Frankie Dettori was once again the toast of Royal Ascot, as the magical Italian secured the first winner of his final week at the showpiece meeting courtesy of Gregory in the Queen’s Vase.
The 52-year-old announced in December that 2023 would be his last year in the saddle and on so many occasions he has stolen the show at the summer spectacular.
But the opening day was a frustrating one for the veteran rider as not only did he have to make do with the runner-up spot in three races, he also picked up a nine-day suspension for careless riding.
But the betting suggested John and Thady Gosden’s dual winner Gregory would get him off the mark on day two, with punters ensuring he went off an even-money favourite, and Dettori delivered a brilliantly-judged ride from the front to send the packed grandstands wild.
Just for a moment it looked like Gregory could be picked off by Saint George when challenged in the closing stages, but the son of Golden Horn found more for pressure and was ultimately well on top as he passed the post with a length and a half in hand, giving his rider a 78th Royal Ascot success.
“I thought this winner was never going to come this year. I had three seconds yesterday, but I knew this would be my best chance,” Dettori told ITV Racing.
“I was in front a long time and when Oisin (Murphy, on the runner-up) came to me I thought ‘oh no, not second again’. This horse really stuck his neck out though, he was great. To ride a winner at my last Royal Ascot is fantastic.
“It was amazing the reception I got because it is my last season, I couldn’t be happier. I’m both sad and happy, I’ve still got three more days, but at least I’ve got one on the board.”
Gosden senior said of his completely unexposed winner, who is now favourite for the St Leger: “That was a dominant display, he broke well, Frankie got a good position and then he was able to control the pace. When the second came to him he’s gone away again.
“He’s a class horse, we’re aiming for the St Leger and I told the owners before. All being well, touch wood, he might be a Cup horse next season.
“He’ll need to run somewhere before the Leger, so he’ll go in one of the trials. I trained the father (Golden Horn) and the mother (Gretchen), so I know the family very well.”
He added: “It’s absolutely great, Frankie won it in the first furlong because he got him out and got the position. That bend comes very quickly.
“The owners, Wathnan Racing, are new to the yard and that is only their second ever runner at Royal Ascot, so it’s not a bad way to start.”
Refugee boxer Cindy Ngamba believes she has had to “work harder” than others to pursue her dreams of one day competing for Team GB at the Olympics.
Born in Cameroon, the 24-year-old fought for refugee status for years and has talked about her pain of going through detention camps before earning a right to stay in the country.
Ngamba, who trains with GB Boxing, will go to the European Games this week in Krakow as part of the Fair Chance refugee team, but is hoping to fight in the vest of Team GB in the near future.
She came to the UK aged 11 and was threatened with a return to Cameroon but believes she has had to fight harder to get to where she is competing now.
“Some people have to work harder than others because others have it the hard way,” Ngamba, who will fight for the 66kg crown at the third edition of the European Games, told the PA news agency.
“That’s not me saying those that have the easy way don’t work hard, but my life, I feel I had to overcome a lot of obstacles which makes me who I am.
“When I was an immigrant, one time, me and my brother were arrested and got sent to a detention camp in London; just like that we did not know what was happening, you feel helpless and think you will be getting sent back to the country you came from.
“Every little thing that has happened in my life since coming to the UK, I see it in a good way because if it didn’t happen I would not be where I am right now.”
Ngamba was fearful of a return to Cameroon due to her LGBTQ+ sexuality, as homosexuality is illegal in Cameroon and can be punished with up to five years in prison.
She continued: “It was dangerous for me to go back with my sexuality.
“When I was applying for my papers, I could have used my sexuality and come out but I stayed in the closet.
“I come from an African country where they are strict and the mindset is very different. During my cases, I tried to use my boxing, me going to school or college but the Home Office did not want to hear any of it.
“I came out at 18 and my solicitor did a background check on my country and saw you could get put in prison or get killed and with me being gay, I could not get sent back.”
Ngamba has proven her boxing credentials after becoming the first person since Natasha Jonas to win at three National Amateur Championship weight divisions.
