Royal Ascot Day 2 Tips: Kevin Blake has three selections from 8/1 to 22/1

• Kevin Blake has three selections on Day Two

• Society Kiss' course form could be the way to go

• Epictetus can go well at a big price

• Utmost Respect overpriced at 8/19.00

• Gamble responsibly with Betfair during Royal Ascot 2025

Timeform Superboost

The big race of the day on Wednesday at Royal Ascot is the Group 1 Prince Of Wales's Stakes and Los Angeles heads the market for trainer Aidan O'Brien.

Currently unbeaten on both starts this season, landing the Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup last time out, he is the form horse in the race.

The good news is that Betfair have super-boosted his price to finish in the top two from 8/111.73 to 1/12.00. Just click on the odds in the below bet banner to go directly to the pre-loaded betslip.

Please Note. This superboost is promoted by the Betfair Sportsbook and not by and of our writers or tipsters.

Racing... Only Bettor. Royal Ascot Day 2. Watch Now!

The first figurative punches have been thrown in the five-round battle that is the pursuit of winners at Royal Ascot. Hopefully the opening exchanges were kind to you, but even if they weren't, it's a long week. Be patient, be consistent, be clinical. One big punch can change everything.

Queen Mary Stakes, 14:30, Royal Ascot - Back Society Kiss @ 9/110.00

The first race of interest on day two is the Queen Mary Stakes (14:30). As always, this has attracted a big field of fast and precocious fillies. Mind, it is worth remembering that even amongst those that contest this race, there are levels to speed and precocity that can vary quite a bit between the runners.

Some of these are more here-and-now speedballs than others, being fast-striding types that are never likely to want much further in distance than this. Some of those towards the front end of the market might have more long-term class, but they aren't quite as sharp and precocious which might cost them on this day.

One that I feel fits the bill for being the right type for this race is the Ralph Beckett-trained Society Kiss. She is bred for precocity on both sides of her pedigree and while she didn't seem overly fancied on her debut in a five-furlong maiden at Ascot in May, she produced an impressive performance.

Starting on terms and following the leaders without cover, she went through the gears nicely from halfway and despite showing greenness under pressure, she really powered through the final furlong to pull away from her rivals. Time-related evidence is crucial in races such as this where racecourse evidence is in short supply, and she very much ticked the boxes in that regard.

Her striding mechanics are what one wants them to be like for a Queen Mary filly, with her being a high-frequency strider that should be comfortable in a high-pressure five-furlong test that this race presents. She is a very interesting contender and looks overpriced to me.

Royal Hunt Cup, 17:00, Royal Ascot - Back Epictetus @ 22/123.00

The Royal Hunt Cup (17:00) is without question one of the most difficult puzzles of the entire week. Joseph O'Brien is represented by The Liffey and I wouldn't put anyone off his chance at all. This has been his target all year and everything has gone smoothly. However, he was as big as 100/1 a couple of weeks ago and is now into single figures, so at this stage I'll put up another one at a much bigger price.

The Jamie Osborne-trained Epictetus has a very different profile to The Liffey, but it is an intriguing one nevertheless. He was a high-class performer for the Gosdens, finishing second to Auguste Rodin in the Futurity Trophy as a juvenile before going on to win at Group 3 and Listed level as a three-year-old. Now, the road clearly hasn't been as smooth for him since 2023, with him being restricted to just two below-par runs in 2024 prior to being sold for 80,000gns at the end of the season.

However, he has dropped in the ratings and with him having caught the eye on his first run for Osborne when fifth to My Cloud in a valuable handicap at Newbury, he might well be primed for a big run here having been dropped to a rating of 101, down from a career-high of 113. This style of race should suit him well and he might reward support at what is a very big price.

Windsor Castle Stakes, 18:10, Royal Ascot - Back Utmost Respect @ 8/19.00

The final race of the day is the Windsor Castle Stakes (18:10) and I'm going to have another swing at a big price at the Richard Fahey-trained Utmost Respect. The son of Invincible Spirit put down very impressive data in his breeze at the Craven Breeze-Up Sale prior to changing hands for 220,000gns. Well fancied for his debut at York, he endured a nightmare passage and had to go down as an unlucky loser when a close second to Ballistic Missile.

As frustrating as that was, Utmost Respect is sure to have learned loads from the experience and the fact that his trainer is pointing him at this race for his second career outing speaks to the regard in which he is held. As well as that, Richard Fahey made a notably slow start to the season by his high standards and this colt debuted in amongst that quiet period, but Fahey has returned to form in the meantime and that can only be seen as a positive. He looks to be drawn in the right part of the track and looks worth supporting at big prices.

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