It’s day two of Royal Ascot on Wednesday 19th June and the Tote Placepot looks another tricky task for punters heading to the Berkshire racecourse. We try to point you in the right direction by picking our selections for the second day of the Flat showpiece in 2024.
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Leg 1: 2.30pm – Queen Mary Stakes
Leg 1 Selections: (12) Leovanni, (26) Xanthe
A really tough opener as some exciting two-year-old fillies line up for the Queen Mary Stakes and the betting highlights what a difficult punting puzzle it is. With that in mind, it’s worth throwing two darts at the race and the first of those is Karl Burke’s LEOVANNI, who was impressive when winning at Nottingham and the stable are looking to win this for the second time in three years.
Richard Hannon’s XANTHE is a big price for this event, but she is one from one in her career and that success came at Ascot, so she’s sure to improve for that visit to the track and she can hit the frame at huge odds.
Leg 2: 3.05pm – Queen’s Vase
Leg 2 Selections: (2) Grosvenor Square
Aidan O’Brien will unleash a four-pronged attack at the Queen’s Vase and unsurprisingly all eyes will be on Illinois at the head of the market, who is the choice of ride for Ryan Moore. However, that Ballydoyle raider has been disappointing this season and it could be another from the yard that relishes this test of stamina and that is GROSVENOR SQUARE.
A Group 3 winner as a two-year-old, the Galileo colt failed to land a blow when third in the Chester Vase last month, but he’s a lot better than that. The tight turns of the Roodee may have hindered him that day and he certainly looks a staying type that could be a potential St Leger horse, so the step up in distance here could bring on significant improvement.
Leg 3: 3.45pm – Duke Of Cambridge Stakes
Leg 3 Selections: (4) Gregarina
Joseph O’Brien has a strong hand in the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes, which is off at 3:45pm as not only will he saddle last year’s winner Rogue Millennium, who will be tough to beat, he also has the eye-catching GREGARINA, who is available at double-figured odds, at the time of writing.
A Listed winner in France, the five-year-old kicked off her career for O’Brien with a Group 3 win at the Curragh where she stormed home to claim victory. An extra furlong on Wednesday should certainly play into her hands and she looks capable of improving again and is the one to side with.
Leg 4: 4.25pm – Prince Of Wales’s Stakes
Leg 4 Selections: (2) Auguste Rodin
It’s fascinating that the John & Thady Gosden team opted to veer away from the 1m Queen Anne Stakes in favour of this 1m 2f Prince Of Wales’s Stakes with Inspiral, but the classy mare will struggle to down former Derby hero AUGUSTE RODIN for Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore.
A world class horse that is very hit and miss, he was beaten by White Birch on his return run a few weeks ago, but with that contender not declared then he should be able to bounce back to winning ways. While Inspiral will have a better turn of foot, Auguste Rodin can wind it up from a long way out and duly outstay his market rival.
Leg 5: 5.05pm – Royal Hunt Cup
Leg 5 Selections: (8) Perotto, (18) Thunder Ball
Not only one of the toughest races to find the winner of at Royal Ascot, it’s arguably one of the trickiest handicaps to work out on the Flat calendar and the 2024 Royal Hunt Cup is certainly a race that you want two or even more selections in when thinking about the Tote Placepot.
A former winner of the Britannia Stakes, PEROTTO has continued to show some smart form for Roger Varian and he continued his fine Ascot record with a win at the Shergar Cup, so he has to be respected. Another consistent performer in these sort of races is THUNDER BALL, who did disappoint last time out, but with blinkers back on he could be a player.
Leg 6: 5.40pm – Kensington Palace Stakes Fillies’ Handicap
Leg 6 Selections: (4) Summer Of Love
We end with another head-scratcher and most of these fillies will line up feeling they have a chance, but Saeed Bin Suroor’s SUMMER OF LOVE could just prove to be a cut above her rivals here. Two impressive wins on the all-weather at Kempton has seen her book her place here and it would be no shock to see her contesting Group company by the end of the season. She will have to show she can deliver the goods on turf, but the Godolphin looks very smart and is the solid option here.
Placepot Selections For Day Two of Royal Ascot On Wednesday 19th June
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