Wesley Ward will wait until the last moment before deciding whether Fandom will take his chance in the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot on Tuesday.

Fandom was a wide-margin winner on his sole start at Keeneland in April, making all the running under big-race jockey Irad Ortiz Jr and is one of the fancied runners from Ward’s strong US team at the meeting this week.

However, Ward believes owner Barbara Banke may decide to run the speedy Showcasing colt in Wednesday’s Listed Windsor Castle Stakes over five furlongs, rather than take on River Tiber and Asadna over the six furlongs of the Group Two Coventry Stakes.

Ward said: “Fandom has worked very well, excellent in fact. He has travelled over well. I think he has got a great chance and has done everything well. We have declared in this race as well as the Windsor Castle.

“We will be having a meeting with Fandom’s owner Barbara Banke and her team on Monday evening and then we will make a determination as to which race we are going to go in.”

The Keeneland handler became the first US-based trainer to bring a horse to England and win a race at Royal Ascot when Strike The Tiger scored in the 2009 Windsor Castle and has recorded 11 further wins at the meeting.

Sprint king Ward was out of luck at last year’s meeting, with main hope Golden Pal missing the break in the King’s Stand Stakes when Ortiz Jr was momentarily confused by the eventual withdrawal of the reluctant to load Mondammej and Khaadem, who unshipped Jamie Spencer.

Ward, who has previously used the services of Frankie Dettori on many occasions in the past at the Royal meeting, will keep the faith with Ortiz Jr and will also employ fellow US rider Joel Rosario this week.

Ward feels Ortiz Jr will be itching to make up for a luckless showing last year.

He added: “We have every faith in both Irad and Joel Rosario, who is also riding a couple of ours. Last year’s King’s Stand was just one of those things.”

Frankie Dettori looks to have a fantastic chance of starting his final Royal Ascot with a bang when he partners Inspiral in the Queen Anne Stakes.

The Italian has been in the saddle aboard the John and Thady Gosden-trained filly in all but one of her eight career starts and the duo have struck at the highest level on three occasions – including at the Royal meeting 12 months ago when she was a taking winner of the Coronation Stakes.

That was Inspiral’s first outing of the 2022 season having missed the early part of the campaign and connections have kept the daughter of Frankel fresh once again as they attempt to repeat the dose.

“It’s full-on pressure and it’s a very competitive race first time out,” said Chris Richardson, managing director of owners Cheveley Park Stud.

“She runs well fresh and she has done in the past, she was very impressive first time last year in the Coronation Stakes. She’s in good form we think and hope she puts her best foot forward.

“Mrs (Patricia) Thompson was adamant we waited. She wasn’t ready for the Guineas last year and we waited and it was her preference that we followed a similar programme – she is a big believer in listening to her horses and if Inspiral was to be at her best, it would be better to wait until June rather than push her to the Lockinge in May.

“She had a very nice break at the stud last autumn and really thrived and benefitted for that, both mentally and physically. She did very well over the winter and I know both John and Thady Gosden were pleased with how she came back and the way she has sort of progressed in the last month or so.”

Of the attention on Dettori’s rides this week, he added: “We’re concentrating on our filly, but we’re delighted to have Frankie on board and we’ll enjoy the moment.”

Inspiral’s biggest danger appears to be Godolphin’s two-pronged assault on the race via Charlie Appleby’s Classic heroes Modern Games and Native Trail.

Both landed versions of the 2000 Guineas as three-year-old milers last term and Modern Games appears to be the Moulton Paddocks first string after adding to his impressive haul in the Lockinge Stakes last month.

“His record is very good and he won the Lockinge well last time, so I’m looking forward to riding him again,” said his big-race pilot William Buick ahead of the British Champions Series event.

“It would be nearly a rerun of the Lockinge without Inspiral, who is a good filly. As any Queen Anne should be, it will be tough to win.”

Appleby, speaking to www.godolphin.com, added: “Modern Games came out of the Lockinge Stakes in good form and we have been delighted with his preparation. It was great to get a Group One win in the UK under his belt and, providing there is not a deluge of rain, he looks the one to beat again.

“Native Trail has definitely come forward since his run at Newmarket. He is a sharper, fitter individual now and benefited from a racecourse gallop last week. He is a Classic winner in his own right and goes to Ascot with a live chance.”

