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1800: And with that, day two is done. What a fantastic day we have had at Ascot - a first Group One success for Crystal Ocean, a couple of smart juvenile performances and two juicy Value Bet winners to build up the coffers.

In more good news, the rain has relented at Ascot and with a better forecast for Berkshire tomorrow, fingers crossed for a stellar Gold Cup day where Stradivarius will defend his crown in the big one.

In the meantime, please have a listen to the latest Sporting Life Racing Podcast as we look ahead to the last three days of Royal Ascot 2019 and don't we forget, we have all the action covered across the site with our various tipping columns and preview pieces.

RESULT 17:35 – Windsor Castle Stakes

1st SOUTHERN HILLS (7/1)

2nd Platimum Star (8/1)

3rd Glasvegas (25/1)

4th Symbolize (6/1 fav)

5th Illusionist (12/1)

*Sky Bet paid five places on this race

1747: 68 Royal Ascot winners for the incredible Aidan O'Brien who hasn't had things all his own way today but continues to have his horses primed for the big occasion. Don't forget, this colt was still a maiden coming into the race and is a big-race winner for first-season sire and former 2000 Guineas winner Gleneagles.

1745: Southern Hills takes out the finale for Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore. All the action is on the stands' rail as Southern Hills proves too strong for Platinum Star with Glasvegas running on strongly for third.

1744: And finally, they are off. 6/1 the field.

1740: A delay here as Show Me Show Me has bolted. He's been caught now so the loading can resume.

1734: Loading under way as Rayong and Symbolize attract late support.

1730: Some real sharp two-year-olds in the paddock here and they don't look a bad bunch at all. Iffraaz impressed when making a winning start at Carlisle recently and the ground has seemingly come for him.

1722: The final race of the day is the 5f Windsor Castle Stakes for two-year-olds and I thought Temple Of Heaven would be a tough nut to crack. Unbeaten following wins at Nottingham and Newbury, he beat yesterday's Coventry fourth Fort Myers last time and is bred to go through this soft ground. Richard Hannon has another strong string of juveniles on his hands this year and I'm backing him to celebrate his first winner of the week here.

1715: So, we are already nearing the end of day two of Royal Ascot, an afternoon that surely belongs to Frankie Dettori after wins aboard Raffle Prize and Crystal Ocean in the driving rain.

Here, the Sporting Life racing team reflect on a fantastic afternoon's racing.

RESULT 17:00 – Royal Hunt Cup

1st AFAAK (20/1)

2nd Clon Coulis (16/1)

3rd Raising Sand (8/1)

4th Stylehunter (22/1)

5th Kynren (11/2)

6th Roc Angel (33/1)

7th Vale Of Kent (33/1)

*Sky Bet paid seven places on this race

1705: The judge takes his time but Afaak gets the verdict. A welcome change of luck for trainer Charlie Hills after a testing day yesterday. Raising Sand and Stylehunter finish well for third and fourth with Kynren back in fifth.

I said it was close!

1703: Photo finish but I think Afaak might have just nicked it from Clon Coulis.

1701: They're off.

1700: Loading under way for the Hunt Cup and these hardened handicappers certainly know their jobs. We shouldn't be long now.

1654: Chilean has plenty of back-class and will relish these conditions while Key Victory is a fascinating contender having been a classic hope in early 2018. He runs for the first time since a gelding operation today while Mordin was a ready winner on soft ground at Haydock two starts ago. In sum, plenty can win and I have a shortlist of about 12.

1650: The ground makes things really tricky here as many of these were plotted up with a fast-ground cavalry charge in mind. Robin On Navan will like the ground but King's Field, who is otherwise very interesting, is unproven on soft.

1639: The cavalry charge that is the Royal Hunt is up next with New Graduate and Raising Sand vying for favouritism. I really liked Seniority for this so his defection means I'm a little lost, not for the first time in my life.

Can the ultra-consistent Kynren finally land a big one following a host of fine efforts in defeat? I'm not sure about his low draw.

1634: William Haggas is a mixture of emotions after the race, clearly thrilled with Move Swiftly for whom he is yet to formulate future plans, but frustrated at himself for running Sea Of Class in the previous race on such bad ground. She lives to fight another day.

