4.20 Prince Of Wales's Stakes
MY PROSPERO surely has a Group 1 victory in him after three near-misses against the best in class - and is the selection to make it fourth time lucky.
William Haggas made no secret of his belief the son of Iffraaj, third in a Newmarket novice stakes in October 2021 on his sole start at two, would need time to reach the peak of his powers - and there’s a case to be made that My Prospero has yet to complete his ascent.
After wins in a Newbury maiden last April and the Listed Heron Stakes at Sandown Park the following month, the bay moved up to the top level for the St James’s Palace Stakes here 12 months ago, and ran a stormer to take third, beaten a head and a short head, behind Coroebus.
My selection dropped to Group 2 level to lift the Prix Eugene Adam at Saint-Cloud in July before contesting the Group 1 Champion Stakes over this course and distance last October.
Tom Marquand’s mount turned in another sterling effort, edged out by a nose for second by 2021 Derby hero Adayar - the Godolphin colt’s comeback success in Newmarket’s Group 3 Gordon Richards Stakes hinted at more to come - who himself cross the line half a length behind Bay Bridge .
And he produced another in-the-frame effort when dropping to a mile for another Group 1 with a fourth to Modern Games in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury last month.
His strong finishing effort makes the return to 10 furlongs the right move.
With Mostahdaf and Classic Causeway up against it, Luxembourg rates the main threat on last month’s half-length Tattersalls Gold Cup defeat of Bay Bridge, who should fight it out with Adayar for the final place on the podium.
2.30 Queen Mary Stakes
BEAUTIFUL DIAMOND looked a smart prospect on her debut and gets the vote to follow in the prints of Dramatised, successful for Karl Burke in 2022.
The grey daughter of Twilight Son fetched £360,000 at the breeze-up sales in April before joining Karl Burke, making her racecourse bow in a five-furlong novice stakes at Nottingham two weeks ago.
Sent off the 100-30 second favourite in a field of 10, Beautiful Diamond shadowed the pace before making headway to the lead running to the final furlong.
When given the signal to extend by Clifford Lee, she readily quickened clear of her rivals to beat Rainyniteingeorgia by three and a half lengths.
It’s hard to know what Beautiful Diamond achieved but the manner of her success was unmistakeable and she can take the step up to Group 2 level and remain unbeaten.
From an assembly of promising two-year-old fillies, Born To Rock , Got To Love A Grey and Midnight Affair are strong candidates for the minor medals.
3.05 Kensington Palace Fillies' Handicap
ADELAISE would have gone very close with a clear run at the Curragh last time out - but restitution is close at hand.
The daughter of Lawman was a one-time scorer from five attempts when in the care of Martyn and Freddie Meade before a move to Joseph O’Brien last summer.
My selection marked her debut for her new trainer, also her first start on soft ground, with a 14th of 22 over seven furlongs at the Curragh in September.
But her return on better terrain in a valuable mile handicap at the home of the Irish Classics at the end of last month was much more like it.
Ridden as today by Mikey Sheehy, Adelaise, wearing a hood that is kept faith with today, was beaten half a length and a short head in third behind Rahmi - but a clear passage for the four-year-old would have made things very interesting.
From a 1lb higher mark and back against her own gender, Adelaise is taken to double her career tally.
O’Brien’s other runners, Yerwanthere and Indian Wish , make appeal in a wide-open race, along with Discretion and Mukaddamah.
3.40 Duke Of Cambridge Stakes
PROSPEROUS VOYAGE, a Group 1 winner last summer who escapes a penalty here, makes plenty of appeal.
Having finished second to Inspiral on her final two starts of 2021, including in the top-tier Fillies’ Mile at Newmarket, Ralph Beckett’s daughter of Zoffany finished down the field in 10th of 12 behind the same rival in the Group 1 Coronation Stakes here 12 months ago.
But it was a different story in the same-level Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket’s July meeting next time.