Once she obtains a British passport, she will be eligible to become a fully-funded member of the GB boxing squad, and potentially represent Team GB at future Olympic Games and she feels at home with the GB boxing team.
“Team GB have always been in my corner, I feel I am a part of Team GB – but paper wise, I am not,” she said.
“They are the ones that I spend my time with all the time so they are my family, from the boxers, the coaches, the ones that work in the office, I believe that me qualifying, I will be part of Team GB.
“That’s not me saying I don’t want to represent the refugee team but I feel part of GB Boxing and they are doing their best to make me feel a part of that, which I love very much.”
Teenager Josh Tarling blew away the rest of the field to become the British men’s time trial champion as Lizzie Holden claimed the women’s crown at the Croft Circuit near Darlington.
Tarling is just 19 but the 6ft 4in tall Welshman towered over his rivals in more ways than one, putting more than a minute into them over the course of 41.1 kilometres as he won in a time of 48 minutes 50 seconds in windy conditions in north Yorkshire.
Bahrain-Victorious’ Fred Wright was second, 63 seconds down, with Tarling’s Ineos Grenadiers’ team-mate Connor Swift in third, but nobody could touch the young Welshman as he claimed his first win at senior level.
“It sounds pretty cool, doesn’t it?” said Tarling, who was snapped up by the Ineos Grenadiers on a three-year deal last winter.
“I’m super happy. We had a plan, it was definitely an aggressive plan and we gave it a go.”
Last year Tarling won the world time trial title at junior level.
Here, he skipped the under-23 category and only looked out of place in terms of how dominant he was. Tarling is 360 days younger than Josh Charlton, who took the men’s under-23 title earlier in the day.
Wright, who came into the race still dealing with some raw emotions following the death of his team-mate Gino Mader at the Tour de Suisse last week, could only admire Tarling’s ride.
“As a ride, I was really pleased with it, Wright told the PA news agency. “It’s just a shame there was a massive kid who’s put a minute into me, so what can you do?
“He’s a super talent and I think he’s going to be the next big thing in time trialling.”
It is the third year in a row an Ineos rider has taken the title. Ethan Hayter – winner of the last two national championships – was unable to defend his title due to a broken collarbone, while Geraint Thomas also withdrew and is now expected to also sit out Sunday’s road race.
But even with some elite riders missing, Tarling’s margin of victory left little doubt as to his superiority.
Holden won the women’s event by 14 seconds from Anna Morris and 16 from Elinor Barker, completing the 27.4km course – two laps of the route – in a time of 37 minutes and two seconds.
The 25-year-old Manx rider was third in last year’s time trial as Joss Lowden took the title, and second as an under-23 rider in 2019, but this was her first time on the top step of the podium.
“It’s very special,” Holden said. “It means a lot. I had high expectations because I’ve been close many times before, and with Joss not being here, I thought it could actually be possible.
“But you never know until it happens. When I found out after I crossed the line, I couldn’t believe it.”
Holden, who left British squad Le Col-Wahoo last winter to move up to the WorldTour level with UAE Team ADQ, now hopes the win will help her case as she vies for selection for the Tour de France Femmes at the end of the month.
“Hopefully this result helps my side of it, but in the next few weeks I should hear,” said Holden, who rode in the inaugural edition of the race last summer.
“It was pretty special. I’ve never experienced a race organised like that and with the fans, it definitely felt like a different level, that’s for sure.”
Luxembourg and Adayar look set renew rivalry at Ascot next month after filling the places in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes.
The Aidan O’Brien-trained Luxembourg was the marginal favourite at 2-1 for what appeared a strong renewal of the feature event on day two of the Royal meeting and set out to make every yard of the running in the hands of Ryan Moore.
The three-time Group One winner was powerless to resist the late surge of the impressive Mostahdaf, but stuck to his guns to fill the runner-up spot and O’Brien is keen to step up to a mile and a half in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes on July 29.