Richard Hannon’s Chindit gave Modern Games plenty to think about at Newbury – including when trying to bite his rival in the closing stages – and the handler is hopeful his course-and-distance winner can build on that second as he lines up alongside stablemate Lusail.

“He is a gentleman and has never done anything like that before. He only did it because Buick was in close to him,” said Hannon.

“I thought he would be shorter in the betting. He picked up better than Pat (Dobbs) thought he would and he is in the form of his life.

“We are going to ride Lusail a little handier (this time) as he seems to get flat-footed at a crucial part of the race.”

David Simcock saddles both Cash and Light Infantry after the latter went close in the Prix d’Ispahan last month, while Charlie Hills’ Mutasaabeq accounted for both Native Trail (second) and Light Infantry (third) when a good winner of the rearranged Bet365 Mile at Newmarket on his seasonal return and then had excuses when fifth in the Lockinge most recently.

“He’s going to have to run a career best to win this, but he won very well at Newmarket,” said Angus Gold, racing manager for owners Shadwell.

“Some people felt Jim (Crowley) went a little bit quick (in the Lockinge) but he felt the horse was just a little bit flat and we ran him back relatively quick.

“He had been away for a stalls test so quite a lot happened in quite a short space of time for him, so we have concentrated on freshening him up and getting him to Ascot in the best shape he can be and we will see how good he is on the day.”

Having played a key role in the very start of Frankie Dettori’s love affair with Royal Ascot, Luca Cumani will be a keen observer when his compatriot bids for a fairytale ending to his association with the meeting.

It is 38 years since a then-teenage Dettori first touched down on British soil, at which stage his experience of riding thoroughbreds was almost as non-existent as his ability to speak English.

Cumani, by then an established trainer at Bedford House stables in Newmarket having previously served as assistant to the late, great Sir Henry Cecil, was tasked with showing his fellow Italian the ropes – and insists it did not take him long to realise he had a rough diamond on his hands.

“Frankie’s father was my father’s stable jockey in Italy, so that was the connection. His father decided that he wanted to send Frankie to England and that’s how it started,” said Cumani.

“When he arrived I knew I had a bit responsibility because this was a 14-year-old kid who couldn’t speak a word of English and had more or less ridden ponies and never really ridden racehorses before.

“But he was a very quick learner, he quickly learnt to speak English to a point and rode very well.

“It was not immediately obvious how much talent he had, but once he started get confidence on a horse and then he started riding work, you could see had a natural affinity with the job.”

It was four years after his arrival that Cumani gave Frankie Dettori his first taste of Royal Ascot, jocking up aboard his apparent second string Rain Burst in the 1989 Coronation Stakes.

Dettori, who at the time was still claiming 3lb, had steered the Sheikh Mohammed-owned filly to a win in lesser company at Goodwood just nine days earlier and she was a 12-1 shot stepping up in class.

Cumani also fielded Comic Talent, who lined up under stable jockey Ray Cochrane following a five-race winning streak in the Cheveley Park silks.

In the end neither were able to land a telling blow, but Rain Burst did outperform her better-fancied stablemate to finish fifth. Cumani had no doubt about giving Dettori his opportunity at the highest level, despite still being an apprentice.

He said: “He was only claiming 3lb and that was a fraud really because he was better than that.”

Dettori rounded off 1989 by being crowned champion apprentice and by the time the following year’s Royal Ascot came around, he was a fully-fledged jockey and Cumani’s main man.

The showpiece fixture got under way with the Queen Anne Stakes, in which Cumani and Dettori teamed up with Markofdistinction, who had previously finished fourth as a hot favourite for the Lockinge Stakes.

Cumani admits that while it was not entirely easy viewing, Dettori was at his brilliant best as he threaded the eye of the needle to secure the first of his 77 Royal Ascot wins to date.

“I remember it well because he took the daring route on the inside, going between runners and against the stands rail,” Cumani recalled.

“As he was poking his head in there I thought ‘good God, I hope he’s done the right thing here!’. Thankfully he burst through and won the race very well.

“We were hopeful of a good performance, never confident because with such high-class races you can’t be confident, but we were hopeful and he delivered.”

No one could have envisaged the glittering career Dettori would go on to enjoy, but Cumani added: “We had an inkling. The fact that he’d only just come out of his apprenticeship and we made him stable jockey was a big vote of confidence.

“We had a good idea that he was going to be around for a long time and was going to be very successful.”

