Royal Ascot 2026: Selections for Wednesday, June 17

Ombudsman will try to defend his title from Daryz and Minnie Hauk in Wednesday’s Prince of Wales’s (G1), the showstopper on a loaded Day 2 of Royal Ascot.

Don’t miss the four American shippers in the opener, the Queen Mary (G2), that features a capacity field of 28 juvenile fillies.

Royal Ascot tournaments are here! Also, check out the Royal Ascot bet back offer! Opt in to receive a Bonus Bet up to $10 back on your first single-horse Win wager if your horse runs 2nd or 3rd in selected races at Royal Ascot from Tuesday, June 16th, 2026, through Saturday, June 20th, 2026.

Race 1, 9:30 a.m. ET: Queen Mary (G2)

Top selections:

• #17 More Champagne (12-1)
• #26 Victorious (9-2)
• #22 Senorita Bonita (4-1)
• #25 Velozee (15-1)

This five-furlong scramble is so crammed with logical contenders and limited evidence that it smacks of trying to handicap a lottery. But this winner won’t rely on mere luck; she will have to be ultra-talented to come out on top of a giant field of promising rivals.

I’ll take a stab with Tom Morley’s shipper, #17 More Champagne, who looked potentially special in her debut romp at Keeneland. Unlike the typical U.S. juveniles trying to carry their speed down the stiff straightaway, she showed tactical finesse by camping behind the hot pace and blowing them away. Her strong finish going 5 1/2 furlongs, albeit around a turn, instills some confidence that she can pack a punch late here. 

What a story it would be if More Champagne gets her freshman sire, two-time Breeders’ Cup star Golden Pal, on the Ascot scoreboard after he lost both of his starts at the meeting for Wesley Ward. Speaking of Ward, I might well be underestimating his highly regarded #21 Ruiva, but tend to be wary of overinterpreting big-margin wins in the slop. There’s similar trepidation in overlooking the standard-bearer from the Royal Palm Juvenile, #5 Celtic Dispute, but she did just prevail in a tight duel. 

Aidan O’Brien’s unbeaten #26 Victorious and the leading British contender, #22 Senorita Bonita, both have outstanding win chances. The only hesitation about Victorious is that she’s 2-for-2 over six furlongs, and in the normal course of events, she would’ve gone to Friday’s Albany (G3). But her connections already have the exciting Sun Goddess for that target, so in the interests of keeping them separate, Victorious shortens up to this trip for the first time. 

Senorita Bonita, the $1.28 million sales topper at the Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up, just got up in time in her five-furlong premiere at Nottingham. The Simon and Ed Crisford pupil did well to overcome a challenging trip to nail #10 Fast Track (who moved forward from her third at Goodwood to the experienced #19 Pershaada and the unlucky eyecatcher #12 Kentucky Rain). The scruple is that Senorita Bonita might want six furlongs already, although her trainers believe that the stiff five at Ascot will suffice. 

Potential upsetter #25 Velozee, in contrast, is a five-furlong specialist. A commanding winner of the First Flier S. at the Curragh, where she traveled supremely well before kicking away, she wheeled back for the six-furlong Naas Fillies Sprint and checked in a disappointing fourth behind Victorious. Trainer Paddy Twomey blames himself for running her back too quickly. Velozee can rebound while reverting in trip.

#11 Havana Lightning could outrun her odds for George Boughey. The Havana Grey filly is an interesting pedigree play because her uncles are top sprinters The Tin Man and Deacon Blues, both Ascot aficionados. 

Wathnan Racing has another pair of buzzworthy breeze-up purchases, #1 Alta Regina (impressive at Lingfield) and #27 Wild Blossom (who may have been inflated by the rain-softened ground at Carlisle). French raider #8 Drazinda warrants a mention in light of trainer Francis-Henri Graffard’s productive opening day here. The same goes for #20 Princesse d’Orange, whose close third in the National S. just got a form boost. The National runner-up, Adaay of Scarlett, finished second at a big price in Tuesday’s Coventry (G2).

Race 2, 10:05 a.m. ET: Queen’s Vase (G2)

Top selections:

• #4 Limestone (3-1)
• #3 Galiyan (2-1)
• #8 Port of Spain (7-1)

Joseph O’Brien continues to make his presence felt in major festivals, and he has a thoroughly likeable young stayer in #4 Limestone. The well-bred son of New Bay stamped himself as a prime contender for this race when capturing the Yeats S. at Navan. Under a savvy ride by Dylan Browne McMonagle, he drove clear of #1 Asakir (who adds cheekpieces here in hopes of turning the tables). Limestone, who placed in salty maidens to the likes of Benvenuto Cellini and Endorsement at two, has now won three straight while demonstrating a generous attitude. This will be the quickest ground he’s faced so far, but that’s arguably a bigger question mark for Asakir.

Andrew Balding’s #3 Galiyan entered the equation with a smart maiden win during Chester’s May Festival. Judging by how the Galiway colt improved from his debut fourth behind Godolphin’s Maho Bay at Newmarket, he has every right to progress again on another step up in distance.