“We’re very happy and the winner won very well,” said the Ballydoyle handler.
“The plan was that we would have a look at the King George after this anyway. That’s possible, so we’ll see how he is. He was always going to get a mile and a half well.”
Adayar won the Derby and the King George during the summer of 2021 and Charlie Appleby was keen to enhance his potential stallion value by bagging a Group One over a mile and a quarter this term.
However, after seeing his charge beaten four and a half lengths by Mostahdaf, the Moulton Paddocks maestro admitted he appears to be “crying out” for a return to a longer trip, therefore another King George challenge appears the logical target.
“The way the race was set up wasn’t ideal for us. He was a little bit tardy from the gate and we wanted to either be on the lead or sit second to the American horse, but we ended up in the spot we thought Ryan might end up, that was our plan,” he said.
“I was pleased with the horse in respects to the fractions that were set, it was set up for a turn of foot at the end and the winner is good at that.
“I feel for our fella, we’ll step back up to a mile and a half now and go for the King George, that’s what he’s crying out for.
“We’ve had a go over 10 furlongs with him, but against the very best he’s just come up a little short a couple of times. But I’m not walking away too disappointed. If he can reclaim the King George, we’ll be very happy.”
Jimi Hendrix hit the right note at Royal Ascot to lead home a memorable one-two in the Royal Hunt Cup for trainer Ralph Beckett and owners Chelsea Thoroughbreds.
A maximum field of 30 went to post for what was as always a fiercely-competitive handicap and at the business end it was the Beckett duo on opposite sides of the track that had the contest at their mercy.
Eventual 25-1 runner-up Sonny Liston was travelling menacingly on the stands side in the hands of Ryan Moore and burst clear of his group to mount his challenge inside the final furlong, but he was unable to land a knockout blow as Rossa Ryan notched his second Royal Ascot winner when leading home those on the far side on the 22-1 scorer.
Beckett said: “What a performance. I actually gave Ryan the choice of the two. It’s great to get Sonny Liston back, he has to be ridden like that, we think.
“I always thought the winner had a day like this in him. He won the Spring Cup nicely enough, but ran poorly on the Rowley Mile last time out. I think we’ll avoid the Rowley Mile for now. I thought he’d win the Cambridgeshire last year, but that doesn’t matter now because he’s won today.
“You couldn’t make it up the same synidcate own the first two, they are very happy.
“It’s been a tough week up to now, it hasn’t been going great but to win a Hunt Cup takes a bit of doing, to finish first and second is very satisfying, and it’s great for Rossa, he gave him a peach.”
British number one Cameron Norrie came from a set down to reach the quarter-finals of the cinch Championships.
Norrie, the fifth seed, dropped the opener against Australian Jordan Thompson but then lost just five more games in a 4-6 6-3 6-2 victory at Queen’s Club.
World number 76 Thompson was inspired in the first set, which he sealed with a stunning cross-court backhand winner.
But the 29-year-old’s forehand let him down badly as Norrie broke for 4-2 on his way to levelling the match.
Norrie broke in the first game of the decider, but he had to save three break points as he served for the match before completing the victory in just under two hours to reach a sixth quarter-final this year.
He said: “I think it was the perfect match. Jordan really likes the grass and in the first set he played a couple of good points to beat me.
“I thought I’d played great so I didn’t have to change too much. I came out with a lot of energy in the third set and that’s what got me through.
“It’s really good to be that consistent but you always want more as a tennis player. I want to keep pushing for more, especially in the bigger tournaments.
Norrie was due to play doubles with Andy Murray later on Wednesday evening but the two-time Wimbledon champion, who lost in the singles on Tuesday, withdrew through fatigue.
Mostahdaf produced a career-best to land a red-hot renewal of the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.
John and Thady Gosden’s charge was a big-race winner in Saudi Arabia during the winter before running with real credit behind Japanese superstar Equinox in the Dubai Sheema Classic. But he was somewhat the forgotten horse here as the race was billed as a showdown between former Derby hero Adayar, Sir Michael Stoute’s Champion Stakes winner Bay Bridge and his Curragh conqueror Luxembourg.
