By US Racing Team
The mild weather in Berkshire will continue through Wednesday, so barring any significant thunderstorms – which were in the forecast for late Tuesday – day two at Royal Ascot the ground will more than likely continue to carry more firm conditions. 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 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.
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 and State Of Rest a year ago.
This year, a small field of six will break from the gate, including last year’s Irish Champion S. (GIT) winner Luxembourg as the favorite off a win in the Tattersalls Gold Cup on May 28. Ryan Moore will ride the Aidan O’Brien trainee, who carries the colors of Coolmore and Westerberg. Also heading to the starting stalls is the highly regarded Godolphin homebred Adayar off a win in the Gordon Richards S. (GIIIT) on May 8 in his last. The Charlie Appleby-trained runner is most known for winning the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Qipco S. (GIT) in 2021. William Buick will be in the saddle.
American racing fans will recognize the Kenny McPeek-trained Classic Causeway who was most recently fourth three weeks ago in the Arlington S. (GIIIT) at Churchill Downs. The Giant’s Causeway colt, who hasn’t won a race since taking the Belmont Derby Invitational (GIT) more than a year ago, will carry American Eclipse Award winner Julien Leparoux, who rode fan favorite Tepin to the win over the Royal Ascot course in the 2016 Queen Anne S. (GIIT).
Post time for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes is 11:20 a.m. ET.
Typical Full Field of Fillies Set For Queen Mary
A field of 28 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 and this year her trainer, Wesley Ward, will send out Three Chimneys Farms’ Bundchen, a Gun Runner filly who was second in a maiden special weight at Keeneland in late April. Joel Rosario is in England to accept the call.
American-based and British-bred Tom Morley returned home to saddle Belmont maiden winner Cynane, who is from the first crop of Grade 1 winner Omaha Beach, for the five-furlong dash and American George Weaver will tighten the girth on Crimson Advocate, who made the trip via a win in the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies S. and an automatic spot in the Royal Ascot starting gate and some expenses to England covered with the victory.
The favorite is the Twilight Son (GB) filly Beautiful Diamond (GB) off a 3 ½-length romp in her debut at Nottingham three weeks ago. Karl Burke trains for Sheikh Rashid Dalmook al Maktoum and Clifford Lee will ride.
The Queen Mary is the first race of the day with a post time of 9:30 a.m. ET.
Duke of Cambridge Attracts 10
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 as well as the Prince of Wales. For fillies and mares, four years old and up, a field of 10 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.
Mrs. Doreen Tabor’s Jumbly (GB) is the favorite off a second to Just Beautiful (GB) in the Landwades Stud S. (GIIT) at The Curragh a month ago. Joseph O’Brien trains the 4-year-old daughter of Gleneagles and Ryan Moore will ride.
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.
