Newmarket plays host to the pick of the two-year-old action this weekend, but what clues can we learn from June's five-day jamboree at Royal Ascot?Has there ever been a deeper two-year-old race at Royal Ascot than this year's Queen Mary Stakes?Perhaps it's a strange time to be obsessing over Royal Ascot form, with it now being over three months since those heady days in June when the usual star-studded cast descended on Berkshire and the dream of seeing England captain Harry Kane hold the World Cup trophy aloft remained very much alive.Alas, that dream was to crash and burn in the weeks that followed, but still the star-studded cast from Ascot continues to light up the turf, with the Queen Mary, in particular, proving itself a prolific source of high-class two-year-old winners.Sadly, Victorious (Wootton Bassett) hasn't been seen on a racecourse since maintaining her unbeaten record with a two-length success in that five-furlong contest but, in her absence, runner-up Senorita Bonita (Starspangledbanner) has done her bit to advertise the strength of that form in no uncertain terms.And nor is she alone.With subsequent victories in the G2 Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes at Newmarket and G1 Prix Morny at Deauville, Senorita Bonita features among no fewer than 10 individual black-type winners who found themselves unable to match the brilliance of Victorious on that sweltering June afternoon.Just missing out on a podium finish in fourth was the subsequent G3 Molecomb Stakes scorer Pershaada, the star performer from the first crop of Persian Force, while fellow freshman sire Minzaal was responsible for the fifth-place finisher, Crownbreaker, who then got off the mark when winning the Listed Prix Yacowlef at Deauville next time. She was also beaten just a neck in the G2 Flying Childers Stakes when last seen, with likely favourite Pershaada a non-runner in that Doncaster heat.Other fillies to have gone from strength to strength since the Queen Mary include French raider Drazinda (Sioux Nation) and the Diego Dias-trained Armor Supreme (Armor). Armor Supreme was back in ninth at Ascot, three places ahead of Drazinda in 12th, but the Francis-Henri Graffard trainee reversed those placings when winning the G3 Prix d'Arenberg at ParisLongchamp last time, with Armor Supreme passing the post two lengths behind her in third. Both fillies had already won at Listed level by then, with Armor Supreme having opened her black-type account in August's Juvenile Sprint Stakes at the Curragh.Meanwhile, it wasn't to be for Paddy Twomey with his pair of runners in the Queen Mary, but both fillies are now stakes winners, with Big Negotiator (Havana Grey), only 15th at Ascot, gaining her second Listed triumph when landing Monday's Blenheim Stakes at Fairyhouse. Stablemate Velozee (Sioux Nation), on the other hand, hasn't added to her tally since winning May's Listed First Flier Stakes at the Curragh, but she arguably ran a career best when finishing third in the G1 Phoenix Stakes at the same venue.Velozee was one of four runners in the Queen Mary who had already won a black-type contest, along with Victorious, previously successful in the G3 Fillies Sprint Stakes at Naas; York's Marygate Fillies' Stakes winner Love A Giggle (Kodiac); and US challenger Celtic Dispute (Leinster), who booked her ticket to Ascot with victory in the Royal Palm Juvenile Stakes at Gulfstream Park.In the event, Celtic Dispute could beat only one home in the Queen Mary, but any horse can be forgiven one bad run, certainly a two-year-old in the pressure cauldron that is Royal Ascot. Just look at Bint Archange (Ubettabelieveit), who finished 27th of 27 in this Group 2, before bouncing back next time with victory in the Listed Dragon Stakes at Sandown.All told, 11 of the 27 fillies who contested the Queen Mary are now black-type winners, with every chance there could be more to join them sooner rather than later. Wild Blossom (Mehmas), for example, finished 10th at Ascot, before looking a Pattern performer in the making when she ran away with the Alice Keppel Fillies' Conditions Stakes at Goodwood. She then wasn't seen to best effect when last seen finishing sixth in the G2 Lowther Stakes at York.Wesley Ward's Ruiva (Munnings), meanwhile, ran a cracker in the Queen Mary to pass the post just a nose behind Senorita Bonita in third. Making her first appearance since in last month's GIII Sorrento Stakes on the dirt at Del Mar, she went down by just a neck there in the style of one who will be further enhancing the impressive record of the Queen Mary in the coming weeks. She's well named! Victorious wins the Queen Mary Stakes! #RoyalAscot winner number 99 for Aidan O'Brien! pic.twitter.com/tfpnYdMFra— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 17, 2026 Albany form more than holding its ownFingers crossed, Victorious should be back to demonstrate her obvious star potential in 2027, but first there's the small matter of Saturday's G1 Tattersalls Sceptre Sessions Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket, a humdinger of a race in which Senorita Bonita is set to come up against the one-two from the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot, Libertango (No Nay Never) and Sun Goddess (Sioux Nation).George Boughey's Libertango was ultimately a decisive winner of the Albany, by a length from Sun Goddess, in another juvenile heat at Royal Ascot that is proving very strong form to follow.Indeed, Libertango, who won the Lowther at York last time after suffering her first defeat at the hands of Senorita Bonita in the Duchess Of Cambridge, was followed home in the Albany by six individual black-type winners. Sun Goddess, of course, is the most illustrious of that contingent and the favourite for the Cheveley Park, as things stand, after winning each of her four starts since Ascot, including Group 1 victories at the Curragh in the Phoenix Stakes and Moyglare Stud Stakes.Back in third at Ascot was the subsequent G3 Prestige Fillies' Stakes heroine Light Of Dawn (Showcasing), who looks to hold solid claims when she attempts to follow up in Friday's G2 Betway Rockfel Stakes at