Ryan Moore Closes in on Century of Royal Ascot Winners as Final Day Decides Major Titles

Royal Ascot 2026 reaches its conclusion with Ryan Moore positioned to join Aidan O'Brien's exclusive century club, while the trainers' championship unfolds as an internal family contest. Moore, currently sitting at 98 Royal Ascot winners across his career, holds a commanding lead in the jockeys' standings after securing six victories over the opening four days. His closest challenger, Billy Loughnane, would require at least four winners from his six scheduled rides on the final day to overtake him—a near-impossible task that makes Moore's milestone virtually assured.

The trainers' title presents a more compelling narrative. Aidan O'Brien, the veteran handler, leads with six winners, but his oldest son Joseph has proven equally competitive with five victories already recorded. Both will field multiple runners across five identical races on the closing day, with O'Brien senior saddling eight entries and Joseph preparing seven. The absence of both trainers from the day's two later races—the 3:40 and 5:00 contests—narrows their direct competition, yet the championship remains genuinely open given the substantial number of runners still to be decided.

The Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at 3:40 represents the meeting's signature sprint, featuring elite competitors from multiple continents. Japan's Satono Reve, trained by Noriyuki Hori, arrives as the second-favorite after finishing runner-up in this race the previous year, while Australia's Joliestar completes the international challenge heading the market. The six-furlong Group One contest has attracted what some observers consider one of the strongest sprint fields assembled in Europe, with the caliber of international entries suggesting that maintaining domestic dominance in sprint racing faces genuine difficulty. Track conditions—specifically the variance between the stands' rail and far side—may prove decisive; the going stick reading difference narrowed to just 0.1 following overnight watering, potentially influencing jockey strategy regarding stall positioning and early movements.

Aidan O'Brien's Norfolk Stakes entry, Carry The Flag, figures as the likely favorite in the 2:30 opening race. Beyond the headline races, Sky Sports tipster Kevin Blake has identified value selections across the final card, including Colori Forever in the Jersey Stakes at 16:20 and Binhareer for the Wokingham Stakes at 17:00, with the latter representing a lightly raced four-year-old carrying sprinter potential.