However, it was the Shadwell-owned five-year-old who landed the spoils in tremendous fashion, to strike for the first time at the highest level.
Jim Crowley was content to bide his time in the early stages as Luxembourg and American raider Classic Causeway eyeballed each other on the front end, but the jockey found himself in the perfect spot to strike as the runners entered the home straight.
And as push came to shove for the main protagonists, the 10-1 winner cruised to the lead before extending his advantage in the closing stages, registering a deeply impressive four-length success.
The victory gave John Gosden his third victory in the past 10 years in the 10-furlong contest and his fifth overall, but his first in conjunction with son Thady.
Andy Murray’s uncle and brother have questioned why the two-time Wimbledon champion is not on an official poster of past and present greats.
The All England Club posted on its social media channels an image of 15 famous players walking down a staircase.
Under the banner “here’s to the next generation of headline acts”, young duo Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz – neither of whom have made an impact at the Championships yet – stand in the foreground.
Behind them are a selection of “epic” rivalries including Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova and Serena and Venus Williams.
But Murray, who ended Britain’s 77-year wait for a men’s champion in 2013, is nowhere to be seen.
His uncle, Niall Erskine, tweeted underneath the image: “Appalling at every level, all about the men in the forefront and your own British history maker nowhere to be seen. You should be ashamed of yourselves.”
And Jamie Murray, who has been competing along with his brother at the cinch Championships this week, replied to Wimbledon’s Instagram post with “Where’s @andymurray?”
He added: “Didn’t they talk about the big 4 for 10 years until he smashed his hip to pieces when he was world No 1?”
Illustrator Grant Gruenhaupt responded by saying more paintings are planned.
Meanwhile, Jamie Murray and partner Michael Venus lost their first-round doubles match at Queen’s Club against Matthew Hebden and Rohan Bopanna in two tie-breaks.
Andy Murray was due to play in the doubles alongside Cameron Norrie later on Wednesday but the Scot, knocked out of the singles on Tuesday, has withdrawn from the event.
Leeds Rhinos head coach Rohan Smith has acknowledged his side face a “mini Grand Final” against fellow strugglers Huddersfield on Friday night amid increasing speculation over the 42-year-old’s future.
Rhinos limp into the Headingley clash sitting outside the play-off zone in eighth place and reeling from back-to-back defeats to Wakefield and Castleford, the Betfred Super League’s bottom two.
Ian Watson’s Giants have also struggled for much of the current campaign and go into the game in 10th place, with both clubs knowing a win is imperative if they are to mount a late push for a play-off place.
“It’s huge – it’s massive for both teams,” said Smith, whose arrival in April last year sparked his side’s rise from 11th to a fifth-placed finish and ultimately a spot in the Grand Final.
“We expect Huddersfield to be very hungry and it’s a mini Grand Final for both of us, coming off a week of reset. It’s a pivotal game for the season.”
The Rhinos’ staggering inconsistency has been laid bare in the last four games, with the dismal Wakefield and Castleford losses following an heroic 12-man win at Wigan and an injury-hit golden-point defeat to St Helens.
But, despite their alarming dip in form, Smith insists he has no fears over his job security and revealed he continues to have almost daily conversations with Rhinos chief executive Gary Hetherington.
“Gary and I talk a lot and are aligned with what we’re trying to create here,” added Smith.
“There’s no issues there. We chat every day about where we’re at – form, performance, recruitment and retention, and how we do things around the place that not dependent on last week’s result.
“Those chats happen every day and those chats will continue to be had.”
Danny Tudhope delivered Rogue Millennium with a perfectly-timed challenge to secure a popular success in the Duke of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Winner of the Lingfield Oaks Trial last season, Tom Clover’s stable star had since been placed three times at Group-race level, most recently going down by half a length to Free Wind in the Middleton Stakes at York.