Aidan O’Brien, an eight-time winner of this race, relies on #8 Port of Spain (7-1). By St Mark’s Basilica, the half-brother to multiple Group 2-winning stayer Free Wind can reach a higher level on the stretch-out to 1 3/4 miles. Port of Spain’s best stakes result was a third in last fall’s Eyrefield (G3) to Christmas Day, the future Epsom Derby (G1) winner. Although only seventh in his seasonal reappearance, that was a sneaky effort under a big weight in the London Gold Cup, a historically informative Newbury handicap.

Godolphin’s #2 Del Maro is in a similar position, just below the top rank in Group company so far, but bred to come into his own over this type of trip. The son of Camelot has lost to notable rivals such as Maltese Cross, Pierre Bonnard, and Benvenuto Cellini, and he missed by just a nose in the Cocked Hat S. at Goodwood. This spot should suit him much better.

Race 3, 10:40 a.m. ET: Duke of Cambridge (G2)

Top selections:

• #12 Kon Tiki (8-1)
• #3 Blue Bolt (5-2)
• #15 Snellen (15-1)

#12 Kon Tiki went down grudgingly to favored #3 Blue Bolt in the Conqueror Fillies’ S. at Goodwood, but she could turn the tables here. Although both were returning in that spot, Kon Tiki had been sidelined for much longer, and her freshness made her travel a bit too keenly. Even so, Blue Bolt had to knuckle down to get past her, and Kon Tiki arguably has greater scope to move forward.

By Night of Thunder, whose progeny often improve with age, Kon Tiki won her first three starts so impressively that she was supplemented for last summer’s Coronation (G1) over this track and trip. Unfortunately, the Jane Chapple-Hyam trainee wound up seventh and didn’t resurface until Goodwood. 

#15 Snellen was mentioned in my longshots piece, principally because of her affinity for Ascot and her victory over the colt Purview in last year’s Meld (G3) at Leopardstown. She’s likely overpriced here, but fellow Irish shipper #5 Catalina Delcarpio also has claims as she reinvents herself as a miler. Like Kon Tiki, she was useful as a sophomore but shelved after a loss at Royal Ascot. The Twomey filly recently resurfaced to beat males in the Amethyst S. at Leopardstown.

Group 1 veteran #10 Friendly Soul demands respect for her abundant back class along with her course-and-distance proficiency, but her May 23 comeback run went awry. The George Strawbridge homebred was pulled up when plunging into a hole at Haydock, so this is her first real race since October 2024. That Haydock misadventure was supposed to serve as her tightener, and it’s anyone’s guess what she might have gotten out of it. 

Race 4, 11:20 a.m. ET: Prince of Wales’s (G1), WAYI for Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1)

Top selections:

• #7 Minnie Hauk (7-1)
• #6 Ombudsman (6-5)
• #3 Daryz (9-5)

I was initially expecting to stick with defending champion #6 Ombudsman in the eagerly-awaited clash with #3 Daryz. Ombudsman is proven not only over the course and distance but also in precisely the sort of wild pace scenario on tap here.

Yet there’s one other high-class entrant who is eligible to relish a pace meltdown on firm ground – Ballydoyle’s filly #7 Minnie Hauk. At the odds, she’s just too tempting. This was always the main goal of the first half of her campaign, and if not for a blip in the Tattersalls Gold Cup (G1), she’d be a fraction of the price. O’Brien cited the lack of tempo as the reason for her subpar fifth behind #1 Almaqam that day, but she also had “mild lameness of her right fore” immediately afterward.

The counterpoint is that Minnie Hauk’s career highlights have all come at 1 1/2 miles, and there is a question of whether she could cope with Ombudsman’s turn of foot at this 1 1/4-mile trip. On the other hand, she hasn’t had the opportunity in these exact circumstances. As a Frankel filly out of a Dansili half-sister to the brilliant miler Kingman, I’d expect she can muster the closing kick on the cutback. She was electric in a fast-run Yorkshire Oaks (G1) on good-to-firm ground last summer, hinting at untapped potential in this scenario.

Remember that Minnie Hauk looked as if she had the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1) in the bag last fall, until Daryz outstayed her in the final strides. We haven’t heard as much about their rematch here, but these conditions might be a boon to the filly. 

Almaqam could continue his upward curve for Ed Walker, who just floored the favorites with the 50-1 Ten Bob Tony in the Queen Anne (G1). My qualm is that he ran so well off the bench to achieve that new career high at the Curragh – can he lift again in an even hotter race? As a longtime fan of #8 See the Fire, I boosted her in this race a year ago, and she finished a commendable third. My expectations aren’t quite as high in this deeper renewal, but she too can stay on strongly at a price.

After Alastair Bull gave out the $77.90 winner of a big handicap on Tuesday, read his wagering strategy for Wednesday's Royal Hunt Cup!