Inspiral went off the 1-7 favourite but could never get to grips with Prosperous Voyage, who scored by a length and three-quarters.
Rain-softened ground was against Frankie Dettori’s mount in the Group 1 Prix Jacques le Marois (won by Inspiral) and the Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket on her final two outings of last year, and in the Group 2 Dahlia Stakes on the latter’s 1,000 Guineas undercard last month.
But Prosperous Voyage showed her true colours on a quicker playing surface in the Group 3 Princess Elizabeth Stakes at Epsom on Derby Day, sweeping through from off a slow pace for a cosy three-quarter-length margin from Random Harvest (Potapova fifth) and, despite yesterday’s rain, conditions should again be fine.
Jumbly, second in a Curragh Group 2 last month on her first start for Joseph O’Brien, is respected, along with Rogue Millennium.
5.00 Royal Hunt Cup
BLUE FOR YOU should give a good account of himself in a typically wide-open Royal Hunt Cup.
Big-field handicaps bring out the best in the David O’Meara-saddled five-year-old, as he showed when bettering a second to Orbaan in the Golden Mile at Glorious Goodwood last July with a head defeat of Escobar in a valuable handicap at York’s Ebor Festival the following month.
Blue For You didn’t get the breaks over seven furlongs here at the start of October and was below par over this course and distance on Champions Day a fortnight later.
But there was enough in his return-to-the-fray fifth to Croupier at York last month - Point Lynas and Astro King were ahead in second and fourth place, with Isla Kai back in 15th - to make Danny Tudhope’s mount of strong interest here.
New Approach’s son made his ground towards the leaders before the lack of a recent run took its toll, and that run should put Blue For You spot on for today.
Dangers lurk at every turn, with Intellogent, Ghaly, Chasing Aphrodite and Bless Him just four others capable of playing a part.
5.35 Queen's Vase
GREGORY, unbeaten in two outings and with a pedigree that suggests staying will be his game, is hard to get away from.
Unraced as a two-year-old, the son of Golden Horn didn’t make his racecourse debut until the end of April, taking on six rivals for a novice stakes over an extended mile and three furlongs at Haydock Park.
Gregory passed his first test with a length-and-three-quarter beating of Knockbrex before stepping up to Listed grade for the Cocked Hat Stakes over a mile and three last month.
The step up in class proved no trouble for the John and Thady Gosden trainee, who readily accounted for Klondike by three lengths under Rab Havlin, who makes way for Frankie Dettori here.
Only three of the 14 contestants have tackled a mile and three-quarters previously, but the signs from Gregory’s pedigree are positive - his dam, Gretchen, hails from the family of stamina gluttons Duncan and Samuel and won Doncaster’s Group 2 Park Hill Stakes - the ‘fillies’ St Leger’ - in 2015.
There is any amount of as-yet untapped potential still to draw upon on the third outing of his going-places career, and Gregory receives a confident vote to defend his unbeaten record.
Chesspiece, Peking Opera and, at bigger odds, Batemans Bay look best of the rest.
6.10 Windsor Castle Stakes
MAXIMUM IMPACT has plenty going for him as he bids to give trainer Alice Haynes a first Royal Ascot victory.
Havana Grey’s son went off at 6-4 to make a winning debut when locking horns with four rivals in a five-furlong novice stakes at Leicester in mid-April, and spared his backers an anxious moment with a 12-length thrashing of Regal Fighter.
The ground in the East Midlands was heavy that day, and Maximum Impact had to prove himself on a quicker surface in the Royal Ascot Two-Year-Old Trial EBF Conditions Stakes over this course and distance 19 days later.
Kevin Stott’s mount did exactly that with a two-and-a-quarter-length margin from Action Point in the style of a horse who has barely scratched beneath the surface.
Maximum Impact may have most to fear from Goodwood winner Barnwell Boy, with Johannes Brahms and Supersonic Man other names to throw into the melting pot.
