Date Posted: 16 June 2026
Day Two of the Royal Meeting brings seven races, two more Group Twos, a Group One and two of the biggest cavalry-charge handicaps of the entire week. We went through the full card – and two selections stood out for very different reasons — one is the strongest horse in a small, true Group 1, and the other is a value price in a 25-runner handicap from the hottest yard at the meeting.
The going remains good to firm, which continues to suit fast-ground performers and yards that target this week specifically.
PICK 1: Ombudsman — Prince of Wales’s Stakes — 11/8 — 2pts Win, 4.20pm
The Prince of Wales’s Stakes is the middle-distance Group One of the week, and with only eight runners it is a true contest rather than a lottery. Ombudsman is the highest-rated horse in the field on official figures and arrives unbeaten in his last two starts. He is trained by John & Thady Gosden, whose yard is in outstanding form right now, and he is partnered by William Buick, the stable’s first-choice rider.
This is a short price, but the case is emphatic. The best horse, in the best form, from the meeting’s hottest big yard, in a small and true-run Group One over conditions that suit him perfectly — that is exactly the kind of situation where we are happy to take odds-on. Daryz is the one danger on official figures and has also won his last two, so this isn’t a complete formality, but Ombudsman holds the rating edge and we’re siding with the form and the yard.
PICK 2: Radiant Beauty — Kensington Palace Stakes — 13/2 — 1pt Each-Way (6 places) 5.35pm
The Kensington Palace Stakes is a 25-runner fillies’ handicap over the round mile, and this is where we found our value play of the day. Radiant Beauty is trained by James Owen, whose yard is firing on all cylinders at the meeting, and the booking of Ryan Moore for a 93-rated handicapper is a clear signal of intent.
Her form is progressive rather than exposed — she won two of her first three starts and bounced back to win again last time out. She’s well treated in the weights, gets a workable draw for a round-mile test at Ascot, and the ground is exactly as she needs it. With a field this size, most firms are paying six places each-way, which makes the terms here excellent — and at 13/2 we think she’s overpriced relative to her yard’s form and her own profile. Alobayyah heads the market at 4/1 off the back of a similarly hot Haggas yard, but her recent form is patchier and we think Radiant Beauty offers considerably more value at the prices on offer.
SUMMARY
Two selections for Day Two of Royal Ascot — Ombudsman to win the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at 11/8, and Radiant Beauty each-way (6 places) in the Kensington Palace Stakes at 13/2. One short-priced banker from the strongest form and yard in a small Group One, one each-way value play from a red-hot handicap yard in a big field.
All selections are live. Subscribe to our free newsletter and every pick lands directly in your inbox.
