is no great value there. But the real value lies in the other half of an each-way bet: We believe this guy has a decent shout of hitting the frame, possibly in the 2/1 - 3/1 range. So for 8/1 to be available for that eventuality – as implied by the 40/1 win price offered only by Paddy Power and sister company Betfair Sportsbook – is simply too attractive to resist.

Recommendation: Back The Foxes each-way at 40/1 with Paddy Power or Betfair Sportsbook to win the Prince of Wales Stakes at Royal Ascot on Wednesday 18 June.