Meanwhile, I'm taking another look at Ben Linfoot's Value Bet column given he has already found 18/1 and 14/1 winners today. Three more selections to run.

RESULT 16.20 – Duke Of Cambridge Stakes

1st MOVE SWIFTLY (9/1)

2nd Rawdaa (4/1)

3rd I Can Fly (7/2 fav)

4th Veracious (8/1)

*Sky Bet paid four places on this race

1627: A beautifully-patient ride from Danny Tudhope who took his time early before producing his charge with a withering run inside the final furlong to beat Rawdaa and I Can Fly who both finished well but just lacked the same change of gear of the winner.

A third winner of the meeting for Tudhope who is riding at Ripon tomorrow.

1625: VALUE BET AGAIN! Ben Linfoot's 18/1 selection Move Swiftly comes through late to see off Rawdaa in the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes for William Haggas and Danny Tudhope.

1622: They're racing.

1620: I Can Fly still favourite as they begin to load. Rawdaa strong in the betting late on.

1616: Up next is the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes and I Can Fly heads the betting at 7/2 for Ryan Moore and Aidan O'Brien. The master of Ballydoyle has already saddled a couple of runners-up today and will be keen to add to his two winners yesterday. This filly got caught out in a tactical affair at the Curragh last time and will love these conditions. I have her and Rawdaa fighting out the finish with Frankie Dettori and Moore going head to head once more.

1614: No surprises but there is a going change at Ascot and we are now officially soft.

1600: Well, I've finally caught my breath. Hard to know where to start but first impressions are that Frankie Dettori is still the master and Crystal Ocean is clearly a high-class operator when things are in his favour. Credit to Magical, though, I thought she ran a stormer in second but just lacked a gear when Ryan Moore needed her to keep tabs on Crystal Ocean turning in. The jury is out on Sea Of Class but I certainly wouldn't be writing her off for all I would have hoped for a little bit more.

1559: James Doyle on Sea Of Class: "She clearly hates deep ground but she felt in great nick. Very happy with her."

1553: Sir Michael Stoute is a man of few words but looked seriously impressed with Crystal Ocean there and couldn't hide his satisfaction when cornered by Oli Bell on ITV Racing.

Stoute said: "He is a high-class horse and I’m delighted to win a Group One now, he deserves that. He is a fine horse, a special horse. There’s been a lot of great team work and hard work put into getting this result."

RESULT 3.40 – Prince Of Wales's Stakes

1st CRYSTAL OCEAN (3/1)

2nd Magical (13/8 fav)

3rd Waldgeist (4/1)

1545: Frankie sits handy throughout before making use of his strong stamina reserves, kicking clear turning in and holding off Magical inside the final furlong. Waldgeist stays on for third but Sea Of Class fails to figure.

Dettori all smiles once more and tells ITV Racing: "When we got in front I thought ‘it will take a special horse to beat us now’. I didn’t feel anything behind us and felt we had it. I used my stamina and it saw us through."

1543: Frankie again as Crystal Ocean bags his first Group One success at the expense of Magical. A Frankie Dettori masterclass once again.

1541: They're off. It's raining cats and dogs.

1540: Loading.

1536: Sea Of Class looks fit enough to do herself justice. I wasn't that impressed with Magical on appearance, actually. But what do I know? The French tank Waldgeist is solid at 9/2 and I'm not at all surprised given how hard the rain is falling now. I might be leaning towards France now despite their hard approach to the Brexit negotiations. This is a fascinating race, it really is.

1530: I'm not sure I've seen William Haggas this nervous before. We sometimes forget the huge pressures that trainers and jockeys are under on days like this and I really hope Sea Of Class runs well. Haggas deserves a big run from her having been sporting enough to run on ground he patently has reservations about. Sea Of Class touching 9/2 now as Magical hardens to 6/4. Crikey.

1527: William Haggas shares a laugh with Francesca Cumani after saddling up Prince Of Wales's Stakes contender Sea Of Class before admitting 'I'm more nervous about this than anything and I'm not comfortable at all.'

1520: Some reaction from Andrew Balding now.

