Katherine Ford If you like the chances of Rayevka (currently second-favourite) for the King Charles III Stakes at around 5/1, then MONTEILLE represents huge value at 66/1! The two French fillies have raced together on three occasions, with the Mario Baratti-trained Monteille coming out on top twice, including narrowly when last seen in the Al Quoz Sprint. Italian-born, Chantilly-based Baratti confirmed that it was always the plan to bring Monteille straight to Royal Ascot after Dubai, while he also said his filly has never been better. She was far from disgraced when finishing eighth in this 5f contest last year and represents an interesting each-way chance under French champion jockey Cristian Demuro. The 2025 Arc hero DARYZ has added a new dimension to his profile in 2026, rising from being a progressive leader of the mile-and-a-half division to an impelling force over 10f. In the Prix Ganay he produced an explosive acceleration to put the race to bed in a matter of seconds, and then when dropped to the extended 9f of the Prix Aga Khan IV (formerly Prix d'Ispahan), he once again dominated in impressive fashion. Rivals in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes will be far superior to those he has beaten recently at ParisLongchamp, but Daryz looks to have all the qualities required to step up again - he has the attributes to become one of the greats. BEST SECRET was an eye-catching third in the Golden Gates Stakes at this meeting last year, when he was still very much a work in progress, and the four-year-old has been on a steep upward curve since. After a handicap success at Goodwood, the Wathnan Racing colt beat Gethin in Listed company at Saint Cloud to end his three-year-old season. Stéphane Wattel’s charge then had excuses for his seasonal debut in the Prix d’Harcourt when slowly away, and he now looks better over a mile and a half, duly making amends in good style by winning the Prix d’Hedouville next time out, beating West Wind Blows by three lengths. Connections believe he’s a Group 1 horse in the making, so he looks a big player in the Hardwicke Stakes. Five-time Group 1-winning mare JOLIESTAR can justify favouritism in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes and become the third Australian-trained winner of the 6f Group 1, as well as securing a second Royal Ascot success for trainer Chris Waller. The five-year-old is in great form, unbeaten in three outings over 6-6½f at the top level at Randwick this year, including the TJ Smith Stakes, and she should stay the tough Ascot test well having won the 1,000 Guineas at Caulfield over a mile earlier in her career. Connections considered this challenge for the mare last year but preferred to wait until she had reached full maturity, and hopefully they will be rewarded. Anthony Ennis VALIANCY was very strong through the line when justifying heavy market support over 1m 5f at Hamilton last time out, and with the extra furlong in the Copper Horse Stakes likely to suit this son of Cracksman, he looks well worth the wait in Tuesday's finale. William Haggas's charge looked a work in progress last year but appears to now look more like the finished article, having won on his final start last term at Haydock in September before that powerful finishing effort up in Scotland on his return. As long as he doesn't get too far adrift before the home straight, he should be capable of running the leaders down late on. Andrew Balding has plenty of ammunition this week and GALIYAN looks one of his best chances in the Queen's Vase on Wednesday. He looked all about stamina when winning his maiden over 1m 4f at Chester last month, where the Galiway colt shaped like he would prefer a stiffer test and more of a gallop. As usual, this looks like a race with plenty of potential improvers, but Galiyan has only had two races thus far and so has the scope to make up into a classy staying three-year-old. The likeable chestnut might just be the pick of the bunch on Wednesday afternoon. All indications from Ballydoyle suggest that AIX LA CHAPELLE is on target for Thursday's Chesham Stakes following his impressive debut success at the Curragh. Aidan O’Brien thinks there will be plenty of improvement to come from the son of Justify, while his final furlong was impressive on that racecourse bow. I liked his attitude in the latter part of the race, and he could well prove to be too strong in the final furlong. The Gold Cup looks fascinating this year with the 1-2 from the St Leger set to renew their rivalry, and at the prices I think RAHIEBB looks the value play to reverse that Classic form with Doncaster conqueror Scandinavia. Roger Varian's progressive stayer looked like a proper 'Cup horse' in the making when winning the Yorkshire version on the Knavesmire last month, and the Frankel colt should relish the extra distance on offer here. Darrell Williams I have long been a fan of VENETIAN SUN, the 2025 Albany Stakes winner as a