John & Thady Gosden runners at Royal Ascot

John Gosden has been one of Britain’s finest trainers for the last couple of decades and is only behind Aidan O’Brien and Sir Michael Stoute in the list of leading all-time trainers at Royal Ascot, with an impressive grand total of 74 successes.

His son Thady joined the license a few years ago now and the flow of winners, especially at Royal Ascot, has continued at the same rate. Obviously this makes the pair well worth keeping an eye on at next week’s royal meeting and they have plenty of chances.

The Gosdens were crowned as the leading trainers in 2025, with five winners across the five days.

Here we take a look at all of the Gosdens’ potential runners and assess their three best chances at Royal Ascot, including last year’s Prince Of Wales’s Stakes winner.

Ombudsman - Prince Of Wales’s Stakes (11/8)

Ombudsman didn’t make the track until he was three but he progressed through the ranks that season and landed a Group 3 in France on his final start. He developed into a top level 1m2f performer last season and managed to land this race last year.

The son of Night Of Thunder was also a very comfortable winner of the Juddmonte International at York, with Eclipse winner Delacroix back in second on that occasion. Kicking the campaign off with victory in Meydan, he also won the Brigadier Gerard Stakes.

This year’s competition looks a little stiffer, with French raider Daryz looking like a serious contender. Don’t give up on Minnie Hauk just yet either as she’s clearly much better than she showed last time and a strongly run race will bring her firmly into this.

John Gosden has won the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes six times during his training career, landing it for the first time in 1994 with Muhtarram and Ombudsman providing the most recent victory. He needs two more wins to go level with eight-time winner John Porter.

Trawlerman - Gold Cup (7/2)

It’s a little strange that 2025 Gold Cup winner Trawlerman has become the forgotten horse in this year’s race. He absolutely bolted up when getting the better of Illinois by seven lengths and that’s probably the most telling piece of form on offer.

The best performances of his career have come in this race and he finished second to the great Kyprios two years ago. Very few horses stay 2m4f so siding with horses who have proven themselves over the trip is always a sensible way to go.

Young pretender Scandinavia heads the market but he has yet to prove himself over the trip although Prix Du Cadran winner Caballo De Mar is a candidate who does stay 2m4f. However, Trawlerman is still the one to beat, as last year’s renewal is the form race to consider.

Three-time Gold Cup winner Stradivarius provided Gosden’s first ever victory in this race back in 2018 but the trainer has now won it five times in total, with Thady joining him on the license for the last two successes.

Damysus - Queen Anne Stakes (14/1)

Don’t dismiss Damysus just yet, as the John & Thady Gosden-trained four-year-old is better than he was able to show in the Lockinge last time out. He was too keen in the early stages and provided they go a good gallop here, he should settle much better.

Things didn’t quite go to plan in the Derby last year but he bounced back with victory in a Listed contest at Deauville, before winning the Group 3 Darley Stakes at Newmarket in October.

We probably haven’t seen the best of him just yet and he can run a big race.

There was plenty to like about his impressive victory on seasonal debut and a return to that sort of form would make him a contender, despite the furlong shorter trip.

The Queen Anne Stakes has been a tough one for the Gosdens over the years but they did manage to land it for the first time with Palace Pier back in 2021. Undoubtedly the pair would like to improve their record in Royal Ascot’s opening event.

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.