Speaking on ITV Racing, the trainer said: "This was a gamble that paid off. He was lame on Sunday with a bad blood blister and the team that look after him worked through the night to get him right. It came right after 48 hours, but he was close to not running, so huge credit to the team for spotting it early and getting him right to run."

RESULT 3.05 – Queen's Vase

1st DASHING WILLOUGHBY (6/1)

2nd Barbados (20/1)

3rd Nayef Road (16/1)

4th Moonlight Spirit (17/2)

*Sky Bet paid four places on this race

1511: Ben Linfoot has just done his customary 'punch someone in the arm celebration' as Dashing Willoughby wins at 6/1 having been advised at 14/1. Excellent tipping I must say. Meanwhile, my placepot dreams are over.

Huge credit to Barbados who ran a monster race in second with Nayef Road claiming third spot.

Oisin Murphy, speaking on ITV Racing, said: “I had to do some work to get to the front early and dominate from there. Then it was about going through the processes for the final moments and having confidence we had it.

“To get my first win of the week is so, so important to me, I can’t tell you just how much any jockey needs that first win at Royal Ascot, but I felt I especially needed it today.”

1510: VALUE BET WINNER! Dashing Willoughby runs down Barbados to win the Queen's Vase for trainer Andrew Balding and jockey Oisin Murphy.

1506: Loading in the Queen's Vase. And they're off!

1504: BREAKING! William Haggas has confirmed that Sea Of Class WILL run the Prince Of Wales's Stakes at 1540. Phew!

1459: Value Bet tipster is celebrating his birthday today and is cheering on Dashing Willoughby in the next. 'He will love this soft ground' is all I've been hearing for the last hour or so. He's 5/1 now having been advised at 14/1 last night. Fingers crossed if you followed Ben in.

Ben has five more selections to come today. Check out his preview of the day's action here.

1453: Swiftly moving on, the Queen's Vase is next and Norway is a solid favourite at 3/1 for Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore with Dashing Willoughby still popular at 13/2.

Having scraped through the first race in the placepot, I'm relying on Eminent Authority and Western Australia here. It's wide open but you can't go wrong with these O'Brien's can you?

1445: Piers Morgan is in the house. Not mine, Ascot. The twitter scrapper and Good Morning Britain presenter is very keen on I Can Fly later on.

For all his faults, I can't knock his salmon tie which goes very well with the murky skies and torrential rain.

RESULT 2.30 – Queen Mary Stakes

1st RAFFLE PRIZE (18/1)

2nd Kimari (13/2)

3rd Final Song (6/1 fav)

1438: Mark Johnston hails Frankie Dettori as the greatest jockey of all time after declaring his team were confident their filly would go close beforehand. No mention of future plans.

1437: Frankie Dettori all smiles after the race and told ITV Racing: "They say I don’t like racing in the rain, but it is different when it comes to racing in the rain at Ascot. She can be crazy, but she was great and ran very well. I came here to win and when it’s close it is in the lap of the Gods, but the crowd helped push me on."

Dettori later suggests the ground will be soft before too long.

1434: Raffle Prize picks up Kimari close home to win the Queen Mary.

Kimari runs a huge race in second, cutting out much of the running and fighting all the way to the line as Frankie Dettori and Mark Johnston claim their respective first victories of the week with 18/1 chance Raffle Prize.

1432: And they're off in the Queen Mary!

1428: Tango looking a bit flighty down at the stalls. This heavy rain isn't helping, they are babies after all. Loading.

1425: It's raining hard now. This isn't good news for many of these sharp, speedy fillies and it will be fascinating to see what impact this heavy downpour has on the ground.

The runners are arriving at the post now.

1424: Final Call for Sporting Life's Royal Ascot Day Two selections. Good luck to all.

1419: Final Song still heads the betting for opening Queen Mary Stakes but Divine Spirit and Tango have both proved popular all morning. The two Wesley Ward-trained runners are easy to back but Kimari looks a big, strong filly in the paddock and is in magnificent condition.

1417: A trip down memory lane now...#Ballydoyle

1413: Right, I'm refuelled with Coffee and ready to go. Not long until the runners start to parade for the Queen Mary - I can't wait to catch a look of these two Wesley Ward fillies.

1408: The first race is less than 30 minutes away now so how about some more insight from ITV Racing's Oli Bell? Oli is going big today with six selections.

