We round up the pick of the quotes from connections ahead of the feature races on day two of Royal Ascot.
16:20 Prince of Wales's Stakes (Group 1)
Tom Marquand heads into Wednesday’s Prince of Wales’s Stakes with a sense of frustration.
He rides My Prospero in the 10-furlong Group One contest which, in terms of quality, looks to be the cherry on the icing of the Royal Ascot cake.
Trained by William Haggas, My Prospero was beaten a neck in the St James’s Palace Stakes at the meeting last year.
He was also beaten half a length Bay Bridge, who reopposes, in the Champion Stakes over the same Ascot mile and a quarter he faces on Wednesday, a race remembered for being the brilliant Baaeed’s last run and sole defeat in his career.
This is a game of fine margins and after a sharpener over a mile on his return when fourth in the Lockinge at Newbury, Marquand hopes the Iffraj colt can finally get his just rewards.
“He had that run to open him up and, as we expected, the mile was a bit sharp, so going back up to 10 furlongs plays to his strengths,” said the jockey.
“It’s a hot renewal – probably the race of the week and fantastic for racing, but frustrating for us.
“Looking back at the run in the Champion Stakes, the change in tempo at the bend caught us out a bit. Being beaten so narrowly after that you hope you’ve got a good chance of beating them next time.
“It certainly feels like we haven’t had a true chance to show what is exactly there yet, which makes it pretty exciting.”
My Prospero was a nose behind runner-up Adayar in the Champion Stakes and the 2021 Derby winner, who won the Gordon Richards over this distance at Newmarket on his return with some ease, comes into the race with plenty of confidence behind him.
“We have been delighted with how Adayar has come forward since the Gordon Richards Stakes,” trainer Charlie Appleby told www.godolphin.com.
“It’s a very strong renewal but Adayar is in great shape and we are very much looking forward to it. The target this season has been to win a Group One over a mile and a quarter and this will hopefully be his opportunity.”
The Champion Stakes, part of the Qipco British Champions Series, saw Sir Michael Stoute’s Bay Bridge triumphant.
However, he has been narrowly beaten twice subsequently, in the Prix Ganay at ParisLongchamp on his return in April and by Luxembourg in the Tattersalls Gold Cup.
Consequently, Bay Bridge is joint-third best in the betting with My Prospero, although with plenty of rain falling ahead of the start of the meeting and heavy showers in the forecast, connections return to Ascot with plenty of optimism.
James Savage, Stoute’s assistant trainer, said: “It is what we expected, a very strong renewal. The mile-and-a-quarter division is as strong as I have seen.
“He took a step forward for every run last year. He took a massive step forward from France to the Curragh, running a big race behind Luxembourg, and we expect him to improve again at Ascot. He has trained very well.
“We are still very respectful of the opposition and if Ascot gets the forecast rain that would be positive, but he showed he is effective on good ground at the Curragh.”
Last season’s Irish Champion Stakes hero, the Aidan O’Brien-trained Luxembourg, tops the market.
The lightly-raced four-year-old, the winner of six of his nine starts, made all in the Tattersalls Gold Cup under Ryan Moore.
O’Brien said: “I’m happy with him and he progressed nicely at the Curragh from the first day to the second. I was delighted he made the running which leaves him versatile as to tactics in the race.”
Kenny McPeek sends US Grade One winner Classic Causeway over for his British debut, although he will be the big outsider of the sextet, while Mostahdaf completes the line-up.
Trained by John and Thady Gosden, the five-year-old was last seen finishing seven lengths adrift of Equinox in the Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan in March.
He has fallen short in his three attempts in top-class company but Angus Gold, racing manager to Sheikha Hissa’s Shadwell operation, hopes Jim Crowley’s mount will run with credit now that he drops back in trip.
“It’s a really hot race. He’s done us proud in the winter and won a lot of money in his two runs abroad,” said Gold.
“He’s a horse for Sheikha Hissa and her family to enjoy, he’s very consistent and if he’s good enough to win a Prince of Wales’s, Wednesday will tell us.
“He’s never been short of speed and there had been a train of thought, even before Dubai, that a mile and a quarter would be his best.
“He didn’t finish off his race in Dubai, to the degree people said he doesn’t stay, but equally he was the one horse off the bend who went to have a crack at Equinox and he paid the price for that later on.
