Timeform provide an overview of the key things to note on the second day of Royal Ascot.
Another Vase for Balding and Murphy?
This year’s renewal of the Queen’s Vase (15:05) doesn’t look the strongest edition of this staying contest for three-year-olds. Heading the Timeform ratings is Port of Spain for Aidan O’Brien whose eight winners, starting with Mahler in 2007, make him the race’s joint most successful trainer alongside Sir Henry Cecil. Port of Spain earns his rating from finishing fifth in the London Gold Cup at Newbury last month, which is often strong handicap form, but that suggests that one of the more progressive colts in the field might find the necessary improvement to take this.
Andrew Balding and Oisin Murphy teamed up to win the Queen’s Vase with Dashing Willoughby in 2019 and have gone close since with Berkshire Rocco, Saint George and (last year) Furthur who all finished runner-up. This is clearly a contest Balding likes to target with one of his staying colts and he looks to have a likely candidate again this year with Galiyan.
A lengthy sort, Galiyan has plenty of scope for further improvement after just two runs this spring. He made his debut in a hot little novice at Newmarket’s Craven meeting, very much catching the eye under a sympathetic ride in finishing fourth of the five runners behind Maho Bay. He duly improved on that in a maiden at Chester the following month when he evidently relished the emphasis on stamina provided by a well-run race at a mile and a half. Staying on to lead in the final furlong, Galiyan beat odds-on favourite Joulany by two and a quarter lengths and he looks sure to improve again, particularly stepping up further in trip.
Gosdens can complete hat-trick in Duke of Cambridge
John & Thady Gosden have won the last two editions of the Duke of Cambridge Stakes (15:40) with Running Lion and Crimson Advocate and John Gosden has won a record six editions of what was originally the Windsor Forest Stakes since it was created in 2004.
With the ‘Hot Trainer’ flag, the stable has a leading contender again this year with Friendly Soul who is towards the top of the Timeform ratings, being a Group 1 winner yet who escapes a penalty. Although a five-year-old, Friendly Soul is lightly raced for her age, having missed the whole of last season when the Prince of Wales’s Stakes had figured in her plans. She had enjoyed an excellent three-year-old campaign, though, when beaten only once in five starts. Her wins that year included a beating of Kalpana in the Pretty Polly Stakes at Newmarket, the Valiant Stakes over today’s course and distance, and the Prix de l’Opera in which she beat stablemate Running Lion.
Friendly Soul made her return to action after that lengthy absence in a listed race at Haydock last month when shaping as though she retains all her ability. However, narrowly in front and yet to be asked for any sort of effort, she appeared to put her foot in a hole over two furlongs out and was quickly pulled up by Oisin Murphy. Evidently unscathed though, she looks the one to beat with top-rated Cathedral having to contend with the widest draw.
Prince of Wales’s Stakes looks the race of the week
The first day of the meeting has some excellent Group 1 contests but Wednesday’s Prince of Wales’s Stakes (16:20) looks a tremendous race in prospect. Among the field of eight are last year’s best three-year-old filly Minnie Hauk and Almaqam who beat subsequent Coronation Cup winner Bay City Roller in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh last month, a race for which Minnie Hauk was sent off odds on but was found to be slightly lame after finishing only fifth.
Both are high-class performers, but they may have to settle for minor places this time behind the top-class pair Ombudsman and Daryz who are very tight at the head of the betting. Daryz made giant strides for Francis-Henri Graffard last season, making a successful debut at Longchamp in the spring and ending his season there in the autumn with a head defeat of Minnie Hauk in the Arc. In between, Daryz had finished last of six behind Ombudsman in the Juddmonte International but that clearly wasn’t his running, and impressive Group 1 wins back at Longchamp this spring in the Prix Ganay and Prix Aga Khan IV suggest he has returned at least as good ever.
The year-older Ombudsman has compiled an excellent record too for John & Thady Gosden, being yet to finish out of the first two in his eleven starts, with his only defeats coming last year at the hands of Almaqam (race fit and in receipt of weight) in the Brigardier Gerard Stakes, high-class three-year-old Delacroix in the Eclipse, and Daryz’s stablemate Calandagan in the Champion Stakes. As well as turning the tables on Delacroix at York, Ombudsman also won this race last year when producing a superb turn of foot to beat Anmaat by two lengths, so will be bidding to become the first dual winner of the Prince of Wales since Muhtarram, who was also trained by John Gosden, in 1994/95 when it was still a Group 2 contest. Like Daryz, Ombudsman has won both his starts this year, following up a successful reappearance in the Dubai Duty Free by going one better than the year before in the Brigadier Gerard which should have put him spot on for a successful defence of his title.
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