Despite having never previously run over a mile, members of The Rogues Gallery syndicate boldly supplemented her for this Group Two last week – as they had the Oaks at Epsom after her Lingfield success – and were handsomely rewarded in the Berkshire sunshine.
Rogue Millennium travelled strongly in midfield for much of the way before being unleashed inside the final furlong, where she picked up well to get up and beat long-time leader Random Harvest by a neck.
Prosperous Voyage and Jumbly finished third and fourth respectively.
Colin Keane got off the mark at Royal Ascot as Villanova Queen swooped to land the Kensington Palace Fillies’ Handicap.
A winner at the big summer showpiece had so far eluded the Classic-winning rider – who is the reigning champion jockey in Ireland. But he was at his very best as he guided Jessica Harrington’s four-year-old to success.
In a typically competitive running of the one-mile handicap, there were plenty in with chances as the 19-strong field rounded the turn for home, with Frankie Dettori’s mount Tamarama looking a real player.
However, the challenge of the Ralph Beckett-trained filly soon petered out and it was left to Villanova Queen to down Daniel and Claire Kubler’s Don’t Tell Claire in the closing stages, with Tarrabb (third) and the Joseph O’Brien-trained pair of Adelaise and Yerwanthere finishing off strongly to finish fourth and fifth.
Pablo Larrazabal insisted the Ryder Cup was not the cause of his current lack of sleep, but was relishing the pressure of playing alongside Europe captain Luke Donald in Munich.
Two wins in the space of three events have lifted Larrazabal to 10th in the European points list, with 10 events remaining in qualifying for this year’s contest in Rome.
And with six wild cards at his disposal, Donald has taken the opportunity to partner Larrazabal and Germany’s Marcel Siem in the first two rounds of the BMW International, an event Larrazabal has won twice before.
“I go week by week,” Larrazabal said after making the long journey from Los Angeles – where he missed the cut in the US Open – to Munich.
“I’m not looking forward to anything, I’m looking forward to the work I’m doing today to prepare for the tournament.
“I know what I’ve done in the last five weeks. I know, for example, Luke Donald is having an eye on me. I know he is going to choose to play with me but I’ve had that pressure all my career.
“I like the pressure, I adjust to the pressure and whatever way it goes, it will go. Ryder Cup doesn’t take a minute of my sleep, probably jet-lag does at the moment.
“It’s in my mind because you guys (the media) remind me every now and then. But the Ryder Cup is a result of the work you do day after day.
“If I was nervous in Korea and Holland the last few holes, I cannot imagine how much pressure I would have in a Ryder Cup, but the Ryder Cup is at the end of September and we are in June. So many things can happen in three months.
“I checked off all my dreams and Ryder Cup has never been my dream because I saw it very far away. I saw all my idols playing Ryder Cup, but I’m not an idol of myself.
“If it happens, it happens, but if not I will pulling for Team Europe anyway. I’m a Ryder Cup fan, it’s one of the tournaments that I watch from the first tee shot to the last.
“I watch all the Ryder Cups on TV, the one in Valderrama I watched on site when I was 14 years old.”
Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton and Matt Fitzpatrick currently occupy five of the automatic qualifying places, with Germany’s Yannik Paul the surprise name rounding out the top six.
Paul’s place is under threat from the likes of Victor Perez, Adrian Meronk, Adrian Otaegui, Jorge Campillo and Larrazabal, all of whom would be making their debuts in the biennial contest.
“I think from the side of trying to fulfil the team and fill those last few spots, we’re looking for some rookies who are really keen to be a part of it,” Donald said.
“There have been some great stories and great victories from those guys too, so I’m really happy with where we are.
“I said from the beginning that I’m looking to see the excitement and commitment from these guys to be a part of that. I’m very excited with how it’s going, how these guys are playing over here on the DP World Tour.”
Crimson Advocate and John Velazquez claimed the narrowest of victories in a thrilling climax to the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot.
A field of 26 juvenile fillies went to post for the five-furlong opener on day two and the George Weaver-trained Crimson Advocate made a rapid start in the hands of his Hall of Fame pilot.
