Royal Ascot - Day Two 2026
Radiant Beauty
Our strongest selection of the afternoon won over this course and distance only last month, making the running and quickening clear, and that came as part of four wins from her last seven starts; 13/2 is workable for the one proven course and distance winner in the field, and back on the same quick ground, with Ryan Moore taking the ride and the front-running tactics that brought out her best last time, this looks her race to win.
Ombudsman
Ombudsman won this race twelve months ago and returns off a winning warm-up, a dual Group One performer who is at his very best when the ground rides quick; 6/5 is acceptable for the form choice in a small but high-class field, and on today's fast surface the one rival who might have his measure, last year's Arc winner, is the one the market is letting drift.
Today's Highlights
THE SHORT STORYThe Card
7 RACES · 4 SELECTED, 3 PASSEDVictorious tops our card on raw figures, an Aidan O'Brien juvenile who already has a Group win to her name, but she is drawn low in a sprint where almost all of the last dozen winners came from stall twelve or higher, so we pass and let that draw bias settle rather than fight it.
Next best on our scoring and drawn far higher than our top pick, which is the angle the trends reward here; the each-way option for anyone who wants a runner in a race we are content to watch.
Del Maro edges our numbers, a stoutly bred Camelot colt the extra trip should help, but his price has drifted out to 12/1 while the money has gone to others, and our scoring barely splits the front of the race, so this staying contest is one to watch rather than back.
Next on our list and the Ballydoyle stamina nomination, beaten only in a hot Newbury handicap last time, though the market has cooled on him since the overnight show.
Blue Bolt shades our numbers, last season's Sun Chariot runner-up back in good order, but Friendly Soul is all but level with her on our reckoning, and at around 3/1 there is no each-way safety net in a race this tight, so we step aside rather than force a marginal call.
Level with our top pick on the figures and from a yard with a strong record in the race; the one for anyone who wants to be involved, with the proviso that she needs to bounce back from a troubled last day.
Last year's winner of the race, back off a winning prep and a dual Group One miler suited by quick ground, 6/5 is acceptable for the form choice in a select field of eight, and the fast surface today turns the one serious threat, the Arc winner, into a horse the market is easing.
Next on our scoring and an Arc runner-up last autumn; note too the French raider Daryz, who sits outside our turf-flat scoring but is the live danger our numbers cannot price, and who is drifting on the quick ground.
Linwood heads a wide open field of thirty, the likely pacesetter from a workable draw for the Hannon yard, 9/1 is acceptable in a race our scoring reads as a genuine scramble with very little between the front rank, so we take a small each-way position and respect how open it is.
Level with our top pick at the head of a blanket finish; the sharply backed Archivist, our market mover, is the one to fear from outside our preferred pair.
A winner over course and distance last time and successful in four of her last seven, 13/2 is workable for the proven track and trip winner in the line-up, with Ryan Moore taking the ride and the same fast ground today to bring out the best of her again.
The well-supported favourite and our second pick, an unexposed sort who closed strongly into third behind our selection over this course and distance last time; the one to beat if she builds on that effort.
Sergei Diaghilev tops a competitive Listed sprint, an impressive Curragh debut winner for Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore, a pairing with a strong recent record in this very race, 11/4 is acceptable for the most likely winner on our figures and from a fair draw, with the step up to six furlongs on quick ground suiting a colt bred to see it out.
Brings the best raw form in the field after going down narrowly in a Group Three, and she sets the pace; the figures say she is the danger if she gets an easy lead up front.
Our eleven-factor scoring with multiple data points behind each. Every runner. Every race. Applied rigorously without exception.
Today's advised stakes
5.5PT TOTAL OUTLAY · 4 BETS · 3 PASSES| TIME | SELECTION | PRICE | TYPE | STAKE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16:20 | OmbudsmanNB | 6/5 | WIN | 1.5pts |
| 17:00 | Linwood | 9/1 | EW | 0.5 EW (1pt) |
| 17:35 | Radiant BeautyNAP | 13/2 | EW | 1.0 EW (2pt) |
| 18:10 | Sergei Diaghilev | 11/4 | EW | 0.5 EW (1pt) |