Nick Luck’s William Hill Blog: Rally behind Relief for Day Two at Royal Ascot

RELIEF RALLY can land the Queen Mary to open up Day Two of Royal Ascot (2.30pm) at 6/1. It would appear the best speed is towards the stands side here, and the selection should enjoy a good passage into the race from stall 18. Her trainer has compared her very favourably to juvenile winners he has trained at the highest level, and her Salisbury performance suggested that in both style and substance.

TARRABB looks to have quite a lot going for her in the Kensington Palace (3.05pm) at 9/1. Nicely drawn – crucial in this race on the round course when so many of her market rivals are parked very wide – she appeared to take her form to a new level at Chelmsford last month and should be able to build on that. I won’t be the first to mention progeny of Exceed And Excel at this venue, and the trainer has again been outstanding this season.

ROGUE MILLENNIUM might cause a minor turn up in the Duke of Cambridge (3.40pm) at 8/1. She is building a lovely sequence of highly creditable efforts, again appearing to improve behind Free Wind at York. That is excellent form in the context of a slightly thin edition of this race, and I’m taken by the combination of a drop in distance (after her sectionals last time) and the patience of Danny Tudhope on this track.

LUXEMBOURG looks highly likely to strike again at the top level in the Prince of Wales’s (4.20pm) at 9/4. This is a real puzzle, as a race full of strong stayers at the trip but without much signed-on pace. As such, Ryan Moore could easily establish another lovely rhythm at or near the head of affairs on a horse who may yet be slightly underrated (except not by the handicapper, who has him top).

GHALY can be another Saeed special in the Hunt Cup (5.00pm) at 12/1. He’s seven years old, but it must be highly significant that connections keep at it with this lightly campaigned late developer, who really finished last year with a flourish. Although he has a nice bit of tactical pace, he stays a bit further than this if he has to, and has reportedly been working very well.

BATEMANS BAY is a lovely each way price in the Queen’s Vase (5.35pm) at 22/1. He was campaigned as though highly regarded as a two-year-old, and showed promise and inexperience in equal measure. He’s from a family of really smart stayers, so should get this trip really well, while the gelding operation and the booking of James McDonald cannot be to his detriment.

ALABAMA is a tentative pick at 18/1 in a typically tricky Windsor Castle (6.10pm). Pedigree is the key driver behind this selection – he’s a No Nay Never half-brother to Sioux Nation, and that screams ‘Royal Ascot winner’. Evidently, better has been expected thus far judged by his odds, but a genuinely quick surface is what he’ll want, and I don’t mind a pair of blinkers slapped on. It’s not inconceivable he bounces out and makes a bold bid for freedom from Stall Two up the far rail.