Newsboy’s horseracing tips and 1-2-3 for every race at Royal Ascot on Wednesday

It’s hard to be adamant about the value of that form but the Wathnan Racing-owned Leovanni clearly has her fair share of ability – and can only progress from her first to second outing.
Miss Rascal looks most promising and is feared most, ahead of Truly Enchanting and American raider Ultima Grace .

NEWSBOY’S 1-2-3: 1 LEOVANNI, 2 MISS RASCAL, 3 TRULY ENCHANTING

3.05 Queen’s Vase

BIRDMAN has impressed in his two outings so far and gets the vote to take his career tally to 3-3.
The Jessica Harrington-saddled son of Free Eagle – dam Carol was a well-related, one-time winner for Ed Dunlop – didn’t race at two and had already been gelded by the time he made his racecourse debut in a mile-and-a-half- maiden at Cork on April 26.
The market took the evident bumps in the road into account – Birdman went off at 8-1, but overcame inexperience to beat Himalayan Heights by two and a quarter lengths, with Highbury back in third.
Harrington then raised Birdman’s sights to Listed level for the four-runner Yeats Stakes over a mile and five at Navan last month, and Shane Foley’s mount took a step forward to account for Bellezza by a length and a quarter.
An additional furlong today will be of benefit and Birdman has any amount of untapped potential to draw upon as he faces his toughest assignment yet.
Given Aidan O’Brien’s record in the race, it’s no surprise to see Illinois and Highbury towards the head of the market, while Mina Rashid isn’t without appeal at bigger odds.

NEWSBOY’S 1-2-3: 1 BIRDMAN, 2 ILLINOIS, 3 MINA RASHID

3.45 Duke of Cambridge Stakes

ROGUE MILLENNIUM gets the vote to mount a successful defence of her crown.
Dubawi’s daughter was saddled by Tom Clover when beating Random Harvest by a neck for the Group 2 prize 12 months ago, going on to finish second in the top-level Matron Stakes at Leopardstown in September.
Rogue Millennium was sent to the sales in December and went under the hammer for 1,650,000 guineas before crossing the Irish Sea to join Joseph O’Brien.
The five-year-old started out for her new stable in the Group 2 Lanwades Stud Stakes on the Curragh’s Irish 1,000 Guineas undercard.
Confidence was high – Rogue Millennium led the betting at even money, but Dylan Browne McMonagle found his path blocked persistently through the penultimate furlong.
Once finding clear water, Rogue Millennium rattled home into third behind Ocean Jewel and, granted luck in running, she’s a massive player.
Laurel evidently isn’t an easy horse to get to the races but has Group 1 form on her CV and warrants respect, as do with Breege and Doom.

NEWSBOY’S 1-2-3: 1 ROGUE MILLENNIUM, 2 LAUREL, 3 BREEGE

4.25 Prince of Wales’s Stakes

ALFLAILA is capable of rewarding each-way support – at the very least.
To get his head in front, Owen Burrows’ son of Dark Angel must turn round the form from the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown last September.
Auguste Rodin finished first that day, with my selection just over three lengths behind the winner in fifth.
But that doesn’t tell the whole story.
The Aidan O’Brien-saddled runners controlled the pace in the 10-furlong test handing an advantage to the prominent racers – including Auguste Rodin – and meaning those attempting to come from the back were up against it.
Alflaila, placed towards the rear by a sluggish start, came home strongly in the style of a horse who is capable of making his presence felt at the top level.
That performance wasn’t a flash in the pan – the entire had captured the Group 2 York Stakes on his previous start – and Alflaila’s record fresh suggests the 284-day absence since Leopardstown will not be a handicap for a horse whose connections aim high by coming here instead of taking in Tuesday’s Listed Wolferton Stakes.
Auguste Rodin obviously rates the horse to beat on his best efforts, even if he hasn’t hit the heights in two outings in 2024.
Inspiral is entitled to step forward from an admittedly dull return-to-action fourth in Newbury’s Lockinge Stakes, while her stablemate Lord North lifted this race four years ago and isn’t written off.

NEWSBOY’S 1-2-3: 1 ALFLAILA, 2 AUGUSTE RODIN, 3 LORD NORTH

5.05 Royal Hunt Cup

COEUR D’OR caught the eye over six furlongs at the Curragh on his reappearance and will be well served by the return to a mile.
His career has been a touch stop-start, but the Dermot Weld trainee really found his stride as a seven-year-old in 2023, winning handicaps at Leopardstown, Galway and the Curragh.
And there was certainly enough in his comeback effort in Co Kildare 26 days ago to make Coeur D’Or of significant interest today.
Racing over six for the very first time as he appeared in a Flat race for the 17th time, Chris Hayes’ mount, not surprisingly, found things happening too quickly.
But he steamed home from the back of the field to take seventh, beaten just under three lengths, to Red Letter Bray and can make his presence felt from the same rating of 100.
In a typically wide-open Royal Hunt Cup, Wild Tiger, Beshtani, Sonny Liston and Perotto are just four names worth throwing into the melting pot.

NEWSBOY’S 1-2-3: 1 COEUR D’OR, 2 WILD TIGER, 3 SONNY LISTON

5.40 Kensington Palace Stakes

TWIRLING has the profile of a lightly raced, progressive filly and should give a good account of herself.
Unraced as a juvenile, the daughter of Churchill, trained in tandem by Simon and Ed Crisford, won twice at Kempton Park from four outings, all on Polytrack, as a three-year-old last season.
Things didn’t fall Twirling’s way in the Winter Oaks at Lingfield Park in January but there was plenty or promise in her turf-debut third at Nottingham two starts ago.
And she went two better over today’s one-mile trip at Doncaster at the end of last month, keeping on determinedly to hold Roarin’ Success by half a length.
There’s a 5lb rise in the handicap to deal with here but Twirling has more to offer as she steps out onto the natural surface for the third time, and the booking of Ryan Moore is an obvious plus.
Dangers lurk at every turn, with Elim, Doha, Mystic Pearl and Rajindri all boasting podium claims.

NEWSBOY’S 1-2-3: 1 TWIRLING, 2 ELIM, 3 RAJINDRI

6.15 Windsor Castle Stakes

SHADOW ARMY should have learned plenty from her debut success at York and is taken to remain unbeaten.
Richard Fahey elected to give the Showcasing-sired youngster his debut in a five-furlong novice stakes at York’s Dante fixture last month.
Backed into 9-2 joint-favourite in a field of 11, Shadow Army showed his inexperience with a tardy start but learned on the job, making his ground at the halfway point and hitting the front inside the final 110 yards to beat Francisco’s Piece by a short head.
The runner-up gave the form a shot in the arm with a Listed win at Chantilly next time and Shadow Army, whose racecourse bow subsequently attracted the interest of big spenders Wathnan Racing, is expected to take a big step forward on his second start.
Aidan O’Brien’s pair Treasure Isle and Celtic Chieftain are two-year-olds with bright futures who enter calculations, in company with Pont Neuf and Ain’t Nobody.

NEWSBOY’S 1-2-3: 1 SHADOW ARMY, 2 TREASURE ISLE, 3 AIN’T NOBODY