Johnny Dineen Backs Notable Speech at 5-2 — Ascot Races Today

Johnny Dineen still sees Notable Speech as one of the best bets of Royal Ascot in the Queen Anne Stakes today, even after the horse drifted in the market for ascot races today. The opening race at 2.30 now has the horse at a best price of 5-2, up from 2.

Notable Speech At 5-2

Dineen, a pro punter and former bookmaker, was blunt about the case for the horse. “I don't really see any dangers.” He added: “I'm surprised he's as big a price as he is” and “If he does what he does normally he will win.”

The confidence sits on a simple base: Notable Speech won the Lockinge at Newbury last month for a fifth Group 1 success. Dineen also said: “If he wasn't in the race, I wouldn't have a bet.” That is the kind of line that leaves no room for hedging, especially when he called him “a top, top Group 1 horse.”

Queen Anne Stakes Opens Royal Ascot

The Queen Anne Stakes is the opening race of Royal Ascot, so the price move comes before the meeting has properly settled. No rain fell overnight at Royal Ascot, and the ground could get a little quicker before racing started, which is the kind of change punters will factor in when they look at the 2.30.

That leaves the market talking about one horse while the meeting begins to spread into its other races. The same preview card also carried tips for the Coventry Stakes and the King Charles III Stakes, but Dineen’s view stays fixed on Notable Speech at 5-2 for the opener.

Royal Ascot Market Drift

The drift from 2 to 5-2 is the main friction point in the story. The price has moved against Notable Speech, but Dineen has not moved with it, and his case is that the horse remains strong enough to justify the current quote. For anyone weighing the Queen Anne Stakes today, that leaves a clear split between the market and one of the meeting’s strongest public opinions.