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Royal Ascot tips day two: Magical can leave rivals spellbound on Wednesday

Magical can win a compelling £750,000 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot today, the feature race on day two of the meeting.

The Aidan O’Brien-trained filly, who will be ridden by Ryan Moore, has kept her good form going since winning in fine style at Ascot on Qipco British Champions Day in October.

She pushed the outstanding Enable close in the Breeders’ Cup Turf next time out and this campaign has not been extended to win any of her three races. A dazzling seven-length success in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh on her latest start suggests Magical (right) will arrive in peak form for the race at 3.40pm.

The contest is one for connoisseurs as Sea Of Class, unlucky when runner-up to Enable in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on her final start last season after wins in the Irish and Yorkshire Oaks, makes her return, while Prix Ganay victor Waldgeist represents France.

Crystal Ocean is a three-time Group One runner-up who is the highest-rated runner in the line-up. Then there is Zabeel Prince, who is thriving on his racing, and Grade One-winning Japanese challenger Deirdre, who will be ridden by 50-year-old Yutaka Take, champion Japanese jockey 18 times. The race was scheduled to be run at 4.20pm, but has been brought forward 40 minutes so that Japanese racing fans tuning in are spared an extra late night.

Godolphin are not represented after switching Masar, last year’s Derby winner, to the Hardwicke Stakes on Saturday, but Sheikh Mohammed’s team can strike in the first two races with Divine Spirit and Jalmoud.

Divine Spirit impressed when winning on her debut at Windsor and gets the nod in a Queen Mary Stakes (2.30pm). She is bred for the job, being by Kingman, winner of the St James’s Palace Stakes in 2014, out of a mare, Shyrl, who herself was touched off in the 2008 Queen Mary.

Jalmoud has an even more regal pedigree — his dad won a Derby and his mum an Oaks — and he has the looks to match. His wins this year have been solid and moving up in trip should suit him in the Queen’s Vase (3.05pm).

No trainer has won more races at Royal Ascot than Sir Michael Stoute and he has suggested that Rawdaa, who runs in the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes (4.20pm), is his best chance of a winner this week.

There is a maximum field of 30 for the Royal Hunt Cup (5pm) and preference is for Raising Sand, something of a specialist in big-field handicaps at Ascot. He did well at the track on his reappearance last month and will be ridden by Nicola Currie, who seeks to become only the second female rider, after Gay Kelleway 32 years ago, to win at the meeting.

In the finale, the Windsor Castle Stakes (5.35pm), Symbolize appeals.