Cumani brought the curtain down on his own illustrious racing career in 2018, retiring from the training ranks after saddling two Derby winners in Kahyasi (1988) and High-Rise (1998) and countless other big-race winners over the course of 43 years.

He will not be travelling to Ascot but would love Dettori to bag at least one winner on his final Royal meeting performance, even if he believes he was hasty in his decision to announce his impending retirement late last year.

“I won’t be going at all this year because my wife has had a foot operation and is hobbling about, so we’ll be watching from home,” Cumani said.

“I send Frankie a message every time he wins a big race and tell him he’s making a mistake in giving up and should carry on!

“He will be a big loss to racing and I’m sure he’s thought about it (changing his mind), but he seems to be determined this will be his last year, or so he tells me!”

Connections of Laurel will look to the Tattersalls Falmouth Stakes after she was frustratingly ruled out of the Duke of Cambridge Stakes with a late setback.

Trained by John and Thady Gosden, the daughter of Kingman was towards the top of the market for the one-mile Royal Ascot Group Two – a race which had been her main target for the first half of the season – but her name was missing from the 10 declarations on Monday.

A winner of three of her five starts, she would have had a fine chance of bouncing back from a below-par effort in the Lockinge where she was tasked with taking on colts for the first time.

However, she suffered an issue over the weekend which will keep her on the sidelines during the Royal meeting, with the focus now switching to getting her back to full fitness for her next assignment, which could come on July 14 at Newmarket’s July Festival.

“She’s just had a little setback over the weekend and this morning John and Thady weren’t 100 per cent happy with her, so unfortunately we couldn’t declare her,” said Barry Mahon, European racing manager for owners Juddmonte.

“It’s just a bit of wear or tear and it was 50-50, but you are on the big stage and when you are not 100 per cent happy it’s not worth taking the risk. So we said we will give her an easy few days and probably aim for the Falmouth at the July meeting.”

Mahon added: “It’s frustrating as this is the race we had in mind for her all year, but the filly’s welfare always comes first and once the trainer wasn’t 100 per cent happy that was it, there was no question.”

Adayar, Luxembourg and Bay Bridge will clash in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot on Wednesday.

A field of six line up in the day two feature, which promises to be a mouthwatering affair despite the enforced absence of last year’s Derby winner Desert Crown.

Winner of the Epsom Classic himself in 2021, the Charlie Appleby-trained Adayar looked as good as ever on his return in the Gordon Richards Stakes at Newmarket.

Aidan O’Brien’s Luxembourg, meanwhile, was an all-the-way winner from Sir Michael Stoute’s Bay Bridge – who beat Adayar in the Champion Stakes at Ascot – in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh.

Born To Rock (Jane Chapple-Hyam) and Beautiful Diamond (Karl Burke) head the market for the Queen Mary, which also features intriguing American challengers in the shape of Bundchen (Wesley Ward) and Crimson Advocate (George Weaver).

In the Royal Hunt Cup, Frankie Dettori will carry the silks of the King and Queen aboard the John and Thady Gosden-trained Reach For The Moon.

Although Laurel was not declared for the Duke of Cambridge Stakes, it could still be a big day for the Gosdens and Dettori, as they also have Gregory in the 14-strong Queen’s Vase – where the Stoute-trained Circle Of Fire is the royal representative with Richard Kingscote in the saddle.

A bit of La Liga glitz and glamour hit Gowran Park on Sunday when Maxux made an impressive debut in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies & Mares Maiden.

The Joseph O’Brien-trained three-year-old is owned by Real Madrid player Álvaro Odriozola who recently tasted Copa del Rey glory with the Spanish giants but takes a keen interest in both racing and breeding in his spare time.

The daughter of Frankel is a sister to Cunco, the Group Three winner who was the first of the sire’s progeny to make the racecourse – and she went someway to justifying the 200,000 guineas she commanded at the sales, making good headway to work her way into the contest before pulling clear in the closing stages to register four-and-three-quarter-length victory at 12-1.

Assistant trainer Brendan Powell said: “She is very relaxed and chilled out at home. She is a typical Frankel. She has got an engine, will stay further and Mikey (Sheehy) said he thinks she could be pretty smart.

“She loved the ground and will stay up to a mile-and-a-half no problem. We will try and get a bit of black type with her and she will be a nice broodmare prospect for her owner down the line. His big passion is breeding so hopefully this is a smart one for him.”

