Kevin Blake has three advised bets on the second day of Royal Ascot on Wednesday, live on Sky Sports Racing.
Published 14.00 15/06 (please note: Kevin’s day three tips are live below)
Day two of Royal Ascot offers another feast of world-class action. Hopefully day one treated you well, but even if it didn’t, today is a new day and it is a long week.
The second day will be kicked off in rapid style with the Queen Mary Stakes (14:30) showcasing the best of fast two-year-old fillies in Europe. The one I like is the Aidan O’Brien-trained VICTORIOUS and I’m surprised she isn’t a shorter price than she is.
Watch every race of Royal Ascot 2026 live on Sky Sports Racing (Sky 415 | Virgin 519) from Tuesday 16th June to Saturday 20th June.
Unlike her main market rivals, she has the benefit of two runs having made a winning debut at Naas prior to returning to that track to win a Group 3 last time. She showed signs of inexperience on both occasions, but will have learned on the job. The drop in trip isn’t particularly concerning as she has shown the ability to maintain a high stride frequency throughout her two races to date. True Love made a similar drop from six furlongs to win this race last year and Victorious looks to be an excellent candidate to do the same.
It is always hard to know what way the draw is going to play on the straight track at Ascot, so I tend to focus on where the quality and pace is. In this case, four of the top five in the market at the time of writing are drawn in between stalls five and 10, so that makes me comfortable with Victorious being drawn in stall five. To be honest, after she was declared with Ryan Moore in the saddle, I was expecting her to shorten into clear favouritism, but that hasn’t happened yet. I suspect it will in the fullness of time, so take the available odds while they are still there.
The Royal Hunt Cup (17:00) is always one of the most difficult and competitive handicaps of the entire year. Finding the winner of it is right up in the same air as finding the winner of the Grand National in terms of merit, so don’t expect it to be easy!
The one I like in the race is the Hamad Al Jehani-trained ARCHIVIST. The four-year-old was formerly trained by William Haggas who made no secret of the regard he held him in. He finished his campaign for him by just getting run out of it in the closing stages of the John Smith’s Cup at York, suggesting that a slightly shorter trip might well suit him best.
He subsequently changed hands and joined Hamad Al Jehani’s team and was gelded. He made run-to-run improvement in valuable handicaps at Meydan, relishing the drop to a mile when winning on his most recent start in March. He has most likely been trained for this race since and this stiff mile is sure to play to his strengths. He looks set to run a very big race at a big price.
The Kensington Palace Stakes (17:35) is another fiercely-competitive handicap, this one being confined to fillies and mares that are four-year-olds or older. Runners that are lightly raced appeal as having the edge and the one that jumps off the page is the William Haggas-trained ALOBAYYAH.
The four-year-old looked a stakes filly in the making when impressing on her debut at Yarmouth in October 2024, but she has clearly had an issue or two since then as she was confined to just two slightly disappointing runs last year.
However, she very much got back on track on her seasonal return in a valuable fillies’ handicap over this course and distance last month. Dropped in last in what was a steadily-run race, she made very eye-catching headway to finish a never-nearer third. It really was the perfect run with a view to this race and with her trainer being one of the very best placers of his horses in the game, I’d bet pounds-to-pennies this race has been her target for quite some time.
While the market very much saw the promise of her comeback run, there is a chance that she is very well-in here and her price might be made to look big after we see it play out on the track.
Kevin Blake’s Best Bets
2.30 ROYAL ASCOT, WEDNESDAY – QUEEN MARY STAKES
VICTORIOUS (9-2 general)
5.00 ROYAL ASCOT, WEDNESDAY – ROYAL HUNT CUP
ARCHIVIST (16-1 Boylesports, Coral, Ladbrokes, 12-1 general)
5.35 ROYAL ASCOT, WEDNESDAY – KENSINGTON PALACE STAKES
ALOBAYYAH (5-1 & 9-2 general)
Watch every race of Royal Ascot 2026 live on Sky Sports Racing (Sky 415 | Virgin 519) from Tuesday 16th June to Saturday 20th June.
Published 10.50 17/06
Day three of Royal Ascot brings us towards the halfway point of this wonderful meeting. Hopefully it has been lucky for you so far and if not, don’t panic, the road is long and so is Royal Ascot week!
The Chesham Stakes (14:30) is always a really fascinating contest and it goes without saying that stamina is a big key to victory over the seven-furlong trip. One that seems to be slipping under the radar somewhat is the Fozzie Stack-trained NOLA SOUL.
Watch every race of Royal Ascot 2026 live on Sky Sports Racing (Sky 415 | Virgin 519) from Tuesday 16th June to Saturday 20th June.
The son of Justify realised $220,000 at Keeneland as a foal and was quietly fancied for his debut in a seven-furlong maiden at Leopardstown that has a strong record of producing future group winners. He was quite green through the race, but once he straightened for home and opened up his long stride, he took control of the race inside the final furlong and won with a bit to spare. Stamina in an asset for him as he is a particularly long and slow strider that is likely to be seen to even better effect on their stiff, straight track. He seems sure to improve from that experience and a big effort could well be forthcoming.
The Britannia Stakes (16:50) is one of the toughest handicaps of the week, which is saying something, but I’m going to have a swing at one at a big price in the shape of JAMESTOWN.
The son of Ulysses has improved with each of his four starts, most interestingly finishing an excellent short-head second to Bobby McGee in a strong handicap over a mile at Naas in April. The form of that race has worked out well and he came from an unpromising position that day, so the promise of it was clear.
He reverted to maiden company thereafter and turned a seven-furlong contest at Dundalk into a procession, winning by seven lengths. The handicapper put him up 6lb for that win, but he needed every one of those pounds to sneak into the very bottom of this race. His trainer David Marnane has a wonderful record in handicaps at this meeting having won the Wokingham and the Royal Hunt Cup in the past, two races that Irish-trained horses have found it particularly tough to win over the decades.
It wouldn’t be at all surprising if Jamestown makes a bold bid to add the Britannia to Marnane’s Royal Ascot haul.
The Hampton Court Stakes (17:35) is a fascinating race and Aidan O’Brien might well hold the key with ENDORSEMENT.
The son of Wootton Bassett has proven to be progressive throughout his career and has improved from start-to-start this season. His form from his runs in the Derby trials at Leopardstown earlier this season reads well with him finishing close to the Derby winner Christmas Day and the Derby third James J Braddock as well as the Group 1 winner Pierre Bonnard. He had his sights lowered on his most recent start in the King George V Cup at Leopardstown and duly bolted up by seven lengths from his stable mate Amadeus Mozart.
This represents a step back up in class and a drop back in trip, but he very much looks to be the form pick and can continue his progression with another success here under Ryan Moore.
Watch every race of Royal Ascot 2026 live on Sky Sports Racing (Sky 415 | Virgin 519) from Tuesday 16th June to Saturday 20th June.
Kevin Blake’s Best Bets
2.30 ROYAL ASCOT, THURSDAY – CHESHAM STAKES
NOLA SOUL (11-1 general)
4.50 ROYAL ASCOT, THURSDAY – BRITANNIA STAKES
JAMESTOWN (22-1 Bet Victor, bet365, Coral, Ladbrokes, 20-1 & 18-1 general)
5.35 ROYAL ASCOT, THURSDAY – HAMPTON COURT STAKES
ENDORSEMENT (9-4 & 2-1 general)
Watch every race of Royal Ascot 2026 live on Sky Sports Racing (Sky 415 | Virgin 519) from Tuesday 16th June to Saturday 20th June.
