Kyprios’s Retirement – How Will That Impact Aidan O’Brien’s Ascot Chances?

Horse racing trainer Aidan O’Brien’s star stayer ‘Kyprios’ was recently retired, which has come as a huge blow for O’Brien and his chances of sealing a victory at the upcoming 2025 Royal Ascot meeting. 

According to further reports, another of O’Brien’s favourites, Albert Einstein, has also been ruled out of Royal Ascot. The question being asked here is, how will Kyprios’s retirement impact O’Brien’s chance of victory this year at one of the UK’s most prestigious horse racing events?

Let’s dive straight in to find out. 

Why has star stayer Kyprios been retired, and will this impact O’Brien’s Royal Ascot chances?

On Tuesday, May 27, Kyprios’ owners, Coolmore, announced that although Kyprios is currently doing well and isn’t in any discomfort, they didn’t want to take any chances with him at Royal Ascot and made the decision to retire him due to an aggravation of an old ringbone lesion. 

In another setback for Aidan O’Brien, Coventry Stakes favourite Albert Einstein will also not be running this year at Royal Ascot. These two setbacks will be a major blow for O’Brien, and it means that he will be pinning all his hopes on Charles Darwin to win the Coventry Stakes. 

Can Charles Darwin win the Coventry Stakes?

The easiest way to determine if Charles Darwin can win the Coventry Stakes is to find a globally renowned online sportsbook that’s well-known for having highly competitive horse racing odds. 

For example, 10bet offers horse race betting in South Africa, and if you plan on placing a wager or two on any of the 2025 Royal Ascot races, your safest option is to try this trusted brand first. 

As it stands, Charles Darwin is only the third odds-on favourite to win the Coventry Stakes. Let’s take a quick look at what the latest odds look like for the top three favourites:

  • Betting market: 2025 Royal Ascot Coventry Stakes winner. Horse: Treanmor (odds-on favourite). Decimal odds: 3.75 (which is +275 in American/moneyline odds, and 11/4 in fractional odds). Implied probability rate: 26.70%
  • Betting market: 2025 Royal Ascot Coventry Stakes winner. Horse: Postmodern (second odds-on favourite). Decimal odds: 4.00 (which is +300 in American/moneyline odds, and 3/1 in fractional odds). Implied probability rate: 25.00%
  • Betting market: 2025 Royal Ascot Coventry Stakes winner. Horse: Charles Darwin (third odds-on favourite). Decimal odds: 6.00 (which is +500 in American/moneyline odds, and 5/1 in fractional odds). Implied probability rate: 16.70%

You then have Gstaad, and Military Code, who are both jointly priced at around 8.00 (+700 or 7/12) with a 12/50% IPR, followed by Underwriter at around 11.00 (+1,000 or 10/1) with a 9.10% IPR. 

In other words, based on these latest odds, many people will view Aidan O’Brien’s Charles Darwin as an excellent value bet. 

If you fancy your chances of an underdog/outsider winning and upsetting the odds, then you might want to consider either Blue Orbit or Shaatir, who are both currently priced at around 101.00 (+10,000 or 100/1) with only a 1.00% chance of winning. 

What’s the biggest race at Royal Ascot?

The Coventry Stakes is on day 1 (June 17) at 15:05, but the Gold Cup is the most iconic race that everyone will be tuning in to watch at Royal Ascot. If you plan on watching this race, don’t forget to tune in on June 19 at 16:25 (all times in GMT). 

The odds-on favourite to win the 2025 Ascot Gold Cup is 2.25-priced ‘Illinois.’ These odds mean that Illinois has a whopping 44.40% chance of winning. Two of the other horses to consider betting on in this race are Candelari (3.75), and Trawlerman (5.00). 

Final thoughts

Although these Royal Ascot odds are accurate at the time of writing, they are subject to change at any time (and without any prior warning). 

Should you decide to place a wager on any of Aidan O’Brien’s horses that will be racing at Royal Ascot, or any other horses that you like the look of, always remember to gamble responsibly and conduct plenty of research before betting. 

It’s also important to remember that betting on the clear odds-on-favourite horses doesn’t always guarantee that you will win. 

In other words, don’t put all of your money on one horse just in case it doesn’t come in. Try to hedge your bets and consider placing each way (E/W) bets because your horse only has to place (come in first, second, third, or fourth) to receive a return on your wager. 

In fact, some sites pay five places with each way bets for certain events. Finally, stick to betting on legally permitted online betting sites like 10Bet, and avoid signing up to unlicensed and unregulated sites.