'She's maturing all the time and 12-1 is much too big' - Royal Ascot eyecatchers

The countdown to Royal Ascot continued over the last week and below are four horses who caught the eye for the five-day spectacular, which kicks off next Tuesday.

Potapova, Duke Of Cambridge Stakes

The unluckiest loser over the two days at Epsom was unquestionably Emily Upjohn in the Cazoo Oaks, but Potapova's effort in the Princess Elizabeth Stakes must be massively upgraded too, given she completely missed the kick and found herself last most of the way.

The way Potapova managed to get herself into a challenging position 2f out was a real indication that the daughter of Invincible Spirit had grown up this season. She hit a low of 2-1 in running on Betfair before finishing second to Bashkirova, also owned by Cheveley Park.

Potapova was a massive drifter on the day too, starting at 11-2 having been 3-1 in the morning.

It might be a quick turnaround but Potapova shaped as though the Duke Of Cambridge would be right up her street and she remains freely available at 12-1. That is much too big.

Potapova (right): finishes second to Bashkirova in the Princess Elizabeth StakesCredit: Edward Whitaker

Sir Michael Stoute must have thought the world of her last season to have thrown her into the Coronation Stakes having only won at Chelmsford and Redcar, and she is maturing all the time.

Watch Potapova finish second after a slow start and being behind for most of the race

Nahanni, Queen's Vase

The Derby was about one horse and one horse only as Desert Crown proved himself to be in a different league to his rivals, but the performance of Nahanni caught my eye with the Queen's Vase in mind.

The Frankel colt is not flashy and won't blow you away, but he never got a chance to show what he was made of on Saturday.

He sweated up worse than anything else in the race beforehand and then missed the break, meaning last year's winning rider Adam Kirby was much further back than he wanted to be. It was what he did up the home straight that impressed me most.

Nahanni (blue with red cap): finishes well into seventh place in the DerbyCredit: Edward Whitaker

Ideally, Kirby would have liked to have switched to the outside of Star Of India passing the 2f pole but Piz Badile shut that door. He kept galloping all the way to the line, though, despite so much going wrong in the race, and I thought he was value for finishing a few lengths closer to Desert Crown.

An extra two furlongs in the Queen's Vase should be ideal and 9-1 looks very generous indeed.

Watch Nahanni make eyecatching ground up the Epsom straight

Savvy Knight, King George V Handicap

Sean Woods seems to have a smart handicapper in Savvy Knight, who would make plenty of appeal if going for the King George V Handicap.

The son of Caravaggio, who was gelded before making a winning debut at Nottingham, is now three from three after a workmanlike win at odds-on in a Hamilton Handicap last Thursday.

He was 8-13 and won by only a length and a half, but the outcome was never in doubt up the home straight and it looked as though he was quite a bit ahead of his handicap mark of 85.

On his second start he beat Our Jester at Bath and it's worth remembering Hughie Morrison's charge finished seventh in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper at Cheltenham.

Watch Savvy Knight complete his hat-trick at Hamilton

Age Of Kings, Coventry Stakes

Aidan O'Brien has a host of seemingly top-notch juveniles heading to Royal Ascot next week and the problem for punters is trying to figure out who is going where.

Aidan O'Brien: has a top-notch juvenile in Age Of KingsCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Statuette looks nailed on to go for the Albany but figuring out where everything else runs is an arduous task.

Blackbeard and Little Big Bear are both smart colts and could go down the Coventry route, but the Norfolk is an option for both as well, whereas Age Of Kings looks as if he needs every inch of six furlongs already.

The Kingman colt made no mistake at the second time of asking in a 6f maiden at the Curragh last Wednesday and the style of the victory was extremely easy on the eye.

The well-backed Ger Lyons-trained newcomer New Image threatened his superiority approaching the final furlong but Age Of Kings swatted him away without fuss and went on to win by four lengths. There was a yawning gap back to the third as well.

Perhaps the Coventry will come too soon and he will wait for the Railway Stakes instead, but the 12-1 on offer will look massive if he does show up next Tuesday. He could be top class.

Watch Age Of Kings win cosily at the Curragh

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