Royal Ascot Tips: Rhys Williams fancies 66/1 maiden to get punters off to a flyer on day five

• Smart performance on handicap debut

• Likely strong pace to suit

• Best Secret is overpriced at Royal Ascot

Timeform Superboost

Moments Of Joy quickened well to win on debut for the all-conquering Aidan O'Brien stable, and today she is well fancied to win the Chesham Stakes (14;30) at Royal Ascot.

However, if you want the insurance of her finishing in the top two then you can back her at the super-boosted price of 2/13.00 (from 10/111.91). To take advantage, just click on the odds in the below bet banner to go directly to the pre-loaded betslip.

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Royal Ascot - 14:30 - Back Brave Hunter

Brave Hunter only finished third on debut at Yarmouth but I think he could be capable of taking a big step forward and running better than his huge price suggests in the Chesham.

He was green before the race and at various stages during the race, including when jumping the path and getting unbalanced in the early stages. He travelled well behind the leaders but when initially asked for his effort he took a while to understand what was required of him and looked to be going nowhere. However, he eventually got the idea and ran on strongly to finish third behind Commander's Intent.

While Brave Hunter clearly has to improve plenty on that to be competitive in this race, I think the degree of greenness that he showed suggests he has far more ability than the bare result showed that day. It could be that he will still be too green and the big occasion won't help on that front but I think the market is overlooking his potential for improvement and any 33/134.00 or bigger appeals.

Royal Ascot - 17:00 - Back Korker

The likely early pace in the Wokingham will come from Get It in stall 13 and Valiant Force in stall 28 and there are a couple of horses who are drawn near the latter who I think the market is underestimating.

The first of those is Korker who aims to break a losing run stretching back to October 2023. He ran well at York two starts ago when a bit slowly away and not getting a completely clear run before finishing strongly into third. I'm not sure he was suited by the small field at Hamilton last time where he was again slowly away and I don't think he handled the track too well either.

That tendency to be slowly away is a bit of a concern but he showed last year that he's capable of running well in big sprint handicaps when finishing third in the Ayr Gold Cup and he should get a strong pace to close into on the near side. Any 20/121.00 or bigger appeals.

Royal Ascot - 17:00 - Back Holkham Bay

The other horse is Holkham Bay who looks to add to an excellent record at this track. He's had three starts at Ascot and has won on two of them and finished second in the other. The second of those wins was over this trip where he showed a good attitude to get the better of a battle with Garfield Shadow.

His form this year hasn't been so good but he didn't get a clear run at Goodwood over five furlongs two starts ago, so was better than that result suggests, and it was a similar story to some degree at York last time when finishing behind Korker.

There is a concern that very quick ground isn't ideal for him but I'm hopeful that a return to this track will bring about a return to form. His price has just been Hugh Taylored which has taken it down to the lowest acceptable price. Any 20/121.00 or bigger appeals.

Royal Ascot - 17:35 - Back Best Secret

There's likely to be plenty of early pace in the Golden Gates and I think that could set the race up ideally for Best Secret who was an impressive winner on handicap debut at Longchamp.

He was held up that day and only had one rival behind him turning into the straight before he was angled out to make his effort. He took a little while to hit top gear but when he did with just over a furlong to go, he finished strongly to win by three lengths.

The manner in which he finished off that race and his previous race when second at Saint Cloud suggests that a strongly run race with a stiff finish could be the ideal test for Best Secret and could bring out more improvement from him. There is the concern that being drawn in stall five will mean he will need more luck in running than those drawn wider but as long as he gets a clear run I think he has a strong chance and any 5/16.00 or bigger appeals. 

Now read Katie Midwinter's Saturday tips here.