juvenile, but she took her form to a new level when out-dazzling her rivals in the Sandy Lane at Haydock last time out. As exciting a three-year-old sprinter as you’ll, see she can justify strong market confidence in the Commonwealth Cup and is a filly to follow throughout the rest of the season. Such is the high regard in which WATER TO WINE is held, his post-Royal meeting target is the King George next month, while the John and Thady Gosden-trained three-year-old also holds an Arc entry. But first comes the King Edward VII Stakes, where the generously-proportioned colt can maintain his unbeaten record after 'wowing' at both Newbury and Kempton. The clash of the titans in the Prince of Wales's Stakes is undoubtedly the clash of the week, and one in which defending champion OMBUDSMAN can confirm his Juddmonte International status over Daryz given the expected quick conditions over his optimum trip. The Arc winner has impressed in two comeback runs, but those Group 1s pale into insignificance compared to this test, where the going will likely ask the strongest demands of the French raider. The King Charles III Stakes looks a belter, but with AMERICAN AFFAIR having shown he’s back to where he was when winning the same race last year - despite an absence of 11 months in the interim - I’m good to suggest a repeat victory for Jim Goldie’s charge. The six-year-old relished the cavalry charge and stiff finish this race demands 12 months ago, and he will once again be a backable price. Tim Carroll OVERPASS, who was runner up to the mighty Nature Strip on the very next start the Aussie superstar made after dotting up in the 2022 edition of this, is a hard-knocking seven-year-old with strong form lines contesting what looks to be a modest renewal of the King Charles III Stakes. The Bjorn Baker inmate will go into this off a lay-off, but he’s a gun first-up having recorded four of his 10 wins returned from a break. Although he hasn’t won for a while, he has finished close in behind the likes of Ka Ying Rising and Joliestar, which is serious form. Most of his wins have come over 6f, so he should enjoy a testing 5f contest, and while he has never ventured outside of Australia, it’s not like he hasn’t been on a plane before, winning in Western Australia from his Sydney base on a couple of occasions. Yeah okay, not quite the same, but it is further than London to Moscow! DARYZ will, or at least certainly should, go off favourite for the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes. I believe last year’s Arc winner is the best middle-distance horse in the world, and I’d include his brilliant stablemate Calandagan in that bracket. As good as he was when winning the Arc, the son of Sea The Stars looks to have come back even better as a four-year-old. His two wins this season have been emphatic, displaying an electric turn of foot in both victories. Although he was well beaten at York in the Juddmonte International last year, when a panel behind Ombudsman on his only start outside of France, I’d be prepared to forgive that as the run was simply too bad to be true, and he looks a far more mature horse now. DOUBLE RUSH has been in imperious form since joining the Andrew Balding yard this season, winning two Newmarket handicaps in fine style. Those two victories have seen his mark shoot up 15lb to his current assessment of 105, but eight of the last 10 winners of the Wokingham Stakes were rated between 99 and 107. Given his recent progression, the chances are he still has more to offer, and it is also worth noting that his trainer effectively ran him in the same Newmarket race in the lead up to this that he used for his previous winner Dark Missile (2006), suggesting the son of Blue Point has been laid out for Royal Ascot’s oldest handicap. Joliestar arrives for the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes as a five-time Group 1-winning sprinter from Australia, and having already tasted success over the mile, the chances are she’ll handle the uphill drag at Ascot. However, she’s never travelled before, and for me the disparity in the market between her and frequent-flyer SATONO REVE is too big. Last year’s runner-up - in a race I believe he would have won had he been amid the action with the eventual winner Lazzat - is Japan’s leading sprinter, and if it wasn’t for the freak that is Ka Ying Rising, he’d have won two more Group 1s in Hong Kong, in what is a deep sprinting pool. The Australian mare has to be respected, but with no Lazzat this time around and a local bunch that looks fairly average, Satono Reve is surely a cracking each-way bet, with 6/1 still on offer at time of writing. Laurent Barbarin The 2025 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe hero DARYZ has looked as good as ever in two starts this term, returning with a commanding success in the Prix Ganay over 1m 2½f before following up in similarly-impressive fashion in the Prix d'Ispahan over 1m 1f. What has been