The 9-1 shot, a winner at Gulfstream Park in Florida last month, led her rivals a merry dance for much of the way and it was just a question of whether she would hold on racing inside the final furlong.
Relief Rally, unbeaten in two previous starts for William Haggas, came at the leader hard as the post loomed and was in front just before and just after the line – but the judge confirmed Crimson Advocate was a nose in front where it mattered. Beautiful Diamond, the 11-4 favourite, finished third.
Kentucky-born Weaver had saddled just one previous runner at the Royal meeting, with the Velazquez-ridden Cyclogenisis finishing down the field in the 2015 Commonwealth Cup.
English challengers Leicester and Sale Sharks have landed a fearsome pool draw in next season’s Heineken Champions Cup.
The pair, who cannot play each other in the group stage, face games against Champions Cup holders La Rochelle, runners-up Leinster, South African heavyweights DHL Stormers and Parisians Stade Francais.
They will play two matches at home and two away in December and January. The top four teams in each group will comprise the round of 16 later next term.
Premiership champions Saracens and Bristol, who replaced London Irish after the Exiles went into administration, will tackle Bordeaux-Begles, Vodacom Bulls, Lyon and Connacht in Pool 1.
Bath, Champions Cup qualifiers following a dramatic last day of the Premiership season, are in Pool 2 alongside Harlequins.
They will take on newly-crowned French champions Toulouse, Racing 92, Ulster and the solitary Welsh representative Cardiff.
Past tournament winners Exeter and Northampton are in Pool 3, where they will face fixtures against United Rugby Championship title holders Munster, Glasgow, Bayonne and Toulon.
Premiership challengers Gloucester have been handed a tough European Challenge Cup draw, being grouped in Pool 3 alongside Clermont Auvergne, Scarlets, Edinburgh, Castres and a yet-to-be-announced invited club.
Newcastle are in Pool 2 with Ospreys, Benetton, Montpellier, Perpignan and Emirates Lions, while Pool 1 comprises another invited club alongside Dragons, Pau, Oyonnax, Zebre Parma and Cell Sharks.
The top four in each group progress to the Challenge Cup round of 16, where they will be joined by the four fifth-placed Champions Cup teams.
The Challenge Cup and Champions Cup finals take place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on May 24 and 25.
Roger Varian feels Eldar Eldarov has not yet reached the ceiling of his ability ahead of his bid for Gold Cup glory at Royal Ascot on Thursday.
The four-year-old is a previous winner at the showpiece meeting, having last season claimed the narrowest of victories in the Queen’s Vase.
He went on to secure Classic honours in the St Leger at Doncaster and lost little in defeat when a strong-finishing second to Giavellotto on his reappearance in last month’s Yorkshire Cup.
Varian has been delighted with his star stayer since and while he has trained several Group One winners in recent years, the Newmarket handler admits having a genuine contender for the two-and-a-half-mile feature is a bit special.
“He’s in great form and has done everything right and everything asked of him since his good run at York,” said Varian.
“It’s exciting to get him back out and back to Ascot, he obviously won at the Royal meeting last year and it is very exciting to have such a strong contender for the Gold Cup.
“It promotes that sort of horse, which is great – we all like to have fast horses and milers but to have stayers is great also and I think the staying programme has had a bit of a resurgence over the last few years and I hope it will continue to be the case.
“The Gold Cup is one of those iconic races, it’s got masses of history and there is always something nice about having a good staying horse. A horse like Eldar Eldarov might be in the camp for two or three years to come yet and as we have seen with some of those good staying horses, they can capture the public imagination as well.
“He’s got a long way to go before he’s held in any similar regard to any of those top staying horses, but he has won a Queen’s Vase, he’s won a St Leger and his profile is on the rise, I think.
“His best days could very much be ahead of him, so we are very much looking forward to running him in the Gold Cup.”
