Highland looks the reel deal

HIGHLAND REEL can successfully drop back in trip to take the Prince of Wales’s Stakes, the headline event on day two of Royal Ascot.

Aidan O’Brien’s runner is unquestionably a top performer at 12 furlongs, but he has yet to really establish his Group One credentials over a mile and a quarter.

However, the five-yearold can change that perception by winning at Ascot and completing a quick-fire double following his Coronation Cup verdict at the start of the month.

Highland Reel had to work hard for victory at Epsom with Frontiersman challenging in the shadow of the post, but he hung on for a length-and-threequarters win which banished memories of his disappointing trip to Dubai back in March.

He finished last of seven behind the reopposing Jack Hobbs on that occasion but the unexpectedly yielding ground was certainly against him that day and the real Highland Reel is far better than that.

The 10-furlong trip is a question mark, but he did win the 2015 Secretariat Stakes in America over the distance and Ryan Moore certainly knows how to win from the front with this horse and should judge his fractions to perfection.

Qemah can atone for a shock defeat at Lingfield last month with victory in the Group Two Duke of Cambridge Stakes.

Fillies might not have the best record in the Jersey Stakes with only Ishvana hitting the target for the distaff division in recent years, but Daban ticks all the boxes to make her a real contender in the seven-furlong heat.

Winner of two her three starts, her sole eclipse came last time out when third to what appears to be the latest O’Brien supermare Winter in the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket.

Beaten two and a quarter lengths, Daban just appeared to be outstayed by the front two so it makes sense to drop back slightly in trip here, even though she does not receive a fillies’ allowance.