The entries are through for the second day of Royal Ascot including a top-notch Prince of Wales's Stakes - our expert Matt Brocklebank picks out a trio of interesting runners on the card.
Three eyecatching entries...
FLORA OF BERMUDA (Queen Mary Stakes)
The twice-raced Flora Of Bermuda would have a penalty-kick if aimed towards a five-furlong maiden somewhere but trainer Andrew Balding is willing to have another shot at Hilary Needler winner Midnight Affair in the Queen Mary Stakes.
And why not, would be the obvious riposte. The daughter of Dark Angel showed a whole heap of potential on her debut on good to soft ground at Sandown in mid-May, looking a threat at the furlong pole but ultimately shaping like the run was needed, and her Beverley effort can surely be marked up a shade as she was denied a clear run as the winner kicked on.
That latest run came on quicker ground so conditions don’t appear to be an issue either way and she’s just the sort of horse who gets overlooked in highly-competitive Royal Ascot betting markets.
GRANDE DAME (Duke Of Cambridge Stakes)
Two for the price of one here, with Roger Varian's Ameynah and the Gosden-trained Grande Dame both potentially having their first start of the campaign in the Group 2 Duke Of Cambridge.
The former hasn't run since a decent effort when sixth in the 1000 Guineas last spring and is no doubt best watched if pitching up here, but Grande Dame could definitely be a player, especially with the yard's fillies in such blistering form at the moment.
This daughter of Lope De Vega was put in her place by stablemate Inspiral in last year's Coronation Stakes but she bounced back with a Listed win and two placed efforts later in the campaign, including when third behind Fonteyn and Laurel in the G1 Sun Chariot when last seen.
She's got a couple of lengths to find with stablemate Laurel on that evidence but she had a troubled run through after being shuffled back a couple of furlongs out, and she certainly wouldn't look out of place if lining up on Wednesday.
GOOLOOGONG (Queen's Vase)
Patience is a virtue, something I've been reminding myself almost daily since putting up Gooloogong for Epsom at the start of the season.
Something presumably went awry after his impressive comeback success in a Navan maiden over 10 furlongs on March 23 as he was given a bunch of Derby trial entries (Leopardstown, Chester, Lingfield - I may have missed one) and skipped every single one of them.
Finally, he's entered up again and it sounds a lot like Wednesday's Queen's Vase over 1m6f is going to be the target, having had a King Edward VII Stakes entry for several weeks already.
A son of Australia, he's a full-brother to the high-class Cayenne Pepper and I'm looking forward to seeing how he fares in stakes company for the first time, having left a deep impression with the way he found generously for Ryan Moore from the front end at Navan.
Wednesday entries in detail...
Charlie Appleby’s 2021 Derby and King George hero Adayar will face a maximum of seven rivals in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes.
The son of Frankel was brilliant in winning at Epsom and Ascot respectively a couple of years ago, but endured an interrupted four-year-old campaign last season, making it to the track on only two occasions.
Adayar readily dispatched of a couple of rivals on his Doncaster comeback before finishing second in the Champion Stakes – and proved his ability remains very much intact when beating subsequent Group One winner Anmaat in last month’s Gordon Richards Stakes at Newmarket.
The five-year-old disputes favouritism for the Group One feature on day two of the Royal meeting with Aidan O’Brien’s Luxembourg.
The Camelot colt is following a tried-and-tested route, having won the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh on his most recent outing, his third win at Group One level.
He looks set to renew rivalry with Sir Michael Stoute’s Bay Bridge, who beat Adayar in the Champion Stakes in October and was only half a length behind Luxembourg in Ireland a few weeks ago.
O’Brien’s apparent second string Bolshoi Ballet, the William Haggas-trained pair of Dubai Honour and My Prospero, John and Thady Gosden’s Mostahdaf and Kenny McPeek’s American raider Classic Causeway complete the potential field.
The seven-race card gets under way with the Group Two Queen Mary Stakes, which has attracted 33 speedy juvenile fillies. Leading contenders include Jane Chapple-Hyam’s Born To Rock, Karl Burke’s Beautiful Diamond and Crimson Advocate, a trans-Atlantic challenger for George Weaver.
Joseph O’Brien appears to have a particularly strong hand in the other Group Two on the card – the Duke of Cambridge Stakes.
The Owning Hill handler is responsible for three of the 15 fillies still in contention, with ante-post favourite Jumbly joined by Goldana and Honey Girl.
John Gosden is hoping Laurel can show her true colours in the one-mile contest after disappointing against the boys in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury.
“I think she somewhat over-raced and was too fresh (in the Lockinge),” he told Sky Sports Racing.
“The Shadwell horse (Mutasaabeq) went a blistering gallop, she didn’t think that was fast enough and started taking Frankie on and naturally paid the price between the two and the one. I think having got that behind her now – that exuberance and that freshness – I hope she will run more of a race where she builds a rhythm and finishes strongly.
“She was a filly who was really immature as a two-year-old and only came to herself really late on. She’s a filly who I think has improved again between three and four and I’m hopeful of a big run.”
A total of 33 entries have been made for the Kensington Palace Fillies’ Handicap, while 61 have horses have stood their ground for the Royal Hunt Cup, with Migration heading the weights and the King’s Saga also in the mix.
Arrest, a Derby disappointment for the Gosdens, heads 22 contenders for the Queen’s Vase and 46 go forward for the concluding Windsor Castle Stakes.
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