14:30
Ascot
Odds correct as of 2:43pm 16th Jun
Royal Ascot continues on Wednesday and we’ve selected some intriguing angles to consider on Day 2. Here we take a look at Wesley Ward’s chances of landing a fifth Queen Mary Stakes, Ballydoyle’s most likely winner of the day, some key Prince Of Wales’s Stakes trends and a 25/1 outsider. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.
US-based trainer Wesley Ward has had lots of success at Royal Ascot over the years and he has won the Queen Mary Stakes four times before. He sends two runners over this time around and both shouldn’t be dismissed with that in mind.
Juan Hernandez rides Ruiva and she absolutely bolted up in a maiden at Churchill Downs on debut in April. Strong at the finish over an extended four furlongs on that occasion, she scored by seven lengths and is likely to be up with the pace throughout.
Shining Moment will be ridden by Oisin Murphy and she also landed a maiden at Churchill Downs. Making all the running, she was keen throughout but that made little difference in the end.
Aidan O’Brien is always one of the trainers to follow at Royal Ascot and he has some decent chances on Day 2. It’s possible that his most likely winner of the day runs in the final race on the card.
Sergei Diaghilev was very keen on debut at the Curragh but still managed to get off the mark. The yard’s two-year-old runners tend to improve significantly from their debuts and that’s likely to be the case once again. Having Ryan Moore on board is always a positive too.
Only two of the last 10 winners were favourites, which doesn’t necessarily bode well for Ombudsman, but there are more significant trends to consider.
John Gosden has won three of the last six renewals of this race and he is represented by last year’s winner Ombudsman and Devil’s Advocate, with the latter likely to make the running.
All of the last 10 winners had RPRs of at least 133, which applies to all but two of the runners. Only the two likely pacemakers don’t qualify.
Ryan Moore has been booked for the ride on Carolina Jetstream (25/1, Betfred) and it would be unwise to rule out a big run. She ran a cracker to finish second in a Group 2 over a mile at the Curragh last month and that form is potentially up there with the best on offer.