“I’m not saying he doesn’t get a mile and a half, but he definitely has the pace to be competitive over a mile and a quarter.
“He’s given us all some great days and it will be fun to see where he fits in. He loves fast ground, though.”
14:30 Queen Mary Stakes (Group 2)
Karl Burke’s juveniles are in rip-roaring form and Beautiful Diamond heads a sparking trio of chances for the Middleham trainer in the Queen Mary Stakes.
Having saddled Dramatised to a runaway victory in the Group Two contest last season, he would again appear to have a strong hand as he bids to back up that success in the Group Two feature on day two of Royal Ascot.
Beautiful Diamond made a winning debut, scoring by three and a half lengths at Nottingham a fortnight ago for owner Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum.
Sheikh Rashid’s racing manager Bruce Raymond feels the turnaround from her debut will not be problematic.
He said: “The timing of the race is tight from her run at Nottingham, but really that’s an after-the-race excuse.
“I think there are more worries about going from Ascot to the July Meeting at Newmarket.
“After Ascot, they tend to need a break. Of course there are exceptions, but they can run flat after Ascot.
“She cost a lot of money at the breeze-up sale. She won at Nottingham and obviously Karl expected her to go very close that day.
“She is obviously very useful, but it is a tough race. I’m hoping she will be there in a ding-dong. There are a lot of runners, but I expect her to go very well.”
Burke will also saddle Got To Love A Grey, who has won both her starts for Middleham Park Racing, taking a valuable York Listed race last month, and Lady Pink Rose, who was runner-up on her Catterick debut for Sheikh Juma.
Raymond added: “Had she (Lady Pink Rose) won at Catterick, she would have gone here without any questions. They will be delighted if she is in the first five or six.
“She was in at Ripon and I said she could be a good thing, but Sheikh Juma said he was getting a bit fed up with Ripon – let’s have a look at the Queen Mary. We can easily bring her back to Ripon afterwards. She is in with a squeak.”
Wesley Ward is no stranger to success at Royal Ascot, having saddled 12 winners in the last 14 years, and the US handler saddles Bundchen.
Bundchen was runner-up in an extended four-and-a-half-furlong fillies’ race at Keeneland on the dirt on her sole start in April.
Ward added: “I’m excited for this filly. Unfortunately she was in a race at Keeneland and the race was rained off the grass and on to the dirt that day, so she had to run on a surface she wouldn’t have preferred.
“Now that she’s back on the grass, she has had some phenomenal breezes on the Keeneland grass course and I think she will have a big run.”
15:40 Duke Of Cambridge Stakes (Group 2)
Frankie Dettori appeared to hold a great chance with Laurel in the Duke of Cambridge, only for the filly to be scratched.
However, it enables him to resume his partnership with the Ralph Beckett-trained Prosperous Voyage.
Winner of the Princess Elizabeth Stakes at Epsom on her last start, the Andrew Rosen- and Marc Chan-owned four-year-old is among the leading contenders for the Group Two mile contest.
Chan’s racing manager Jamie McCalmont said: “It’s a bit different competition to Epsom here, but she didn’t have a hard race there and that should set her up for a good performance. Ralph and the team have been very happy with her since.”
“We’re sorry for the connections of Laurel, but it’s great to have Frankie back on board.”
Rogue Millennium drops back in trip to a mile for the first time in her nine-race career, having gone down by half a length to Free Wind in the Middleton at York over an extended 10 furlongs when last seen.
He trainer Tom Clover feels she will relish the stiff uphill finish and said: “She travelled so well at York. She has got better and her home work has been classy.
“A stiff mile at Ascot, I think its obviously worth a go. She seems in great form and we’re looking forward to running her.
“We don’t go there lightly. If everything falls right and we have a bit of luck, we think she’d have a good chance.”
17:35 Queen's Vase (Group 2)
The other Group Two contest is the Queen’s Vase, where the Dettori-ridden Gregory heads the market, bidding to remain unbeaten after two starts.
The John and Thady Gosden-trained colt won Goodwood’s Listed Cocked Hat by three lengths, but steps up an additional three furlongs.
“He is a classy performer and we were delighted with his run at Goodwood. He looks a staying type and we feel he will improve over a mile and three-quarters,” said Thady Gosden.
“It is obviously a very competitive race, but he has worked well and we hope he brings his A-game.”