We are entering a crucial period in the season for juveniles - so how is the Royal Ascot form stacking up?

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As we hurtle towards August my favourite part of the season is coming into view, with the pecking order of this season’s best juveniles set to take a much clearer form.

Maybe I should be happy just to enjoy the present and revel in the established stars set to duke it out in the King George on Saturday, but I find tracking the emergence of the next generation of Flat stars to be more fun.

With Glorious Goodwood and York’s Ebor meeting on the way, as well as the Futurity, Debutante and Phoenix Stakes in Ireland, one of the key questions now is how the form of the six Royal Ascot juvenile contests is going to stack up.

With these immature horses progressing at such different rates, will the early bloomers we saw impress in Berkshire be able to keep up?

A month removed from the royal meeting seems an appropriate time to check in and try to find out if each race looks capable of producing some future headline-makers.

Albany

I’ll start with the fillies because the early signs here are particularly positive.

The electric Albany winner Venetian Sun has been the recipient of some glowing compliments from Karl Burke and made a relatively quick turnaround to win the Duchess of Cambridge at Newmarket’s July festival. You’d usually like to see a bigger winning margin than a neck for a 2-5 shot, but it could be that runner-up Royal Fixation is also a smart one.

Venetian Sun: impressive winner of the AlbanyCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

The fifth Fairy Oak won her maiden at Leopardstown last week while Green Sense, who was the 9-2 second favourite at Ascot before flopping, showed that run to be all wrong when winning the Group 2 Prix Robert Papin at Chantilly on Sunday. 

There is the chance for another form boost this weekend with Albany fourth Fitzella running in the Group 3 Princess Margaret Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.

The third Balantina was disappointingly a non-runner in Thursday’s Silver Flash Stakes at Leopardstown. It would be no surprise to see her kick on again given she beat Aidan O'Brien's Beautify by two lengths in a Curragh maiden before Ascot, with that one since winning a Group 2 on Irish Derby day.

At a best-priced 14-1 for the 1,000 Guineas, Venetian Sun hasn't exactly been missed by the bookies, but it's hard to argue with what she has accomplished and Burke is certain she'll stay a mile. She's not going anywhere.

Queen Mary

Aidan O'Brien's True Love justified a truckload of support on the day of the Queen Mary and took the step up to six furlongs in her stride in the Railway Stakes last weekend, dishing out a fair beating to three colts.

True Love: won the Queen Mary StakesCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

She has bags of speed and could be something special with races like the Phoenix, Prix Morny and Cheveley Park on her agenda. I'd love to see her at the Breeders' Cup too, but as an offspring of speedster No Nay Never, six furlongs could be her optimum trip and 16-1 odds for the 1,000 Guineas make very little appeal.

The Queen Mary form will clash with the Albany when runner-up Flowerhead takes on Fitzella at Ascot on Saturday. The only other runners to have finished in the top ten in the Queen Mary and to have run since, Staya – who also runs in the Princess Margaret – and Come On Eibhlin, have both won.

Coventry

True Love making hay will have been extra pleasing for her owners Coolmore given the compliment it pays to Coventry winner Gstaad, who turned over his stablemate at Navan a month before Ascot.

There was plenty being said last month around the Coventry being sub-standard, but there are signs it may have more substance than originally thought. 80-1 runner-up Do Or Do Not filled the same position behind Zavateri in Newmarket’s July Stakes and the likes of Tadej, Raakeb and Rock On Thunder have upheld their form.

O'Brien couldn't get Ascot absentee Albert Einstein off his mind after the Coventry, but the latest missive from Ballydoyle is that he could miss the rest of the season and that opens the door for Gstaad to take centre stage.

Ryan Moore: could develop into Ballydoyle's leading juvenileCredit: Tom Dulat (Getty Images)

Only one of the previous six Coventry winners have won again at Group level, but it would be a huge surprise if Gstaad didn't join Bradsell in bucking that trend.

It's likely he and True Love will be split up for the Phoenix and Morny first, but in time Gstaad could be a rare Coventry winner to turn into a genuine Guineas contender.

Adding to the strong vibes around Gstaad and True Love was the emphatic victory of Havana Anna in a Listed race at Naas on Wednesday evening – there was a substantial gap between her and the Ballydoyle duo when she was third behind them on her debut.

Norfolk

When researching this piece I sought the views of some members of the esteemed Racing Post analyst team and handicapper Jonny Pearson believes the Norfolk could rank the strongest of all the Ascot juvenile races.

Based on Racing Post Ratings, Charles Darwin tops the list of best two-year-olds this season having been awarded a figure of 109 for his emphatic victory in Thursday’s opener.

• The Ballydoyle battalion: ranking Aidan O'Brien's star-studded crop of juveniles 

And it is that race which has received the biggest form boost since with runner-up Wise Approach, a half-brother to top-class juvenile Perfect Power an easy winner in Listed company at Newbury last week. He'd be very difficult to beat if taking up his entry in the Gimcrack at York.

Wise Approach: boosted the Norfolk form with an easy win at NewburyCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

More disappointing was news over the weekend of a setback to Charles Darwin, throwing his potential Nunthorpe bid into doubt. It would be tremendously exciting to see him in receipt of as much as 24lbs against a middling group of older sprinters.

Several others who have run since have emerged with credit and the 100-1 fourth Ameeq is worth keeping an eye on should he take up his entry in a valuable sales race at York’s Ebor meeting.

Chesham and Windsor Castle

At this stage, the Chesham form has the most question marks. The form of Humidity's win took a knock when runner-up Thesecretadversary contrived to get beaten at odds of 2-13 at Ayr on Monday.

The fourth Venetian Lace filled the same spot in a messy Superlative in which her “wayward tendencies” (as the Racing Post analyst team described it) saw her hang badly left in the final two furlongs. That said, the Chesham sixth Tailgunner Joe did score at odds of 11-8 to shed his maiden tag at Catterick on Wednesday.

Windsor Castle winner Havana Hurricane was done by a bob of a head in the Super Sprint, and while that effort fell below his Ascot showing, another of our analysts Ainsley Turner reckons being held up didn't suit and it would be no surprise if he ended up in the 100+ RPR club next time out.

Havana Hurricane (number 7): went close in the Weatherbys Super Sprint last weekendCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

The form lower down the Windsor Castle looks nothing special, but none of the rest of the first four home have run since, making it harder to rank.

If you still like Havana Hurricane, of more interest should probably be his Eve Johnson Houghton-trained stablemate Zavateri.

Hindsight shows he was way overpriced for the July Stakes with Johnson Houghton calling him "one of the nicest I've had." With Humidity potentially a vulnerable favourite at 5-2 for the Vintage, Zavateri looks much more appealing to me at 7-1. 

Read these next:

The best King George winners by Racing Post Ratings this century - including a standout scorer who never raced again 

Why we should celebrate a lifetime of betting: 'It gives my 99-year-old father-in-law a reason to be up every day' 

The Ballydoyle battalion: ranking Aidan O'Brien's star-studded crop of juveniles 

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