*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change
14:30 Queen Mary Stakes – Dramatised
It helps that Love Reigns is in there to make the market to a degree and the field size helps also. I was very sweet on DRAMATISED. I like Karl Burke’s two-year-old sprinting fillies, he’s got a really good bunch, so the fact that he’s been determined to rely on Dramatised for this race gives you an idea of how good she is. She was massively impressive when beating Malrescia at Newmarket on debut.
They seemed to know how good she was at home too as she was backed into favouritism that day and did it very easily on track. That was a very impressive performance but also the performance of a filly that will naturally improve. She’s going to be hard to beat.
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15:05 Queen’s Vase – Nahanni
I’m going with NAHANNI. He was the horse who got most upset by the fireworks before the Epsom Derby but given the way that race was run I’m inclined to ignore the result. He did remarkably well to finish where he did because he wanted to make the running and he completely missed the break. He finished seventh of 17 with some good late work.
The St Leger at Doncaster in September has looked his race and this has now become your premium St Leger trial. He’ll definitely stay beyond a mile and a half, this is the trip he wants but the question is whether 11 days is a long enough turn around from Epsom. If the Derby had been really early in his career, I’d have been worried it might leave a mental mark but he’s already had four starts this season before Epsom so it’s less likely he’ll be mentally scarred by what happened.
While it’s not ideal to go Derby and then Queen’s Vase, he’s the best horse in the race and the fact he’s not clear favourite makes him more attractive.
15:40 Prince Of Wales’ Stakes – Bay Bridge
I fancy BAY BRIDGE. You can make a case that he’s short in the betting and might not have the Group 1 form that others do, but the way he went through the Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown and the turn of foot he showed to win at the end in a race that wasn’t particularly set up to show that off was enormously impressive. You get plenty of races where they get involved in a battle up top, get a bit tired and someone comes from off the pace and looks more impressive than they are.
It wasn’t that kind of race, it was just a really top-class turn of foot to win by five lengths.
Lord North has got plenty of Group 1 form and I’m normally swayed towards those with the form in the highest company, but I was very impressed with Bay Bridge. To win by the margin he did at Sandown is a sign of an exceptionally good horse. While this is a step up in class, he’s more than ready for it.
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16:20 Duke Of Cambridge Stakes – Saffron Beach
Bashkirova is arguably the pick of these based on how well she won at Epsom, but I’m wary that this race might have come too soon. I can’t really have Mother Earth over SAFFRON BEACH. The latter has shown herself on every occasion except the really important one – the 1,000 Guineas last season – that she’s a better filly than Mother Earth.
They tried to turn her into an Oaks filly which was never really going to work. She didn’t stay 1m 4f and she didn’t like the nasty ground, it took her a while to bounce back from that. She showed at the end of the season, though, that she was as good as ever and she’s clearly the best filly in this race in terms of form shown at the top level.
Although I do respect Bashkirova, the connections would have preferred to have another week or two between Epsom whereas Saffron Beach has been geared up for this for quite a while. She’ll take a fair bit of beating.
17:00 Royal Hunt Cup – Dark Shift
I want to go with DARK SHIFT. He’s drawn right in the middle in stall 15 where there appears to be plenty of speed with Isla Kai and Tempus, who will go forward. San Andreas and Cruyff Turn will be handy as well and they’re all drawn between 12 and 18.
Dark Shift has a good record on the straight track at Ascot already and he got into this race courtesy of a comfortable win in a decent race at Nottingham last time out where he came from last to win by three lengths. He looks ahead of his mark even with the penalty and he ended last season with a couple wins at the track – one over 7f and he won a contest in October over a mile on softish ground – proving his stamina for the trip.
He was ostensibly disappointing in the Victoria Cup but as we all know for that race you have to be drawn 27 or higher and he was coming out of a single figure stall. He finished third of those drawn in single figures so that was fine, given his draw. The race will be run to suit him here and he looks to be drawn in the right part of the track for a change. James McDonald gets the booking from Charlie Hills.
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17:35 Windsor Castle Stakes – Chateau
I like Chateau in terms of what they’ve achieved so far. Little Big Bear on paper is probably the one to beat but this is a race that’s had a big draw bias in recent years. I think CHATEAU is a reasonably big price and he’s drawn next to the favourite in stall 5. When you’re drawn next to the favourite it should help you. The form he has is right up there with the best on offer and he should improve.
He needed the run on debut and then improved a chunk to win last time out, he had something in hand there and did it in a good time at Beverley where he got messed around and did very well to extricate himself. Ascot should suit him as he’s not been blazing speed from the start but has been coming from off the pace in his races, so can pick his way through at the end. He’ll be hard to kick out of the frame and you might get a double-digit price about him.
18:10 Kensington Palace Stakes – Haziya
I’m going to have to be fairly boring here. HAZIYA has a blindingly obvious chance. She improved when winning at Leopardstown and she was very well handicapped at that stage. She’s a filly with a lovely pedigree. She wasn’t particularly progressive last year, making her handicap debut off 73 of which she made a mockery and won by three lengths. She showed improved form again to be a close third behind Celtic Crown at the Curragh last time out. That proves a mile suits her very well.
Again, the draw is something to bear in mind here and there are a lot of runners for a mile. It’ll be difficult for the very wide drawn horses to get involved so I want a horse I know can get away and keep out of trouble and I’m happy enough to have something reasonably low-drawn in stall three. Haziya has gone forward in her last couple of starts, so I can see her staying out of trouble from the break and she’s the obvious one for me.
Rory Delargy’s Royal Ascot Day Two Tips
14:30 – DRAMATISED
15:05 – NAHANNI
15:40 – BAY BRIDGE
16:20 – SAFFRON BEACH
17:00 – DARK SHIFT
17:35 – CHATEAU
18:10 – HAZIYA
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change
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