1400: It's still raining. This isn't ideal. Meanwhile, Windsor winner Divine Spirit continues to prove popular in the opener for Charlie Appleby and Australian jockey Kerrin McEvoy.

1358: The Queen is on her way. What colour, what colour? Anybody?

After a suggestion of old lady lavender, the general consensus is that the Queen's hat is Lilac. Lilac is the winner.

1353: It could be a big day for Barry McHugh, retained jockey for The Cool Silk Partnership, and he caught up with Mike Vince this morning.

1350: 40 minutes until the first race and a few spots of rain have been sighted at Ascot.

1347: Right, placepot selections confirmed. Here goes...

Race One: 1, 16, 25

Race Two: 4, 13

Race Three: 7

Race Four: 1, 13

Race Five: 10, 15, 20

Race Six: 14, 18

Fingers crossed for a miracle!

1337: Right, placepot time. I might be a while.

1335: Whisper it quietly but our man Fran Berry was on the Champagne yesterday and might be a touch delicate this morning. Nevertheless, the former Royal Ascot-winning jockey has a few strong views for today and tomorrow's action and has penned his thoughts here.

1325: Runners and riders are through for the Royal Carriages. None of my friends have made the cut but Sir Mark Prescott has taken a break from plotting up handicap jobs and he makes the second carriage.

Other names to note are Lieutenant Colonel Charles Richards and Matt Magee, the latter mainly because he comes in at seven foot two inches and might struggle to sit comfortably once they hit the rising ground.

1305: Thankfully, my phone is quiet this morning so I won't be able to pass on any poor information but the Sporting Life office is a hive of activity and Ben Linfoot's confidence in Move Swiftly is growing by the minute. Meanwhile, David Ord won't hear of defeat for Eminent Authority in the Queen's Vase (1505) following his close-up third to Irish Derby hope Rakan at Leopardstown.

I'm really warming to the chances of Tango in the Queen Mary Stakes but the Americans have landed and Wesley Ward fires a two-pronged attack at the opener.

Impressive Keeneland winners Kimari and Anna's Fast bid to hand Ward a fourth win in the race and it is great to see that John Velazquez has made the trip across to Britain to ride the former.

Here's a closer look at Kimari's impressive debut success.

1300: Another filly of interest in the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes is Agrotera, a ready winner of the Sandringham Stakes here 12 months ago, and Mike Cattermole is keen to side with her at the prices.

Mike offers his thoughts on the day's action here.

1250: Right, I'll stop talking about the Prince Of Wales's Stakes. I promise. Elsewhere, I note there is sustained support for I Can Fly, second in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes here last autumn, and a shade unlucky at the Curragh last time. She needs delivering late but is clearly very good on her day and is now 7/2 market leader for the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes at 1620.

Once again, punters are putting their faith in the Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore combination but Rawdaa pushed Lah Ti Dar all the way at York last time and she will be fine with current underfoot conditions. She is clearly on the upgrade and with Ben Linfoot's Value Bet selection Move Swiftly and recent Epsom winner Anna Nerium also in there, we look to have another very good race on our hands.

1240: Staying with the Prince Of Wales's Stakes, master French handler Andre Fabre is always to be feared when bringing his horses onto these shores and in Waldgeist, he is represented by a high-class operator who will relish any give underfoot. With recent French Group One winner Zabeel Prince and Japanese raider Deirdre also lining up, this race has a truly international feel to it this year.

Here's Andrea Atzeni on the chances of his mount, Zabeel Prince.

1230: I'm sure I'm not alone in siding with Magical today but it will be fascinating to see Sea Of Class return to track following a brilliant three-year-old campaign that saw her progress into one of the best fillies in Europe. Se Of Class faces a tough nut in Magical, who has a fitness advantage today, but she promises to be even better this year and the fact James Doyle is free to renew the partnership is another big plus to her chance. We could be in for a classic renewal of the Prince Of Wales's Stakes at 1540.

Special thanks to the QIPCO British Champions Series for taking a closer look at Sea Of Class here.

1225: Currently dry at Ascot which is good news all round, particularly for the The Queen who looked resplendent in cornflower blue yesterday. For those wondering, and even betting, on what colour she will be wearing today, check out the latest odds here.

