The last time Auguste Rodin and Inspiral won they unveiled two of the most dynamic performances hours apart in Breeders’ Cup races at Santa Anita last November. Both are winless in limited campaigns in Europe and the Middle East this year in advance of their first-ever meeting in Wednesday’s Group 1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes at 1 1/4 miles at Royal Ascot, west of London. Auguste Rodin was the 13-8 favorite with British bookmakers as of Monday, with Inspiral at 11-4. They lead a 10-runner field in the $1.26 million Prince of Wales’s Stakes, the leading race on a seven-race program that begins at 9:30 a.m. Eastern. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com. August Rodin, winner of the BC Turf last November in a brilliant ground-saving trip by jockey Ryan Moore, is winless in two starts this year in Group 1 races – a disappointing last-place finish of 12 in the $6 million Dubai Sheema Classic in the United Arab Emirates in March, and a second by three lengths as the 11-10 favorite to White Birch in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at 1 5/16 miles at The Curragh in Ireland on May 26. White Birch, third to Auguste Rodin in the 2023 English Derby, is a notable absentee from the Prince of Wales’s Stakes because of a poor blood test, according to reports Monday in the British media. Auguste Rodin, a winner of 7 of 12 starts, races for the Coolmore syndicate and Georg von Opel and trainer Aidan O’Brien. The BC Turf was Auguste Rodin’s fifth win in a Group 1 or Grade 1 race. Inspiral, a 5-year-old mare trained by John and Thady Gosden for Cheveley Park Stud, finished fourth by 13 lengths to stablemate Audience as the 2-1 favorite in the Group 1 Lockinge Stakes at a mile at Newbury Racecourse, near Ascot, on May 18 in her first start of 2024. Inspiral was unable to recover from a slow start. :: Bet Royal Ascot with confidence: DRF PPs Available Now Until last week, Inspiral was the future-book favorite for Tuesday’s Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes at a mile at Royal Ascot until she was redirected to the Prince of Wales’s Stakes. Last November, Inspiral rallied from ninth in a field of 12 in the final furlong to win the BC Filly and Mare Turf by a neck at 1 1/4 miles. A winner of 9 of 14 starts, Inspiral has won six Group 1 or Grade 1 races, including the 2022 Coronation Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at a mile at Royal Ascot. Auguste Rodin and Inspiral are expected to race from well off the pace, as will Horizon Dore, a 4-year-old gelding trained in France by Patrice Cottier. Horizon Dore, who was 13-2 as of Monday, has won 6 of 14 starts, including five stakes. Horizon Dore is winless in three Group 1 races, including a second by a short head in the Group 1 Prix d’Ispahan at 1 1/8 miles at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris on May 26. The Wednesday Ascot program features two juveniles trained by Wesley Ward in five-furlong races – Ultima Grace in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes for fillies, and Honorary American in the Windsor Castle Stakes. Joel Rosario has the mount on both. The races are run on the straight course. Ultima Grace drew post 17 of 26 in the $190,350 Queen Mary Stakes and was 10-1 as of Monday. The maiden race winners Make Haste (5-1) and Leovanni and Truly Enchanting (7-1) were lower prices in what appears to be a highly competitive race. Ultima Grace won her lone start by 3 3/4 lengths in a maiden race on April 18 at Keeneland at 1-5. Honorary American was 16-1 on Monday for the $139,500 Windsor Castle Stakes behind Shadow Army and Treasure Isle at 5-1 and Celtic Chieftain 6-1. Honorary American, an Irish-bred colt by Churchill, was third by 2 1/2 lengths in his only start, a maiden race at 5 1/2 furlongs at the Belmont at Aqueduct meeting on April 24. Treasure Isle, trained by O’Brien, is held in high regard for winning an allowance race at five furlongs at Naas Racecourse in Ireland on May 19. Ward has won the Queen Mary Stakes four times and the Windsor Castle Stakes twice. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.