DAVID Evans sends two two-year-olds to Royal Ascot today.

In the 2.30, the five-furlong Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes, he runs Good Vibes, who cost owners Paul and Clare Rooney £35,000. She began her racing career at the Craven meeting by finishing second in a small field. Connections saw enough there to enter her in a better race at Salisbury, which she won despite running a bit green. They upped the ante again by putting her in the Marygate Stakes at York’s Dante meeting, a race Evans won in 2014 with a filly that beat Tiggy Wiggy.

Good Vibes won the York race as well, and Evans said afterwards: “She is the best I’ve trained. I think she could win the Queen Mary.”

The winner of the Marygate has gone on to take the Ascot contest three times. Harry Bentley, who partnered her to both of her victories, takes the mount again. She is 8/1 to give the trainer his first winner at the Royal meeting.

At 5.35, Ivatheengine lines up for the Listed Windsor Castle Stakes over five furlongs.

He made his debut at Chepstow last month, finishing a close second to Flippa The Strippa after starting slowly. Oisin Murphy rode him that day and was happy to keep the ride, for at Windsor two weeks later he was odds on to score, and did so by “always just doing enough” according to the Racing Post’s race reader. He has to improve to win today’s event and is 25/1 at the time of writing. P J McDonald takes over in the saddle.

Ivatheengine, a gelding, cost just 4,000 euros as a yearling. He and Good Vibes will be competing against the bluebloods of the Coolmore and Godolphin empires, but given their modest pedigrees they have nothing to lose.

Evans is unlikely to make the dash up to Ripon for tonight’s 9.20 race to see Vandella make her debut for the yard. She cost 280,000 guineas as a yearling but will have changed hands for much less since finishing second in both her all-weather outings for John Gosden in January, a beaten favourite each time. Vandella drops down to six furlongs, which looks like a sensible move considering she showed good early speed last time out before fading. That was over a mile. Her new owner, Mrs Folkes, has had quite a few horses with Evans and is overdue for her first winner of 2019.

A spate of abandonments caused by the wet weather has limited opportunities for local trainers in the last week. Chepstow’s meeting on Friday was rather surprisingly called off, seeing as the going was good to soft a day or two before. Unfortunately, an inch and a quarter of rain fell in 24 hours, and with the promise of more to come, they had no option but to abandon.

Their next meeting is on Monday 24th. Single tickets are £15 if booked in advance, but you can buy two for £20. On the day, admission will be £20 per person.