Royal Ascot Day 2 builds on a strong opening day, with the Carnival starting to take shape as another quality card comes into focus.
The Group 1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes headlines the meeting, backed up by a strong supporting program featuring the Queen Mary Stakes and the Duke of Cambridge Stakes, races that consistently deliver both class and betting opportunities.
The Australian flavour continues at Ascot with James McDonald, Zac Lloyd and Mark Zahra engaged for key rides.
With momentum building and plenty of angles to assess, it’s time to dive into the form and lock in the standout plays for another big day at Royal Ascot.
A tricky way to kick off Day 2 with a field of 25 lightly raced two-year-old fillies lining up in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes.
The Hamad Al-Jehani-trained ALTA REGINA (1) made a big impression on debut at Lingfield over this trip, putting her rivals away with ease for a dominant 4.25 length victory.
She settled just off the speed before exploding clear inside the final furlong, showing a sharp turn of foot.
There’s natural improvement to come off that effort, and with James McDonald booked, she looks right in the mix again.
The Joseph O’Brien-trained LIMESTONE (4) is building a tidy record and comes into this off the back of consecutive wins.
He resumed over 2103m at Cork where he controlled the race up front and fought strongly when challenged, scoring by half a length.
Last time out in the Listed Irish Stallion Farms EBF Yeats Stakes, he showed a powerful turn of foot to run past Asakir and score by 1.25 lengths, putting more than six lengths on third.
The rise in trip looks ideal, and he has already proven himself third-up with a win.
The Andrew Balding-trained BLUE BOLT (3) returned in excellent order with a first-up win in the Listed Conqueror Fillies Stakes.
She finished strongly to score by three-quarters of a length, taking her record at this distance to four wins and two seconds from six attempts.
She improves second-up and has already produced a four-length demolition at this stage of a preparation.
Lightly raced with upside, and with Colin Keane likely to settle in a forward position, she profiles as a major player.
The Francis-Henri Graffard-trained DARYZ (3) has an outstanding record, winning seven of his nine starts.
He was dominant last time out, dashing clear to take out the Group 1 Prix Aga Khan IV by 3.5 lengths.
That performance came short of his preferred distance, highlighting the versatility of the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner.
He has also won his only previous third-up run and sets a very high standard based on his current form.