Eldar Eldarov disputes favouritism with Andrew Balding’s Coltrane, who plundered the Ascot Stakes 12 months ago and doubled his course tally with an impressive display in last month’s Sagaro Stakes.
Three-time champion jockey Oisin Murphy will partner Coltrane and is relishing the opportunity.
“He’s trained well and won the Sagaro in good style,” he said.
“It looks a hot race, as you’d expect. Eldar Eldarov is the St Leger winner and carries 1lb less, you also have to respect whatever Aidan O’Brien has in the race (Emily Dickinson and Broome) and Courage Mon Ami is an improver as well.
“It’s a wonderful chance and I’m looking forward to riding Coltrane. I watched Yeats dominate the race, and Stradivarius, so it’s great to be riding a horse who is probably going to go off favourite.”
Subjectivist was sensational in winning the Gold Cup in 2021, but an injury which initially threatened to end his racing career has restricted him to just two subsequent starts.
Charlie Johnston’s six-year-old was well beaten on his return from almost two years off in Saudi Arabia, but his third to Broome in the Dubai Gold Cup was a step in the right direction.
Courage Mon Ami is unbeaten in three starts for John and Thady Gosden, but faces a big rise in class as he bids to provide Frankie Dettori with a dream Gold Cup success in his final year before retirement.
Willie Mullins is represented by Grade One-winning hurdler Echoes In Rain, as he looks to become the first trainer to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot in the same year.
The daughter of Authorized was last seen winning the Mares Champion Hurdle at the Punchestown Festival and carries the colours of Barnane Stud, which is owned by the family of former England international cricketer Craig Kieswetter.
“Her win at Punchestown was really impressive. When she travels well she has an electric turn of foot and she just powers home,” said Kieswetter.
“Hopefully things work out accordingly throughout the race and she settles down nicely and then she can give everyone a crack coming down the straight there.
“Most importantly we’re just looking forward to another big day at the Royal meeting and it would be amazing if the green and red silks can come home first.”
Wesley Ward is confident American Rascal can give hot favourite Elite Status a run for his money in the Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot on Thursday.
The Karl Burke-trained Elite Status has been all the rage for the Group Two contest, having followed up an impressive racecourse debut at Doncaster with a dominant display in the National Stakes at Sandown.
But Ward knows what it takes to win the Norfolk, having previously struck gold with No Nay Never (2013) and Shang Shang Shang (2018), and his latest candidate is certainly bred for the job as a son of the popular American’s dual Royal Ascot heroine Lady Aurelia.
American Rascal looked to have inherited a good portion of his mother’s blistering speed when powering over 10 lengths clear on the dirt at Keeneland in April and he can be expected to blaze a trail from stall one in the day three curtain-raiser.
“Everything is unbelievable with American Rascal, it’s all systems forward. He’s travelled great, been training great. We couldn’t be happier with him,” said Ward.
“American Rascal is the star of the show for us, anyway.”
Elite Status appears to be the top dog in what appears a particularly strong team of juveniles for Burke this season, and the Spigot Lodge expects his star youngster to take some stopping.
He told Sky Sports Racing: “I think and I hope he’s a very talented horse for the future and this track will play to his strengths.
“If he gets luck in running, for me he’s the one they’ve got to beat, but it’s very well me saying it, he’s got to go and do it.
“It was a very impressive performance at Sandown, not just visually but on the clock. The race beforehand was probably the strongest two-year-old race of the season and he annihilated them, so fingers crossed we can do it again.”
American Rascal is joined by compatriot No Nay Mets, who won on his introduction at Gulfstream for trainer George Weaver and will be ridden by Frankie Dettori.
Noche Magica (Paddy Twomey), Devious (Donnacha O’Brien) and His Majesty (Aidan O’Brien) also feature.
The other Group Two on the card is the Ribblesdale Stakes, in which the unbeaten Al Asifah will be widely expected to play a starring role.
John and Thady Gosden’s filly did not make her debut until late May, but was far too good for her rivals on her first start at Haydock and again proved in a different class when stepped up to Listed class at Goodwood.
