Royal Ascot 2026 jury following the six-day entries for day two

The Prince Of Wales’s could be the race of the meeting. Are you a Daryz or an Ombudsman man?

Andrew Asquith: Both are top-class middle distance performers but I’m very much in the Daryz camp. He showed he doesn’t lack for stamina when winning the Arc last year, but he has also shown he’s a smart turn of foot too by winning both of his starts at around a mile and a quarter this season. He started the 5/1-on favourite for the Prix d’Ispahan last time, but he was still ultra impressive under a hands-and-heels ride and going up against a horse like Ombudsman can only bring even more out of him.

Matt Brocklebank: It feels to me like Daryz is an even more complete model as a four-year-old this season and I certainly don’t see him as an Arc winner ‘getting away with’ winning big races over shorter distances – I reckon he could probably win Group 1s at a mile it connections were that way inclined. So Ombudsman has a serious race on his hands here and while he’s afforded maximum respect, I’d just about favour the French horse if I had to have an interest.

John Ingles: Ombudsman is compiling an excellent record, but the Graffard team got the better of him at Ascot in the autumn with Calandagan and I think they’ll do so again with Daryz who has really impressed me with his two Group 1 wins at Longchamp this year. Admittedly, Ombudsman will be a tougher rival than any Daryz has faced since the Arc, but the way he has travelled and quickened to win those races suggests he’s come back an improved four-year-old.

Can you give us a 2YO to look out for on Wednesday with the Queen Mary and Windsor Castle taking place?

Andrew Asquith: Carlisle is a track where Karl Burke likes to introduce some of his better juveniles and Wild Blossom looked something out of the ordinary when winning by 10 lengths on her debut. Incidentally, Burke won the same race 12 months earlier with subsequent Albany winner and favourite for this year’s Commonwealth Cup Venetian Sun and Wild Blossom left the impression she’s got all the right tools to go right to the top. For a two-year-old to run to such a high figure on debut at this time of year marks them out as potentially smart and I’m excited to see how much she progresses from that imperious display.

Matt Brocklebank: This could be a huge price but I thought Boleto showed huge potential on debut at Pontefract at the start of the month. Drawn widest of all, he seemed to do just about everything wrong and still managed to get up and win by a neck. That suggests he’s a colt with a real engine and hopefully he’s matured a lot for an outing, something we’ve seen from Clive Cox-trained youngsters on countless occasions down the years. He qualifies for the Windsor Castle being a son of Wootton Bassett and I reckon he could run a big race.

John Ingles: The Queen Mary could be a battle between the expensive breeze-up purchases Senorita Bonita and Wild Blossom who were both impressive on their respective debuts. Like Andy, I was taken with Wild Blossom as while she only had three rivals to beat at Carlisle to win by ten lengths from one who set a good standard from her own debut at Newmarket suggests she could be out of the ordinary - and Karl Burke won the same race last year with Venetian Sun who went on to win at Royal Ascot.

The Group 2 contests the Duke of Cambridge and the Queen’s Vase look competitive, what catches the eye here?

Andrew Asquith: In the Duke of Cambridge the solid one to me is Blue Bolt. She progressed very well last season, notably finishing second to Fallen Angel in the Sun Chariot, and she had something up her sleeve when making a winning return in a Listed event at Goodwood. This looks the obvious race for her before dipping her toe back in at the top level.

For the Queen’s Vase I like the look of Galiyan, who caught the eye under a considerate ride on his debut and showed the benefit of that experience when getting the better of one with useful form at Chester last month. He appreciated the emphasis on stamina that day, going in snatches in parts, but really strong at the finish, offering hope that this extra two furlongs will be within reach. We definitely haven’t seen the best of him yet and he looks progressive.

Matt Brocklebank: Snellen looks an interesting one for trainer Gavin Cromwell in the Duke of Cambridge. She won the Chesham here in 2023 and almost struck gold immediately for her new Aussie owners when second in last year’s Kensington Palace. She’s only run three times since, winning a Leopardstown Group 3 last July and returning with a promising third over an inadequate 7f there last month (see free video replay, below). The winner of that Group 3 has won a Group 2 since and Snellen should be sharper going into what is highly likely to have been her number one priority for the year.

John Ingles: Fallen Angel is the class act in the Duke of Cambridge, but she underperformed in her two runs at Ascot last year, including in this race, and I’d like to have seen more from her on her reappearance at York, even if she was trying a new trip. Catalina Delcarpio looks interesting for Paddy Twomey instead. She was favourite for the Ribblesdale when third at this meeting last year but has been successfully reinvented as a miler this year, being well on top in a listed race at Leopardstown last time when showing plenty of improvement, and her unexposed profile will make her an interesting runner.

Give us an early one for the Wednesday handicaps with the Hunt Cup and more to go at?

Andrew Asquith: I’m of the opinion that we’ll see the ‘proper’ La Botte in the Hunt Cup. He was an unlucky loser in the Britannia over the same course and distance 12 months ago and has had possible excuses since his eye-catching reappearance at Wolverhampton. The return to this big-field scenario, where he should get a good pace to aim at can only see him in a better light and we all know how well Jamie Spencer rides the straight course at Ascot. He’s well handicapped on his run at this meeting last year and it’s worth noting he did hold a Queen Anne entry, so he’s clearly still well regarded at home.

Matt Brocklebank: Ralph Beckett’s Dash Of Azure is one to keep an eye on in the Kensington Palace Stakes. Owned by the shrewdest of pairings in Tony Bloom and Ian McAleavy, she has course and distance form having been beaten a short-head here in the autumn and the daughter of Blue Point looks versatile ground-wise. Her half-brother Dashing Willoughby won the Queen’s Vase a few years ago and it wouldn’t be a surprise if she left last month’s Lingfield comeback run in a Group 3 well behind her (didn’t seem to handle the downhill section of the track).

John Ingles: Tribal Chief will always need things to drop right given he tends to start slowly and comes from well off the pace, but he has plenty of experience in big-field handicaps and his two runs this year suggest he shouldn’t be far away in the Hunt Cup. He ended up with too much to do when a never-nearer third in the Lincoln and met trouble when staying on for third in the Victoria Cup back over seven furlongs at Ascot last time but there’s clearly a big prize in him if he gets the breaks.

Royal Ascot Day One Jury: Rousing Speech?

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