Nostrum could return to action in the Edmondson Hall Solicitors Sir Henry Cecil Stakes during Newmarket’s July Festival.

Sir Michael Stoute’s talented colt was unbeaten in his first two starts as a juvenile, including when impressing in the Tattersalls Stakes at Newmarket in September, and was last seen finishing third to fellow Juddmonte-owned 2000 Guineas winner Chaldean in the Dewhurst last autumn.

He was likely to return with Classic aspirations in the early part of the season, but any hope of that was scuppered when meeting with a setback in the spring, and having lost the race to be fit in time for a Royal Ascot run, connections are now pencilling in the Listed event Baaeed won in 2021 on July 13 for the Kingman colt’s comeback.

“He’s in good nick and is getting close,” said Barry Mahon, European racing manager for owners Juddmonte.

“A loose plan is that he will run in the Henry Cecil at Newmarket’s July Meeting. It’s the one-mile Listed race that Baaeed won a couple of years ago.

“We were probably about two weeks short of being ready for Ascot and Sir Michael said let’s take our time and start off slow. So that looks like the plan as long as everything continues to go OK between now and then.”

Although unable to make an appearance in either the Classics or at Ascot’s summer showpiece, Mahon believes there is plenty to still look forward to and is backing Nostrum to make his mark in the second half of the season.

He continued: “It’s not the be-all and end-all (missing the start of the season). If you are a Group One horse then there are plenty of races in the second half of the season and even next season if he is a Group One horse, he’ll be able to showcase his talent.

“From a commercial point of view, you would love to be there for the Guineas and Ascot etc but I suppose you have to remember that with Chaldean as well, we would probably have been trying to keep them apart anyway.”

Craig Kieswetter is dreaming the next stage of the Echoes In Rain journey leads to an Ascot Gold Cup triumph as the former England international cricketer has eyes for only one trophy at Royal Ascot.

Kieswetter was named man of the match in the World Cup Final when England conquered the cricketing world at the 2010 T20 World Cup. But since crossing the boundary for the final time at the tender age of 27, he has gone on to play a major role in Barnane Stud and now stands on the brink of reaching the pinnacle of Flat racing when the standard bearer of his family’s racing operation lines up in Thursday’s main event.

Trained by Willie Mullins, Echoes In Rain has raced 23 times in a dual-purpose career that has seen her win nine times, striking at Grade One level twice – including on her most recent outing at the Punchestown Festival when she arguably produced a career best, romping to an imperious nine-and-a-half-length victory.

Her record could be even more impressive if not racing in the era of Honeysuckle, but it is somewhat fitting that the Barnane stalwart could provide her owners with their biggest triumph on the ultimate stage.

“She’s an incredible horse and all the credit has to go to Peter, Ross and Anna Doyle who purchased her for us and Willie and his team for the way they have looked after her,” said Kieswetter.

“She’s one of those horses that doesn’t come around too often and she has given us so much pleasure over the jumps and on the Flat for a good few years.

“As grateful as we are for the great times and the journey she has taken us on, at times it has been frustrating because she has come up against Honeysuckle. It’s been an amazing journey and it would be great to continue that journey on Thursday.”

Mullins is seeking his own slice of history and he attempts to become the first man to win both the Cheltenham and Ascot versions of the Gold Cup in the same year.

Vincent O’Brien is the only man to win both races, but it was not in the same calendar year – showing just how remarkable Mullins’ achievement would be.

The Closutton handler came close to Gold Cup glory 10 years ago, when Simenon was narrowly denied by the late Queen’s Estimate in the week’s premier staying contest.

Kieswetter continued: “Willie is happy with the mare and hopefully he can create a bit of history for himself and become the first trainer to win both Gold Cups in the same year – that would be one hell of an achievement.

“He’s a genius and he knows what his plan is. He is hungry to give the race a good crack and is sending a good team of horses for the week. It’s extremely exciting, the Gold Cup is the Gold Cup and we’re just hoping the mare gives a good account of herself and if she does, we will be happy with that.

“After chatting to Willie, he did mention a couple of options for her at the Royal meeting and some other Flat races throughout the season, but I think he must be quite chuffed with her and confident after her last performance.

“Willie isn’t going to just enter a horse for the sake of entering it, so he must be confident and that in turn gives us confidence.”

