Wednesday’s Royal Ascot Tips: Primed miler given ‘best bet’ status by Tom Collins

River Tiber and Vauban got us off to a great start on the first day of Royal Ascot, so hopefully the good fortune continues as we enter the most pivotal day of the week.

2.30 Ascot, Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes

Wesley Ward has been the man to follow in this sprint contest for two-year-old fillies with victories in 2015 (Acapulco), 2016 (Lady Aurelia) and 2020 (Campanelle), as well as runners-up in 2017 (Happy Like A Fool), 2019 (Kimari) and 2021 (Twilight Gleaming). 

However, he doesn’t have an A-lister juvenile coming across this year and I’m more than happy to overlook his entry, Bundchen, who showed natural early speed on debut but will probably prove vulnerable late on this stiff track. Gulfstream winner Crimson Advocate, who I believe is way the best of the US runners here, and Belmont victor Cynane hold stronger claims, though I still think they will fall short.

This one should go to a home challenger and I’m hopeful that Jane Chapple-Hyam will get a potential red-letter day started off in fine style with Born To Rock. This daughter of Soldiers Call, who incidentally won at Royal Ascot as a juvenile himself, attracted significant market support on debut at Yarmouth last month and shot clear to win head-in-chest without rider Robert Tart going for his stick.

That race was run at an extremely steady gallop through the early stages and developed into a sprint, so the fact that she put four-and-a-half lengths between herself and her closest pursuer (courtesy of two sub 11-second furlongs) was notable. Further improvement is likely with two-year-olds from this stable and she seems the most logical winner.

Selection: Born To Rock @ 9.4

4.20 Ascot, Group 1 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes

This might just be one of the most interesting races of the week, not least because Ken McPeek has sent over rank outsider Classic Causeway. He has very little chance of winning, but he beat Charlie Appleby’s Nations Pride in the 2022 Belmont Derby and could play a huge part in this contest courtesy of his forward-going run style.

Without him, there would have been a good chance that Ryan Moore dictated matters at his own leisure on Luxembourg. Now that Classic Causeway is in opposition, Luxembourg’s chance of winning has decreased and therefore I don’t think he’s a good bet at 9/4.

Adayar, who won the 2021 Derby, and last year’s runner-up in this race, Bay Bridge, have to be respected. But I thought My Prospero ran a fantastic race in the Lockinge on his return to action and he will undeniably prefer this longer trip and the test that Ascot offers.

William Haggas made no bones about Newbury providing the opportunity to shake some rust off of this horse - inadequate trip aside, he certainly wasn’t 100% fit and ready to go that day. Improvement is likely - he doesn’t need to progress much to win - and I’m happy that he handles these underfoot conditions despite others believing he wants it softer. He’s a strong selection.

Selection: My Prospero @ 4.9

5.00 Ascot, Royal Hunt Cup

Talking of strong selections, let’s get onto my best bet of the week. I’ve held a 20/1 antepost slip on the Jane Chapple-Hyam-trained Intellogent for a couple of weeks now and, although he has halved in price in the interim, he's still my idea of the most logical winner. 

This horse had good form at much higher levels early in his career, which includes a victory in the 2018 Group 1 Prix Jean Prat and a fourth-placed finish in the French Derby a month prior. Former connections seemed to draw stumps with him over the following two seasons and he was moved to Britain. 

He’s 0/9 since joining Chapple-Hyam, but he ran exceptionally well to finish second in this race last year off a mark of 105 and proved that performance wasn’t a fluke by taking third in the equally competitive International Handicap off the same mark a month later. They prepared him for an ambitious tilt at the Korean Cup thereafter - a trip that didn’t work out - and this has been the plan ever since.

Following a quiet return in the Group 3 Earl Of Sefton in April, Intellogent ran a hugely eyecatching race on his most recent start at Newbury. Hollie Doyle never had him in a position to win, yet he rattled home late in the day (clocked the fastest final three-furlong split) in a race that favoured those on the front-end. He’s now 1lb lower than 12 months ago, he loves Ascot, James Doyle gets back aboard, and his high draw is ideal.

Selection: Intellogent @ 11

6.10 Ascot, Windsor Castle Stakes

I’ll end Wednesday's card with my first each-way bet of the week, which will be on Jessica Harrington’s Supersonic Man. 

This son of Bungle Inthejungle made his debut in a conditions event at Naas back in May, a race that was won by Coventry winner River Tiber, and he wasn’t disgraced in finishing fourth after showing greenness throughout the early stages.

Connections opted to send Supersonic Man back to the track just nine days later and he again looked pretty inexperienced. However, it was notable how well he buckled down late in the day to run down a previous winner and eventually record a pretty impressive success.

The negative is that most of the early speed is drawn high here and he could be disadvantaged from stall eight, but this looks a wide-open affair and he has shaped better than his 16/1 price suggests. Given he stays this trip well, he could run into a place. 

Selection: Supersonic Man @ 18

Wednesday’s Royal Ascot Tips

Born To Rock (2.30 Royal Ascot) @ 9.4
My Prospero (4.20 Royal Ascot) @ 4.9
Intellogent (5.00 Royal Ascot) @ 11
Supersonic Man (6.10 Royal Ascot) @ 18 each-way