The warm weather in England will continue through Wednesday, day two at Royal Ascot, so once again firm conditions are expected. The feature on the second day of the meet is the Prince of Wales’s Stakes (GIT), a 1 ¼-mile event named in 1892 for the Prince of Wales and now run in honor of the current titleholder, His Royal Highness Prince William. There was no race during World War II when there was no Prince of Wales, but was resurrected in 1968, a year before William’s father, King Charles III, was given the title by his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
The race started as a Group 2 in 1971 and was promoted to Group 1 status, where it has remained, in 2000.
Some of the more notable winners of the feature for older distance runners include Dubai Millennium, Bosra Sham, Fantastic Light, Rakti, Ouiji Board, Duke of Marmalade, So You Think, The Fugue, Highland Reel, Poet’s Voice, Lord North, State Of Rest, Mostahdaf and classic wnner and Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) hero Auguste Rodin a year ago.
Morny Cannon, who last rode a winner in this race in 1905, still leads all jockeys with six wins while trainer John Porter has saddled eight, his most recent being Cannon’s last winner, Plum Centre in 1905.
The silks of Edward George Villiers Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby, have been worn by five winners, a number that was tied by Godolphin in 2011.
This year, a small field of nine will break from the gate, including Coolmore’s Champions Stakes (G1T) winner Los Angeles.
The Prince of Wales’s Stakes is the afternoon’s fourth race with a post time of 11:20 a.m. ET.
A field of 25 juvenile fillies is expected for the five-furlong Queen Mary Stakes (GIIT), a race named in honor of the British Queen Mary, best known as the consort of King George V and the great grandmother of the current King Charles III. American-based Lady Aurelia captured this event in 2016 ago route to a French Group 1 victory.
The Queen Mary is the first race of the day with a post time of 9:30 a.m. ET.
Duke of Cambridge Attracts Eight
The other group 2 on the Wednesday Royal Ascot card is the one-mile Duke of Cambridge Stakes (GIIT), the named changed from the Windsor Forest Stakes nearly a decade ago in honor of Prince William, who is the current Duke of Cambridge and also the Prince of Wales. For fillies and mares, four years old and up, a field of eight is expected to break from the starting gate this year.
Soviet Song, who in 2004 was the highest rated older female in the world and was a multiple European champion (she died in 2015) is perhaps the most well-known winner of this event.
Post time for the Duke of Cambridge has been set for 10:40 a.m. ET.
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
