2026 Royal Ascot Wednesday Preview & Tips – DS
2026 Royal Ascot Wednesday Preview
We started slow on Day 1, though our Coventry selection Fast Objective ran a blinder, beaten just 0.5l for a place and 2l for the win despite drifting to 125s. We finished well, our NAP Dividend grabbling third at 25s (sp 33s) and our NB Paddy The Squire also placing after meeting trouble in running at odds of 25s. Dave Stevos’ 2026 Royal Ascot Wednesday preview is below.
2.30 – Queen Mary Stakes (Group 2)
I put up Kentucky Rain as an alternative selection for our e/w Lucky 15 at odds of 80/1, you can read why here. She’s been drawn low in stall 9, next to the favourite Senorita Bonita, and she was the second most expensive horse sold at the Goffs London Sale on Monday, with Amo buying her for a cool £380k. Hopefully, that proves to be money well spent.
2026 Royal Ascot Wednesday Tip: Kentucky Rain already advised e/w @ 80/1 (5 places)
3.05 – Queen’s Vase (Group 2)
The one that took my eye at a half-decent price in this 1m6f Group 2 is the Sea The Stars colt Wareeth. Trained by Archie Watson, this fella has won two of his three starts. A 500k guineas yearling, he has clearly taken time to come to hand given he was unraced at two but his pedigree always suggested he could be a late maturer.
On debut at Newcastle he was sent off odds on and didn’t disappoint, galloping clear for a dominant 14 length win (another 9l back to the third). Yes, he probably didn’t beat much but it was a very promising introduction and he looked a potentially smart stayer in the making.
Up In Class
Stepped up to 9f, and in class, on his next start at Newmarket Wareeth just found things happening too quickly. He did stay on when the race was all over and wasn’t disgraced, and I’m not sure he handled the track that well either.
Watson lowered his sights last time out and stepped him up to 1m2f in a Salisbury novice. After looking like he might be in a bit of bother 2f out, he picked up extremely strongly and the further he went, the better he looked.
I think this horse is well worth another go in stakes company and given his pedigree, and his running style, this sort of trip should be right up his alley. At 12/1, Wareeth is the e/w selection.
2026 Royal Ascot Wednesday Tip: Wareeth e/w @ 12/1 nb
3.40 – Duke Of Cambridge Stakes (Group 2)
I am torn between two fillies in this 1m contest. Carolina Jetstream, who placed for us at monstrous odds at the Curragh last time, was tempting me again. She’ll get her favoured good ground here but the cat is out of the bag with her now and she may not get her own way in front. I also think Donagh O’Connor has been hard done by not getting the ride, although in fairness Ryan Moore is not a bad replacement.
This looks like it might be run at a strong pace so instead, I’ll take a chance on Noche Clasica. Trained by Ed Bethell, this progressive Night Of Thunder filly just missed out on black type when upped to 10.5f at Haydock last time. She was held up and travelled into it like the best horse in the race but in hindsight, Kevin Stott possibly got there too soon and she probably didn’t quite see out the trip.
Three From Four
This filly had previously won three of her four starts in handicaps at 1m-1m1f and while her sole defeat came over this C&D, it was still a decent effort to finish third. That last run proved she could mix it in stakes’ company and on the evidence of that effort, a strongly run mile should suit her well.
Her dam is a full sister to two G2 winners and she’s by a top class sire so she’s bred to be a pattern level horse and her trainer has had three winners and four seconds from his last twelve runners. At odds of 50/1, Noche Clasica is the each way selection.
2026 Royal Ascot Wednesday Tip: Noche Clasica e/w @ 50/1 (4 places)
4.20 – Prince Of Wales’s Stakes (Group 1)
This race is more often than not dominated by horses at single figure odds. This year looks no different. Last year’s winner, Ombudsman, is 11/8 to repeat the dose but in Daryz and the horse I like, Almaqam, he faces two formidable rivals. Minnie Hauk is no mug either. However, all four horses are single figure odds and it is hard to make a case for any of the bigger priced contenders. No bet.