most striking is the turn of foot he’s displayed on both occasions, arguably looking even sharper than the one that carried him to the pinnacle of European racing last season. The son of Zarak appears to have strengthened both physically and mentally from three to four, and there is a strong case for suggesting he is now an even more formidable performer than last year. Provided he arrives for the Prince Of Wales's Stakes in the same condition as his first two outings this campaign, he sets a very lofty standard and should be exceptionally difficult to beat. RAYEVKA is a half-sister to French Guineas winner Rayef, with the Francis-Henri Graffard-trained filly announcing herself on the big stage by finishing a surprise third in the Commonwealth Cup at last year's Royal meeting. The four-year-old’s opening efforts of this campaign at Meydan were perhaps a shade below expectations, but she bounced back to winning ways in decisive fashion when landing a Group 3 contest over 5f at ParisLongchamp last month. That performance suggests she possesses considerably more raw speed than previously thought, meaning she arrives for the King Charles III Stakes looking poised for a big performance. With the market still offering what appears to be a fair price (around 6/1), she rates a valuable contender despite the depth of the opposition. Purchased by Wathnan Racing following a handicap victory in France in May 2025, BEST SECRET subsequently ran a creditable third in the Golden Gates Stakes at Royal Ascot before making a major impression with a decisive victory at Goodwood at the end of July. Now unbeaten in two starts over 1m 4f, the son of Persian King comes into this year’s Hardwicke Stakes on the back of a stylish and impressive success in the Group 3 Prix d'Hedouville at ParisLongchamp, where he outclassed the smart West Wind Blows. The Stéphane Wattel-trained colt continues to progress with every run and could well establish himself among Europe's leading older horses this autumn, so a big run in Saturday’s Group 2 would come as no surprise whatsoever. Trained in France by Christophe Ferland until the autumn of 2025, COLUMBUS notably won a Group 3 over 1m 7f at ParisLongchamp in September 2024. However, his best performance came when finishing third in the Group 1 Preis Von Europa at Cologne last September, in a race won by the French-trained Sibayan. Subsequently sold and exported to Ireland to join the all-conquering yard of Willie Mullins, the German-bred son of Oasis Dream made an encouraging start over hurdles when finishing second at Killarney last month. Now returning to the Flat, the five-year-old looks a very intriguing prospect for the Queen Alexandra Stakes, a 2m 5½f contest won by his trainer last year with Sober - another former French-trained runner who had made a winning hurdling debut at Killarney the previous month. John Blance SATONO REVE was a somewhat unlucky horse last year in the QEII Jubilee Stakes. For the five years before 2025 the race had been run at strong gallop with a finishing speed of under 99% of average. So far, so normal for races on the straight course at Royal Ascot. However, 12 months ago, Lazzat was gifted an easy lead, never taken out of his comfort zone and able to dash home at a much quicker 103%. Satono Reve sat behind the tepid early pace and simply had too much to do to reel in a classy and quickening rival. Given a more conventionally run race this time he will be tough to hold out. The Aussies will bang the drum for Joliestar, but Satono Reve has been a world-class sprinter for the last couple of seasons and can gain compensation here. VENETIAN SUN laughed at her rivals in the Group 2 Sandy Lane Stakes at Haydock last month and cemented her place at the top of the market for the Commonwealth Cup. She is now four-from-four at 6f - undoubtedly her best trip - and she was comfortably the best when winning the Albany Stakes here last year. She has the perfect stalking run-style for Ascot and the fillies’ allowance is the icing on an already generous cake. Also on the subject of sprinting fillies, Francis Henri-Graffard's RAYEVKA looks a cracking bet in the King Charles III Stakes. Her run in last year's Commonwealth Cup was especially meritorious since she slalomed around like an Olympic Skier from stall 10 to eventually produce her strong late challenge from under the grandstand rail. She also ran the fastest sectional of the race in the process. Her tune-up over the 5f at ParisLongchamp last month was the perfect preparation for this and I expect a big run. The switch to Andrew Balding's yard seems to have done wonders for DOUBLE RUSH who has toyed with his rivals in two Newmarket handicaps this campaign. Those victories have meant a hefty 15lb rise in the weights, but the handicapper’s punishment at least ensures his place in the Wokingham, and he can take that iconic Royal Ascot handicap on the way to a crack at pattern races further down the line.