Barnane Stud broke their duck at the Royal meeting when the William Haggas-trained Candleford stormed to success in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes 12 months ago, a result that simply whetted Kieswetter’s appetite to return in search of further glory during one of the biggest weeks of the racing year.

Now, like their horses, the close-knit family operation is ready to make the step up to the highest level and – win, lose or draw – they are determined to enjoy the day to its full potential.

“Last year we had a nice result with Candleford in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes,” added the South African-born owner-breeder.

“Just to have a runner is great, but to have a winner is very special. It’s an incredible week of racing.

“The Gold Cup is steeped in history and tradition. The whole week of racing is amazing, but the Gold Cup is the pinnacle of the week and to have a runner the trainer is confident in is very exciting.

“We have the whole team over from Barnane and South Africa and we will be racing with a lot of friends, so it will be a fun day.

“If she wins the Gold Cup, I’m pretty sure we will open up the local pub to the whole of the town and drink them out of Guinness.”

A Gold Cup victory would make Echoes In Rain a valuable broodmare proposition for Barnane Stud with Kieswetter tentatively mooting they could decide to pull stumps on her racing career there and then in the Ascot winner’s enclosure if big-race success came her way.

There is, of course, plenty of water to cross through Swinley Bottom before a date with the breeding sheds is inked into the diary, but it appears Kieswetter’s mating plans are as aggressive as his exploits with cricket bat in hand as he suggests he would not be shy in pointing Echoes In Rain the way of Frankel amongst others.

He said: “If she does happen to do something special, she will undoubtedly be going to the best Flat stallion. It would make sense being a Gold Cup winner or placed mare, so she would be deserving of the full treatment and we certainly wouldn’t hold back on her.

“Frankel is most probably on the cards. He’s a superstar and his results are outstanding. But that is something we will sit down as a team and no doubt discuss the options. Although it is important we don’t get carried away and we need to get through Thursday first before we can sit and decide anything.

“The fact we are able to even have these dreams is what the sport is all about and we are grateful for.

“We’ve got a beautiful team, both over here and in South Africa, and what we want to do is breed top quality racehorses and that is what the goal is.”

Mick Fitzgerald has paid tribute to Paul Barber following his death at the age of 80, describing his Cheltenham Gold Cup victory aboard the leading owner’s See More Business as “one of my proudest days in the saddle”.

The landlord of 14-time champion trainer Paul Nicholls, Barber was a passionate supporter of jumps racing and enjoyed numerous big-race successes, both in his own name or in partnership with others.

The Nicholls-trained duo See More Business and Denman both landed Cheltenham Gold Cup glory for Barber, while in recent years, he was a joint-owner of dual King George VI Chase hero Clan Des Obeaux.

Barber was also known for the family’s dairy and cheese production business, but it was See More Business who took him to the pinnacle of National Hunt racing in 1999 when Fitzgerald steered the first real staying star of Nicholls’ Ditcheat operation to a one-length success over Go Ballistic.

“I was very lucky to ride a Gold Cup winner for Paul and I know what it meant to him,” said Fitzgerald.

“Being on top of See More Business when Paul was leading him into the winner’s enclosure that day after winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup is a memory that will live forever for me. It’s one of my proudest days in the saddle and I was just privileged to be allowed to ride the horse.

“I know what it meant to him to have a Gold Cup winner and I think that is how I would like to remember Paul Barber.

“He was a man who loved what Paul Nicholls did at Ditcheat, he was very proud of what Paul achieved – I know that. They were very good friends as well as Paul being a tenant and I know it meant an awful lot to him to have Paul as his trainer and he took a lot of pride in Paul being champion trainer so many times as well.

“I feel for (his wife) Marianne and the whole Barber family at this time.”

Sam Thomas was the man aboard Denman when he stormed to the Cheltenham Gold Cup for Barber and co-owner Margaret Findley, mother of pro-punter Harry, in 2008 and remembers a “gentleman” who was “a pleasure to ride for”.

“My thoughts are with his wife and all the immediate family and friends,” said Thomas.

“My association with Mr Barber was obviously through Paul (Nicholls) and you couldn’t wish to meet a nicer gentleman, he was a pleasure to ride for and a real honour to ride for him.

“He had See More Business as well (as Denman) and I’m sure they both would have given Mr Barber an enormous thrill and he was always such a pleasure to ride for.”