Ombudsman (right) starred on day two

Royal Ascot 2025 analysis, day two: Ombudsman, Crimson Advocate and Rahieeb

By Ben Linfoot

Horse Racing

Thu June 19, 2025 · 2d ago

Ben Linfoot picks out three points of interest from day two of Royal Ascot as Ombudsman announced himself in the Prince Of Wales's.

Gosdens flying; Ombudsman looks a star

The Gosdens are taking Royal Ascot 2025 by storm. And the best available jockey (or using the owners retained riders) policy is working out rather nicely. There’s Colin Keane swinging away on Field Of Gold. There’s James Doyle hacking up on French Master. There’s James McDonald flying home on Crimson Advocate. And what’s William Buick doing on Ombudsman, there’s no gap there?!

Oh, he’s won the Prince Of Wales’s by a couple of lengths.

It all feels a bit different to 12 months ago. Yes, the Gosdens won the Duke Of Cambridge with Running Lion and the Wolferton with Israr in 2024. But after a period of sustained success the big guns were lacking last year and things couldn’t be more different at Clarehaven this time around.

Field Of Gold is rightly receiving the plaudits from all corners but Ombudsman is a product of patience and the lightly-raced four-year-old (this was just his sixth start) looks the new kid on the block in the middle-distance division. He won this easily, despite enduring a troubled passage in the straight, and his campaign from here will be really interesting (will Johnny G be forced to run him against Field Of Gold at some point, for instance?).

The Coral-Eclipse could be his for the taking and softer ground in the autumn will hold no fears. Wherever he goes, his Group 1 haul looks unlikely to be ending here.

Ombudsman shows a sparkling turn of foot at Ascot

How high can Crimson fly over a mile?

Crimson Advocate has a most unconventional profile being by American stallion Nyquist and having had six races over five furlongs before being reinvented as a miler with no bridge races in between. Yet after just nine career starts she now has two Royal Ascot victories to her name, Wednesday’s Duke Of Cambridge success over a mile added to her Queen Mary win as a juvenile.

After 284 days off she was shunted up to a mile from five furlongs at Kempton at the end of March, when losing out by a nose to Soprano in a Listed contest and then she was on the right side of a nose verdict in the Listed Conqueror Fillies’ Stakes also over 1600 metres at Goodwood seven weeks ago.

Did either race conclusively prove she stayed a mile, though? Both heats weren’t run at overly strong gallops, but she’s relaxing well over the new distance and that counts for a lot in these small-field Group races, her turn of foot a real weapon. That proved to be the case again in Wednesday's Duke Of Cambridge, James McDonald storming down the centre of the track to seal the deal and the question now is can she do it at the very top level?

The Newmarket July Course isn't the easiest track to pull off her sort of tactics, but hopefully we’ll get to find out if she's good enough in the Falmouth Stakes there next month.

Crimson Advocate pictured after winning at Royal Ascot

Rahiebb could be a Leger project

Carmers was cut to 14/1 for the Betfred St Leger after winning the Queen’s Vase and Paddy Twomey’s unbeaten colt is clearly a three-year-old to be reckoned with in the staying division. However, he got the perfect tow around sitting just off the pace set by Shackleton and Spinning Wheel, and it was notable the first two home sat third and fourth throughout and then drifted to the rail in the straight.

In contrast, Rahiebb was shuffled back from stall 10 and had to come through horses off the bend, barging his way through Titanium Emperor and Scandinavia at the two-furlong pole, at which point he had five lengths to make up on Carmers. That he eroded the deficit to less than a length at the line after a strong late run down the centre marks him out as a Leger possible and 33/1 available about him for Doncaster makes some appeal.

The son of Frankel keeps on progressing and looks just the type to thrive on the long straight on Town Moor.

Day 1 Analysis: Field Of Gold, Gstaad and Docklands

Gstaad, Field Of Gold and Docklands were amongst the day one winners

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