2026 Royal Ascot Wednesday Tip: No bet
5.00 – Royal Hunt Cup Handicap (Heritage)
Of the last ten winners, five have been drawn high, two drawn in the middle and three have been drawn low. That suggests that it is possible to win from anywhere so I’m not going to get too caught up in the draw.
The one I have come down on is the Jack Channon Excellent Believe, who will be ridden by Ryan Moore’s son Toby, a young lad that has ridden eight winners from just 67 rides so far, including his only previous spin for this stable.
It is looking like young Moore is well worth his 7lb claim and with him on board, Excellent Believe is effectively running off a mark of 99 here. Last September, in a G3 at Haydock (1m), this son of Make Believe was beaten 2l into second by Zeus Olympios off level weights and that rival is now rated 120.
Listed Form
He got to within 5.25l of the 118 rated Docklands in a Listed race at Donny on his seasonal return, with the then 114 rated (now 109) Qirat over 4l behind him in fourth. Last time out, at Leopardstown, he was beaten 2.75l in a Listed heat by the now 104 rated Catalina Delcarpio, to whom he was conceding 3lb, and behind him in third was the 110 rated Alcantor.
All that form suggests that Excellent Believe is potentially well handicapped off this mark, especially with Moore’s claim, and it is a plus that he has already got experience of running in handicap company, winning at Haydock last August off 95. Off effectively just 4lb higher, he is the each way selection at odds of 33/1.
2026 Royal Ascot Wednesday Tip: Excellent Believe e/w @ 33/1 (6 places) NAP
5.35 – Kensington Palace Fillies’ Handicap (Class 2)
Things don’t get any easier here. Another cavalry charge with 25 fillies declared and it is a tricky race to assess. In the past two years Hugo Palmer has sent out Victoria Falls to finish third in 2024 and last year, he nicked more third place prize money with Cheshire Dancer and the latter horse is back to try to go two places better.
A winner at G3 level on the round course here last July, this Phoenix Of Spain filly is a lot higher in the weights than she was when beaten 1.25l in this race last season. She was running off 83 last year and she is now rated 99 so whether she is well enough handicapped remains to be seen but one thing that is for certain is that she’ll definitely be trying.
Her three previous runs at this venue have yielded form figures of 431, all on good or good to firm ground at 1m. Billy The Kid Loughnane is back on board for the first time since winning that G3 on her last season and she’s drawn 17, not a million miles away from where she was drawn last season (23). I’m hoping that two below par runs this term were simply prep runs for this and at odds of 33/1, Cheshire Dancer is the e/w selection.
2026 Royal Ascot Wednesday Tip: Cheshire Dancer e/w @ 33/1 (6 places)
6.10 – Windsor Castle Stakes (Listed)
A new look Windsor Castle this year with an extra furlong added. Kevin Ryan won this in 2024 with Ain’t Nobody and he sent Dickensian out to finish second last year and he also had the third in 2021 with Boonie. This year, he relies on the once raced Dorigo, a Space Blue colt that finished a 1l second on his sole start to date over 6f at Newcastle.
Sent to the front early, he battled on well all the way to the line and in the end found just one too good, the 2/1 fav Big Cigar. Yes, he was subsequently beaten in the Two Year Old trophy at Beverley but I’m not sure he was suited by the drop back to 5f that day. The third and fourth have run well in maidens since and the fifth, Real Trouble, won next time out so there is at least some substance to the form.
Dorigo’s dam was unraced but she is a half-sister to the Listed winner and G3 placed German performer Libre. His grand-dam is a half-sister to Irish 2000 Guineas third Oracle and the G3 placed Mathematician so he is bred to be a black type performer and all those aforementioned horses liked good ground, so hopefully he’ll handle the quick conditions at Ascot.
Others in here have achieved more but given Kevin Ryan’s record in this race, I am going to take a chance on Dorigo at odds of 66/1.