Newmarket, while it was a successful weekend just gone for two fillies who finished out with the washing in the Albany. Silent Beauty (Night Of Thunder) beat only two home on that occasion but continued her resurgence on Saturday with victory in the G3 Firth Of Clyde Stakes at Ayr, while Topaz (Persian Force), only 15th in the Albany, travelled to Rome on Sunday to win the Listed Premio Ubaldo Pandolfi Premio Del Centenario.A word, too, for the James Owen-trained Acclamation Star (Acclamation), who won the G3 Dick Poole Fillies' Stakes at Salisbury last time. She had previously finished 10th at Ascot, one place behind Jolivette (Wootton Bassett) who, at Newbury on Saturday, narrowly missed out on becoming another black-type winner to emerge from the Albany when beaten just a short head in the G2 Mill Reef Stakes. Instead, the list is completed by the Albany seventh Valentina Bella (Armor), who headed to Ascot on the back of her success in the Listed Prix des Reves d'Or – Jacques Bouchara at Vichy. Billy Loughnane and George Boughey do it again! Libertango wins the Albany Stakes! #RoyalAscot pic.twitter.com/VXXYOqPhG9— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 19, 2026 Are the fillies better than the colts?Events at Royal Ascot rather foretold what has been the story of the two-year-old division in Europe this season, with it often being said that the current crop of fillies is better than the colts.Certainly, Senorita Bonita and Sun Goddess have gone a long way to proving that theory when beating the boys in the Prix Morny and Phoenix, respectively. With a Timeform master rating of 120, Sun Goddess is not only the highest-rated two-year-old in training, but also the highest-rated juvenile filly since Lady Aurelia, a memorable seven-length winner of the Queen Mary in 2016.The G1 National Stakes winner Folsom Blues (Blue Point) is Sun Goddess' closest pursuer in this division with a rating of 115, but then he's followed by two more fillies in Godolphin's G2 May Hill Stakes heroine Musical Times (Lope De Vega) (114p) and the aforementioned Senorita Bonita (114). Libertango, meanwhile, has a rating of 109p, suggesting that she too would be a match for many of the better colts in training when her 3lb sex allowance is factored in.Looking at the other two-year-old contests staged at Royal Ascot, it's also worth pointing out that the only subsequent black-type winner to come out of the Chesham Stakes to date is another filly, namely Aperoll (Ghaiyyath), who finished third at Ascot before rediscovering the winning thread in the Listed Star Stakes at Sandown.Then there's the Windsor Castle Stakes, in which King Of Cloughan (St Mark's Basilica) was chased home by five subsequent stakes winners, with none rated higher by Timeform than the filly who filled the runner-up spot, Moonrise (Churchill {Ire}). The winner of the G3 Princess Margaret Stakes at Ascot and G3 Sirenia Stakes at Kempton, she also features in a red-hot edition of the Cheveley Park on Saturday. That boy Billy Loughnane again! King Of Cloughan wins the Windsor Castle Stakes! #RoyalAscot pic.twitter.com/j5KLDiDGqx— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 17, 2026 A muddling Middle ParkKing Of Cloughan is also set to be in action on Saturday when he lines up in the €1-million Goffs Million at the Curragh, while on the same Newmarket card as the Cheveley Park is the Tattersalls Middle Park Stakes. That Group 1 brings together the Royal Ascot winners Great Barrier Reef (No Nay Never) and Orthodox (Havana Grey), who were successful in the Coventry Stakes and Norfolk Stakes, respectively, the premier races for two-year-old colts staged at the meeting.However, whereas the form of the fillies' races at that meeting continues to stand the test of time, it's fair to say that the Coventry and the Norfolk haven't worked out as well as might have been anticipated.The Clive Cox-trained Orthodox was very impressive in winning the Norfolk by three and a half lengths, but the fact he isn't rated higher than 106 by Timeform underlines that he didn't have much to beat on the day, albeit the third, Mussab (Ten Sovereigns), gave the form a belated boost when winning the Listed Harry Rosebery Stakes at Ayr on Friday.Certainly, Orthodox has plenty to find to get to the level of Folsom Blues if that colt takes up his entry in the Middle Park. And, if Joseph O'Brien opts to wait for next month's G1 Darley Dewhurst Stakes instead, then it will be Great Barrier Reef who sets the standard, albeit his master rating of 108 is also some way shy of what would typically be expected of a Middle Park winner.For context, the last 10 winners have run to an average Timeform performance rating of 116.5, with Wise Approach the lowest-rated winner during that period when achieving a rating of 112 in victory last year.Great Barrier Reef could yet find the necessary improvement to get to that sort of level, but his Coventry form leaves a lot to be desired. In fact, he ran his best race when suffering his first defeat in the G3 Round Tower Stakes at the Curragh last time, trying and only narrowly failing to concede 5lb to fellow Middle Park contender Push The Boat Out (Kodi Bear).At Ascot, Great Barrier Reef won by a half-a-length from Adaay Of Scarlett (Mehmas), who has continued to play the role of bridesmaid in five subsequent starts in Pattern company. The third-place finisher, Royal Heritage (Blue Point), hasn't been seen on a racecourse since, while the fourth, Cut A Dash (Starspangledbanner), again had his limitations exposed when fifth in Saturday's Mill Reef.For a race with such a rich history, it's remarkable to think that the Coventry has produced only one black-type winner over the course of the past three months, namely Final Objective (Sioux Nation) when he won the Flying Childers at Doncaster. Aidan O'Brien is off the mark for #RoyalAscot 2026! Great Barrier Reef wins the Coventry Stakes! pic.twitter.com/8WBxs0ZvKJ— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 16, 2026The post Memorable Queen Mary and Cracking Albany Combine in Cheveley Park Thriller appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.