Jane Mangan
Jane Mangan’s William Hill blog: Royal Ascot 2026 Day Two Best Bets
William Hill ambassador Jane Mangan is back with her best bets on the second day of Royal Ascot 2026.
Royal Ascot, Wednesday
It’s fantastic to see such a strong overseas challenge in the Queen Mary (2.30pm), with four US raiders, including two from Wesley Ward. However, I’m sticking with the Irish filly Victorious. She was good at Naas and very professional in her Group Three last time when beating Controlla. She’s a filly who is bred to be good, with her dam related to Minding. She’s the one to be with for the connections of True Love, who won this race last year.
In the Queen’s Vase (3.05pm), I’m going for Galiyan. He impressed me last month at Chester when winning well over 12 furlongs. He has been talked up plenty by connections and Oisin Murphy has been very complimentary about him. He has lots of potential to improve further, having had only two career starts, and I think he is going to be a strong stayer over this trip.
The Duke of Cambridge Stakes (3.40pm) for the fillies is a very interesting race. I was very strong on Catalina Delcarpio in the Ribblesdale last season, where it looked as though she didn’t stay. Dropping back in trip has worked for her this year, and she won at Listed level last time. I think she will be primed for this day on ideally quick ground. This is her trip and I think it’s her track. I’m going to go with her to make amends for the Ribblesdale.
The Prince Of Wales’s Stakes (4.20pm) is the feature race of the day, and it is a clash of two major titans, Daryz and Ombudsman. I am with Daryz to become the first French-trained horse since Byword in 2010 to win the race. I think he is quite a remarkable horse. Having won the Arc last year, he has since dropped to 10 furlongs and won the Prix Ganay and the Prix Aga Khan over nine furlongs, showcasing a really potent turn of foot, which I’m sure he will be able to display on this quick ground.
I think he has the measure of Ombudsman, who was satisfactory in the Brigadier Gerard in preparation for this. No horse has won this race consecutively since Muhtarram did so in 1994 and 1995. It’s a difficult achievement and, whilst he’s a high-class performer, having won the Dubai Turf and Juddmonte International since his victory in this race last year, I think Daryz has his measure. He’s a year younger; he has a devastating turn of speed and, whilst I expect it to be tactical, he’s the one for me.
The Royal Hunt Cup (5.00pm) is always a lottery and one where you must always look for value over the straight mile. I think Ray Dawson will have options from stall eight on Indalo, who was an eye-catching second to Classic at Newbury last month. Narrowly denied in the Cambridgeshire last season, he has experience in big fields, and I can imagine this has been the plan for some time for the Roger Varian yard, who trained last year’s winner, My Cloud.
The Windsor Castle (6:10pm) closes the card, where I like Sergei Diaghilev. He won on Guineas weekend at the Curragh, justifying favouritism over six furlongs on good-to-firm ground. Aidan O’Brien has won this three times in the last 11 years and, with the new criteria favouring stamina sires, I think Sergei Diaghilev will have the measure of his rivals here.
