Royal Ascot Ratings Update: The two-year-old races

Rajasinghe (110p) gave Richard Spencer a first Royal Ascot winner when landing an open rather than vintage renewal of the Coventry, too many horses close up at the finish for it to be more than useful form from the principals. The field spread across the track but there seemed little advantage in the draw and very little trouble in the closing stages, though the winner was bumped at the start. The second and third, Headway and Murillo, were allotted the same rating.

Happy Like A Fool (101p) looked in the mould of Acapulco and Lady Aurelia, outstanding winners of the last two renewals of the Queen Mary for the same stable, and was backed accordingly, but the strong second favourite Heartache (up 14 lb to 111p) comprehensively defeated her. She ran to a historically high level for a Queen Mary winner, even though a few of the longshots appeared to excel themselves. Connections mooted a crack at the Nunthorpe after the race.

They split into two groups for this year's Norfolk, four going far side with the larger group down the stands side following the bias that seemed in play the previous afternoon. However, there was little evidence of it here with one from each group fighting out the finish, Sioux Nation (up 15 lb to 107) from the far side just holding off the fast-finishing Gimcrack-bound Santry (up from 96p to 105). The standard of this race usually lags a little behind the Coventry, and it proved the case once again, the winner here rated only 5 lb higher than the winner of the Windsor Castle, Sound And Silence (102p from 92) on Tuesday and it's hard to see the justification for both races at this prestigious meeting.

Different League (up from 95p to 108), previously unbeaten in two starts in the French provinces, stepped up a level when winning the Albany. Those wins made her more fully-formed than most of her rivals, though there was no fluke whatsoever about her performance, as she had Alpha Centauri (now 107p) to contend with all the way on the far side, a burst two furlongs out getting her the upper hand on the favourite. Her sire Dabirsim came from similarly humble beginnings and rounded off an undefeated two-year-old season in the Prix 26Jean-Luc Lagardere.

The betting for the Chesham was dominated by the highly-regarded September (up from 95P to 112p) and Masar (now 110p), the pair, along with runner-up Nyaleti (106p) having the race to themselves from a fair way out, the searching pace set by Nyaleti ensuring that ability and stamina would be paramount. The stoutly-bred winner September relished the test, the route of the Moyglare Stud and the Fillies' Mile, a path leading perhaps ultimately to the Oaks, surely on the cards. The timefigure gives the form plenty of substance and the winner is as good a long-term prospect as was seen among the age group over the five days.

Click here for Royal Ascot Ratings Update: Group 1s