Royal Ascot Wednesday horse racing tips from Tom Lunn

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Tom Lunn has gone through the cards, form, going and much more to help guide your horse racing betting choices.

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Daily horse racing tips

• ROYAL ASCOT
  2.30: Miss Rascal 10/1 Each-way (1pt) & Miss Lamai 28/1 E/W (1pt)
  3.05: Illinois 9/4 (2pts)
  4.25: Auguste Rodin 7/4 (2pts)
  5.05: Tempus 16/1 E/W (0.5pts) & Holloway Boy 20/1 E/W (0.5pts) & Talis Evolvere 22/1 E/W (0.5pts)

Miss Rascal & Miss Lamai

The Queen Mary Stakes, a Group 2 fillies contest over 5f kicks the second day of Royal Ascot off.

It’s often a huge field for this with many hoping their two-year-olds are the speedy type they’ve purchased and trained to win these sorts of races and go on to keep winning sprints.

Dramatised won this in 2022, while there’s a few still looking to make in-roads into the top level having placed handily in this last year behind Crimson Advocate.

However, given the ages some don’t really start to reach their potential in sprints like this until they get a bit more experience.

That said, there’s a few first time winners looking to make it two on the bounce in this year’s renewal.

The other issue is that with some of these runners only having one run, their rivals also haven’t been seen since so the form lines are trickier to work out.

But their promise, made up of the hype from their connections and owners plus their cost as a yearling or at the breeze-ups for example give a very good indication too.

Miss Rascal appeals for a few reasons at a great price of 10/1 for an each-way play.

She carried top weight over course and distance last time out which is valuable experience and even beat her rivals despite carrying more with more than just ease.

Second placed Naana’s Diamond was in second who has since gone on to win in listed company.

That form ties in well with Miss Lamai too to easily give a chance for two bets on this race in such an open contest.

She beat Naana’s Diamond on debut and then went very close to Betty Clover at York in listed company last month yet is 28/1 in comparison to her 16/1 price.

That’s all great form too as Betty Clover has a record of 121 already, but Miss Lamai is all the more appealing under Clifford Lee for the expert two-year-old trainer Karl Burke.

Illinois

Next up is the Queen’s Vase, the Group 2 race that’s contested over 1m6f which at this course is a relatively round circuit going right handed into the back straight before the stiff turn in to the final couple of furlongs.

It’s a tough course to run on as it’s stiff and undulating, meaning the ground can go up and down which presents some issues with horses not used to hill-like gallops.

It can also put more of a strain on stamina and many of these three-year-olds will be put to this sort of test for the first time.

Highbury is one of a few in this race for Aidan O’Brien and will have Wayne Lordan on board.

But the colt is still unexposed and his current mark could be way off his potential.

Highbury beat Himalayan Heights by over seven lengths at Leopardstown, which is good form as that horse went on to win a maiden next time out, having also been behind Birdman by only two lengths at Cork, who is also in contention here.

Birdman, trained by Mrs John Harrington, is two for two and was last seen winning to Bellezza in listed company at Navan last month.

But they all have to face Illinois who has already faced some top opposition and Group 1 calibre rivals too.

Beaten well by Ambiente Friendly who was second in the Derby, is great form for a race like this.

O’Brien has won this five times since 2010 and is likely going to suit the step up in trip.

They bypassed the Derby to opt for this route and should win nicely for a trainer in red hot form going into this with his main jockey also in winning form.

Auguste Rodin

I was keen on White Birch for this initially but as he’s out of the race it really opens things up.

Auguste Rodin was well beaten by that horse last time out and is without a win this season after running poorly in March at Meydan.

But he was definitely back to his level best next time out at the Curragh but it seems White Birch has just improved that much.

Without him in that race everyone would be saying Auguste Rodin is back to his best, as he was far and away clear of the rest of the field – eight lengths ahead of third.

He has a habit of running exceptionally well or finishing out the back of the field.

Which he did at Ascot in July last year when tenth of 10 in the Group 1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

But at the price of 7/4 for a Derby winner and multiple Group 1 winner in this field, he’s certainly worth backing.

Tempus, Talis Evolvere & Holloway Boy

Now we head into the Royal Hunt Cup set for the off at 5.05pm with 30 runners, a well established handicap that’s always got the entertainment factor.

With the prices starting at around 10/1 there’s lots of action on this race and lots of potential too.

Tempus instantly stands out as a horse I’ve won on before at big odds, has course form, an out-and-out 1 miler, who is also down 13lb from his very respectable seventh place finish in this last year.

Kieran Shoemark gets the appointment on board, but he has got a good tune out of this horse at Kempton in December so doesn’t present a worry at all.

He’s eight-years-old now but has won six times from 19 runs on turf and has been angled toward this nicely.

Holloway Boy also stands out as a horse still approaching his best, and has been nudged down in the weights for his two races so far this season which have come up against some very tough opposition.

He was just five lengths off Auguste Rodin back in October 2022 in the Group 1 Futurity Stakes and is often right up there.

He was gelded in September and may well find he’s going to get the best of this horse in a big handicap like this. As he won on debut in the Chesham Stakes in 2022 and is yet to taste victory again.

The gelding’s form is very impressive though close behind the likes of Nostrum, Silver Knott, Age Of Kings here in the Jersey Stakes last year and just seems to thrive here.

Similarly, Talis Evolvere appeals for his trainer Richard Hannon as he’s still somewhat unexposed. With a busy winter campaign he’s crept up the weights and has solid form along with much of his rivals here, has to be involved.

Siding with three for small stakes gives a good spread to the return in a race like this, with many bookies paying big places on each-way bets, it should hopefully return a tidy profit if one or two at least place nicely.

Tom Lunn’s Profit & Loss

• P&L from May ’24: +73.66pts
• P&L from July ’23: +286.22pts

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All odds correct at time of writing

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