SPEEDY Roxan (4.55) will be hard to peg back in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes on the second day of Royal Ascot.

Two years ago Mark Johnston's Attraction blitzed her rivals to bring the prestigious prize to the North-East, however this season the name on everyone's lips is Kevin Ryan when it comes to analysing two-year-old talent.

Ryan's massive strength-in-depth within the juvenile ranks was never better illustrated than when Roxan landed a huge gamble to take Beverley's Hilary Needler Stakes in May.

Given the competitiveness of modern-day racing, winning five-furlong Listed contests is hard enough, but to produce a filly on her debut to achieve such a feat represents a touch of genius.

Ryan has deliberately kept his star under wraps since then, homing in on today's £70,000 pot with the steely determination of a gunslinger determined not to fritter away his bullets on less important targets.

Ouija Board's presence in the Prince of Wales's Stakes adds further interest to an already fascinating clash of the titans, featuring amongst others David Junior and Electrocutionist, both of whom were Group 1 scorers at the Dubai Festival.

It's one of the highest quality renewals of the £350,000 showpiece in living memory, so the fact Ed Dunlop's has swerved the Hardwicke and Coral Eclipse, suggests all is hunky-dory with the globe-trotting mare.

"She runs and Olivier Peslier will ride. We are very happy with her and she worked well on Friday," said Ed Dunlop, who hit the jackpot with Ouija Board in 2004 when she landed the English and Irish Oaks, plus a Breeders' Cup triumph.

Peslier's booking will come as a surprise to many, however with all three of her previous partners, Kieren Fallon, Jamie Spencer, and Frankie Dettori, already engaged, connections have turned to the French ace.

Some jockeys from across the channel, notably Freddie Head, have come in for stick due to ill-judged rides, but there are no such worries about Peslier, who gave a master class when winning the 2000 Hardwicke on Fruits Of Love.

The monster 30-runner Royal Hunt Cup might not be so difficult to solve if Hinterland (4.25) turns out to be a Group horse dressed in handicap clothing.

It's no coincidence that the selection is a son of the late-lamented Danzig, one of the greatest all-time sires, his influence helping Hinterland limber up for today's test with a clear-cut win on Derby Day at Epsom.

* Hellvelyn, tipped in both Saturday's and yesterday's Royal Ascot preview by Janus (Colin Woods), duly obliged to land a 4-1 winning nap selection in the opening race at the Festival.

* Hula Ballew recorded her second course and distance success in the space of a fortnight at Thirsk yesterday when claiming the feature race on the card, the Ladies Evening July Fillies' Handicap.

Although the Michael Dods' trained mare was running off a career-high mark of 69, it didn't stop her battling bravely to a hard-fought victory under a forceful ride from Phillip Makin.

"Hula Ballew is in at Ayr and Newmarket later on this week and she's in great nick so we'll probably run her again," said Dods, who also heaped praise on Makin's handling of the six-year-old.