Royal Ascot Tips: Vanessa Ryle provides a few trainers to keep an eye on

Royal Ascot fever is well and truly upon us and, as always, the big names are the ones attracting the most attention in the build-up, as this meeting can be, and often is, the playground of the superpowers.

Throw some of the biggest international names into the mix, such as Ward and Waller, and it is easy to forget that some less obvious yards will be making the trip to Berkshire with high hopes and live chances.

Here are a few names to keep an eye out for away from the Premier League flat outfits who may well just have an each-way chance on the biggest of stages.

William Knight

Tuesday will be the big day for William Knight's team as he will saddle stable stalwart Sir Busker in the first race of the meeting - the Queen Anne - and you just wouldn't put it past the six-year-old to hit the frame again. Over six lengths behind Baaeed when we last saw him in the Lockinge, connections would be hopeful of getting closer to him this time around at a course and distance where he has shone in the past.

However, Knight's interest doesn't begin and end there on the Tuesday, also sending Checkandchallenge out to do battle in the Group 1 St James's Palace Stakes. The Fast Company colt remains a real unknown in terms of the ceiling of his ability having been thrown in the deep end when we last saw him in the 2000 Guineas.

That wasn't so bad a run as his finishing position suggests and the vision of him scooting clear in the Burradon Stakes at Newcastle on just his second start still lives in the memory as an impressive performance and one of real promise of more to come.

The same rules apply to that of his stablemate in Sir Busker - he may well not be good enough to take down the Classic winner in Coroebus but he could get a fair bit closer than he did at Newmarket in May.

Dan Skelton

Not exactly a smaller yard as he runs one of the biggest outfits operating over jumps, but it would be rare enough to see a flat runner for Dan Skelton and he has confirmed that Proschema will run in the Ascot Stakes over 2m4f.

The race has been won by the likes of dual-purpose trainers such as Alan King, Ian Williams and Willie Mullins, who has won it four times in the past and saddles the ante-post favourite in Bring On The Night.

However, Skelton's Proschema is rated 100 on the flat and that mark would be very workable based on some of his old form in this discipline. He finished third in the Northumberland Plate off 103 in 2019 and ran in the St Leger as a three-year-old when trained by Tom Dascombe.

It might surprise you, but Skelton is yet to train a winner on the flat in his career, though he's had just 26 runners, and it would be a remarkable if not unique feat to register a first ever winner on the flat at none other than Royal Ascot.

David and Nicola Barron

Now holding a dual licence, David and Nicola Barron will be hopeful that their improving four-year-old Contact can sneak in at the bottom of the Copper Horse Handicap on Tuesday off a mark of 96. Last year the bottom weight was the four-year-old Amtiyaz who got in off 95 and went on to win the race for the Gosdens.

Contact will head to Ascot with a very progressive profile having won his latest two starts at 1m4f. Now stepping back up in trip by two furlongs, he's clearly a much-improved model this year and could well still be progressing ahead of the handicapper given his latest run at Haydock which saw him win despite being so keen to begin with, nonetheless strong to the line, always a good sign. If he could drop the bridle just a fraction then he would give himself every chance of improving again at this trip.

Alice Haynes

The two-time winner Lady Bullet has already had a mention in this weekly column in reference to her sire James Garfield who has provided a handful of winners in his first season and perhaps surprised a few breeders in the process. His daughter will now head to the Albany Stakes at the Royal Meeting and will be one of a couple of runners for the Haynes yard.

The Breeze-up purchase won impressively on her first start and then went in again under a 7lb penalty when we next saw her at Ripon. The 6f at Ascot should suit her well given that she seems to be doing much of her best work at the end of her races and it could be a big couple of weeks for her dam Lil's Joy who also produced the Listed Surrey Stakes winner Ever Given at Epsom last weekend.

Ken Condon

Irish trainer Ken Condon is no stranger to Royal Ascot with the likes of Romanised running in Group 1s at the meeting in the past. This year he looks to have a chance in the Wokingham Handicap over 6f on the Saturday with the lightly-raced four-year-old Quarantine Dreams.

The son of Make Believe has had just seven starts and has only won one of them, on top of that he has only been tried at the 6f once in his life and he was beaten in a Listed contest. However, the majority of his form has been at Listed and Group level and he hasn't been disgraced, and this second attempt at the trip will also be his first go in a handicap.

He brings in a couple of strong Irish sprinting form-lines from this season so far as was beaten by the next time out Group 2 winner Brostaigh when we last saw him, and the run before that was put in his place by Group 1 winner Romantic Proposal.

He has a tendency to be slowly away from the stalls, which he could do with sorting out, but on the evidence of his two runs this season it looks as though he will now appreciate the 6f trip.