1220: I'm back! Don't all cheer at once. Racing Podcast done and will be out on site later today - looking ahead to the Gold Cup and the Group One action on Friday and Saturday. A few spoiler alerts include Ben Linfoot eyeing up a Value Bet for the Commonwealth Cup while myself and David Ord pay tribute to Jeremy Noseda as he looks to finish his training career with a big winner in the Wokingham on Saturday.

1140: It could be another good day for O'Brien and Moore with Magical currently heading the betting for the Prince Of Wales's Stakes at 7/4 with Sea Of Class on the drift at 4/1 and Crystal Ocean available at the same price. I'm firmly in the Magical camp, especially following yesterday's rain, but Ben Linfoot and David Ord couldn't agree when they discussed the race on today's Racing Daily.

I'll let you hear their thoughts while I take a short break to record this week's Racing Podcast. Back in a jiffy!

1110: Looking at today's card, what immediately strikes me is that if you can find a winner or two, you are almost certain to be rewarded with a decent price and ought to return good profit on the day.

We are currently 9/2 the field for the opening Queen Mary Stakes at 1430 and with Sky Bet offering money back as cash if your horse finishes 2nd, 3rd or 4th, we can surely get off to a strong start can't we?!

For what it's worth, Tango looks a huge price to me at 12/1 representing the peerless Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore combination. This daughter of No Nay Never - the same sire as yesterday's Coventry winner Arizona - looked good when breaking her duck in style at Navan having previously gone down narrowly to the promising Albigna at the Curragh. That looks strong form and I wouldn't be discounting her too quickly.

1050: So then, with a slight going change and some fiercely competitive action ahead, I'm sure you're all keen to know which horses have been attracting support this morning. Fear not, I have been doing some digging and have unearthed a few market movers.

Divine Spirit has been the one for money in the opening Queen Mary Stakes (1430) and Charlie Appleby's Windsor scorer is now 8/1 from 11/1 while Dashing Willoughby is 8/1 from 14/1 for the Queen's Vase 35 minutes later.

However, the most significant market mover is Move Swiftly who is 12/1 from 20/1 for the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes (1620) following strong market support. William Haggas' charge is one of six selections for our Value Bet tipster Ben Linfoot and you can read his full preview for today's racing here.

1032: Introductions have never been my strong point but here goes. I'm Richard Mann, one of our army of racing enthusiasts here at Sporting Life, and I'm delighted to bring you live coverage of what is my favourite meeting of the year.

Cards on the table here, as good as the Cheltenham Festival is, I do prefer Royal Ascot and thought yesterday kicked off the meeting in some style with Aidan O'Brien and the brilliant Ryan Moore combining for two really good winners sandwiched between a memorable tear up between Blue Point and Battaash in the King's Stand Stakes. It was Blue Point who again proved the strongest before Addeybb brought the curtain down on the first act of Royal Ascot 2019 with a taking victory in the Wolferton Stakes.

Nevertheless, my esteemed colleague David Ord is always keen to remind me that you can't look back in this great game of ours so with that in mind, here's Ed Chamberlin and Michael Shinners to set the scene for this afternoon's action.

1027: As ever, we have a mountain of tipping columns, video previews and reaction across our Racing and Royal Ascot and Home pages but so you won't miss a thing, I'll use this as the main hub to ensure you can access everything you need right here.

As we get closer to race time I'll highlight all the key Sky Bet offers, last-minute tips and pointers from the preliminaries so you're right up to date with the latest from Ascot.

1020: Good morning folks and welcome to Sporting Life's live coverage of day two at Royal Ascot where the feature race of the afternoon is a mouthwatering renewal of the Prince Of Wales's Stakes. We don't have Enable but the ladies are still set to dominate with Magical and last season's Prix De L'Arc De Triomphe runner-up Sea Of Class locking horns in what promises to be one of the clashes of the week.

The big news from Ascot is that there is going change from yesterday. Clerk of the Course Chris Stickels is now reporting the ground to be Good to Soft on the straight course and Soft, Good to Soft in places on the round course.

Further showers are possible before the action kicks off with the Queen Mary Stakes at 1430 and I will be sure to keep you updated with any further news from Berkshire.

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