The Intelligent Punter's Guide to Royal Ascot 2022 (Day Two)

After a great opening day with three winners and some good placed selections, here are my thoughts on Day Two. Good luck with your punting! ROYAL ASCOT DAY TWO Neil Clark 2.30 The Queen Mary is a tricky start to the day with 21 runners for the 5f Group 2 for juvenile fillies. U.S. trainer Wesley Ward has won the race four times so LOVE REIGNS obviously needs to be on our shortlist, though she could have been better drawn. DRAMATISED is well drawn and has to be respected along with MARIE BRANWELL who has won both her starts. At longer odds LADY TILBURY, ridden by last year’s winning jockey Gary Carroll, is another who should run well. 3.05 Aidan O’Brien has a great record in the Queen’s Vase, so his sole representative this year, ANCHORAGE, (he had five in at the five-day stage), has to be of each-way interest at around 15-2. AL QAREEM was staying on strongly at the finish over 1m4f at York last time and is another possible. 3.40 BAY BRIDGE, the even-money favourite in the Prince of Wales for trainer Michael Stoute (who won the race in 2018 and 2019) will be a hard nut to crack, as he looked very good last time in the Brigadier Gerard, but we can expect a bold show from the Japanese raider SHAHRYAR, who won the Sheema Classic in Dubai in March. 4.20 MOTHER EARTH, a Group One winner, has to be seriously considered for this Group 2 while at longer odds (12-1), German raider NOVEMBA looks interesting from an each-way perspective. The filly ran really well in a Group One over the same distance at the meeting last year, only being headed in the final furlong on heavy ground so a combination of the drop in class and better going should in theory see her getting even closer. 5.00 Charlie Hills has a good record in the Royal Hunt Cup cavalry charge so you have to have his DARK SHIFT on your short-list especially given that he’s a CD winner whose form at Ascot has generally been excellent. TEMPUS is 1-1 over CD and could be overpriced at 40-1 representing the Watson-Doyle combo who landed the Coventry yesterday, while the well-drawn PERCY’S LAD is another outsider to consider for a place.