Royal Ascot 2022 Day 2: Predictions for Wednesday's racing

Day two of Royal Ascot 2022 gets underway with the Queen Mary Stakes at 2.30pm on Wednesday, June 15th.

The second day of one of British racing's most anticipated events plays host to the highly competitive and much-anticipated Prince of Wales's Stakes, while a mammoth field at the Royal Hunt Cup should make for good viewing.

After an intense day one, RealSport101 is on hand to take you through all seven races on the second day of this year's festival.

2.30pm: Queen Mary Stakes

Prediction: Love Reigns

Wesley Ward has produced four winners of the Queen Mary Stakes since 2009, most recently with Campanelle in 2020 and it's another of his selections that are fancied for the opening race of day two.

Love Reigns delivered an unstoppable performance from favourite at Keeneland in his only previous outing and with jockey Irad Ortiz Jr heading into Royal Ascot in strong form, this is a horse that seems a strong prospect for the Quen Mary Stakes. Dramatised has good cruising speed and ran well in victory on debut at Newmarket in April and will push the favourite close.

3.05pm: Queen's Vase

Prediction: Nahanni

This iteration of the Queen's Vase is a particularly open one and while Eldar Eldarov will take some beating out front, Charlie Appleby's Nahanni is a compelling selection. He may have struggled in the Derby but still recovered to finish seventh and had previously recorded three consecutive wins. He could go well in this field on Wednesday.

3.40pm: Prince of Wales's Stakes

Prediction: Shahryar

Japanese entry Shahryar has been strong over firm going and is attracting attention plenty of attention ahead of the Prince of Wales's Stakes. Sir Michael Stoute's improver Bay Bridge has been backed into a strong favourite as he heads into Royal Ascot five unbeaten, but has never run at Group 1 level and seems overpriced here.

Victory over this distance at Paris, Longchamp won't do State Of Rest's chances here any harm, but the strength of this field and his inconsistency means there are doubts surrounding J P O'Brien's entry.

Lord North will need the perfect conditions to run well on Wednesday but does have the Ascot pedigree if it all comes together having won at this course and over this distance before.

4.20pm: Duke of Cambridge Stakes

Prediction: Saffron Beach

Sir Michael Stoute will be hoping to keep up his strong record in the Duke of Cambridge Stakes with Lights On come Wednesday afternoon, but Saffron Beach has beaten plenty of this field at Grade 1 level before.

This is a tough race to call with a very tight field and while Mother Earth and Bashkirova are worthy of mentions, Jane Chapple-Hyam's Saffron Beach finished 3.5 lengths back in a competitive field at Meydan last time out and ran well in previous outings at Newmarket and Sandown prior to that.

5.00pm: Royal Hunt Cup

Prediction: Symolbize

With so many runners, the draw will have a huge impact on the Royal Hunt Cup. Real World won from the far side in last year's run, but historically only three of the last ten winners were drawn in single figures, with no winners from stalls 12 to 20.

Andrew Balding's Symbolize is one to watch should he get the luck of the draw, impressing behind Mutasaabeq on his seasonal reappearance back in April, while coming in second over this distance and over 7f at Ascot last October, only finishing behind Aldaary who won't stand in his way this time out. Dark Shift is also a keen prospect from favourite, winning convincingly at Nottingham in May and claiming two narrow victories at Ascot last time around.

5.35pm: Windsor Castle Stakes

Prediction: Wodao

Little Big Bear was a strong fancy in the initial listings for the Coventry Stakes on day one of the Royal Ascot festival, but given how short-priced the favourite is heading into this race, I'll be looking elsewhere. Andrew Balding's Chateau is a horse with plenty of potential and will run well if given a clear run, but I'm looking at Wodao for my prediction.

The form books don't offer too much hope at first glance, but Wodao impressed last time out, getting off the mark with a very convincing 5f win at Navan after finishing behind The Atlantic at Tipperary and Naas.

6.10pm: Kensington Palace Stakes

Prediction: State Occasion

Don't Tell Claire and State Occasion placed first and second over 1m at Ascot back in September and the latter heads into the royal meeting with form having won at Chelmsford on its seasonal reappearance in May. Haziya is something of an unconvincing favourite having mainly raced over 1m, although he did convert to victory from favourite at Leopardstown in April.