The highest rated horses at Royal Ascot in 2024

The entries have been made for Royal Ascot 2024 – one of the biggest Flat meetings in the sport of horse racing. As ever, the Group One races have attracted some of the leading thoroughbreds from around the world.

Here is a quick look at who the highest rated horses will be this year, and which race they have been entered in.

Auguste Rodin (119)

Prince of Wales’s Stakes

Last season’s Derby winner, Auguste Rodin, has been busy around the world over the last 12 months. He was successful in the Breeders’ Cup Turf last November, while on his most recent appearance, he featured in the Dubai Sheema Classic on Dubai World Cup Night.

Aidan O’Brien’s runner is expected to feature in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot this year. He is 10/3 in the betting on horse races for that 1m2f contest. The 119-rated runner will rise up the standings further should he record success in his next meet.

Those placing a bet on Royal Ascot 2024 will notice that Auguste Rodin will be coming up against the Irish Champions Stakes winner King Of Steel in the Group One race.

Those two horses finished first and second in the Derby in 2023, and a clash between the talented middle-distance horses will be one of the highlights of the royal meeting this year.

Facteur Cheval (120)

Queen Anne Stakes

French-trained gelding Facteur Cheval climbed up the world horse racing rankings after a huge victory in the Grade One Dubai Turf at Meydan back in March. He beat a strong field that included stars from the UK, Japan, Ireland, and Germany.

Trained by Jerome Reynier, Facteur Cheval ran at Ascot for the first time last October on British Champions Day. He finished a respectable second place in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes behind Big Rock.

The experienced five-year-old now has a rating of 120. He will line up in the opening race of this year’s Royal Ascot in the Queen Anne Stakes. It will be an opportunity for the Dubai Turf winner to pick up the seventh victory of his career.

Rebel’s Romance (123)

Hardwicke Stakes

With an official rating of 123, Rebel’s Romance is now the second highest-rated racehorse in the Longines world rankings. The six-year-old sits just behind Laurel River in those standings following his victory in the Dubai Sheema Classic on his last appearance.

Rebel’s Romance is set to line up in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot. He is bidding for a fourth straight victory, as he was triumphant in a Listed race at Kempton and in the Group Three H. H. The Amir Trophy at Doha before his Meydan success.

The Godolphin runner will take on former St Leger winner Continuous, multiple Group One winner Emily Upjohn and familiar rival Dubai Honour in the 1m4f race. A big performance could see him overtake Laurel River at the top of the world ratings.

It looks set to be five great days of action at the royal meeting in Berkshire, England, and there is a lot at stake for some of the world’s leading horses.