She turns out just 11 days later after being supplemented for the Ribblesdale by the Shadwell team, with racing manager Angus Gold excited about her prospects.
He said: “She’s come out of Goodwood in really good shape, she didn’t have a hard race. In everyone’s opinion she is a filly of great potential, but it is a big step up and we’ll see where she fits in a bit more after we see her in the Ribblesdale.
“We’ve been playing catch up a bit as she was just a bit immature last year and had a few little niggling problems which held her up.
“It’s all come a bit quick for her, which is normally not our way, but equally because she seems to have taken her Goodwood race well.
“Sheikha Hissa is going to be here, we wanted her to have the chance to see the filly and she was keen to see her, so it just fits in time-wise. We would have another month to wait otherwise and anything can happen in that time.
“Hopefully, while she is in very good form, we thought we would roll the dice.”
Al Asifah may not have things al her own way, with Sir Michael Stoute’s Infinite Cosmos and Bluestocking from Ralph Beckett’s yard the two obvious dangers.
Infinite Cosmos brings strong form claims after finishing third behind subsequent Oaks heroine Soul Sister in the Musidora Stakes at York, while Bluestocking has been kept fresh since being beaten a head by Warm Heart, also in the Ribblesdale field, on her seasonal bow in a Newbury Listed event.
Barry Mahon, racing manager for Bluestocking’s owner-breeders Juddmonte, said: “We’re looking forward to seeing her and hopefully she will have come on for her reappearance. She was so green at Newbury on her second start, you would like to think she is going to improve.
“Ralph is happy with her and she’s been training nicely. She’s a filly we are looking forward to.
“It’s a big jump up, the Gosden filly looked exceptional last week and I know Sir Michael thinks an awful lot of his filly.
“It could be a pretty strong renewal, but we like our filly and I think she is going in the right direction. Whether that is in the Ribblesdale or later in the season, I think she will develop into a top filly.”
Irish 1,000 Guineas heroine Tahiyra is the star name among seven fillies declared for the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot on Friday.
Dermot Weld’s filly was brilliant in winning each of her two starts as a juvenile last season and was a hot favourite to secure Classic glory in the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket.
She was narrowly beaten by the Saeed bin Suroor-trained Mawj on the Rowley Mile, but went one better in the Irish equivalent and with Mawj not lining up for the rematch due to an unsatisfactory scope, Tahiyra is odds-on to claim a third Group One victory on the penultimate day of the Royal meeting.
Aidan O’Brien’s Irish Guineas runner-up Meditate does take on the Weld runner again, as does Jim Bolger’s Comhra, who finished third as a 150-1 shot in the Curragh Classic.
There was only a short head between Sounds Of Heaven (Jessica Harrington) and Queen For You (John and Thady Gosden) when first and second in a Listed event at York last month and they renew rivalry.
Mammas Girl (Richard Hannon) and Remarquee (Ralph Beckett) complete the septet.
Little Big Bear will be all the rage to see off 13 rivals in the Group One Commonwealth Cup.
Last season’s champion juvenile floundered in a soft ground 2000 Guineas, but showed his true colours when dropped back in trip on a sounder surface in the Sandy Lane at Haydock last month.
Chief among his rivals is Roger Varian’s Sakheer, who also reverts to sprinting after seemingly having his stamina limitations exposed in the Guineas.
It is a similar story for the Beckett-trained filly Lezoo, who won last season’s Cheveley Park Stakes but weakened late on in the 1000 Guineas on her reappearance.
Noble Style (Charlie Appleby) and Shaquille (Julie Camacho) also feature.
Carla’s Way (Simon and Ed Crisford), Soprano (George Boughey) and Jabaara (Varian) are among the leading contenders for the curtain-raising Albany Stakes, while Derby runner-up King Of Steel (Varian) heads a six-strong field for the King Edward VII Stakes.
Arrest, a disappointing Derby favourite for Frankie Dettori, takes him on again.
Five-time Wimbledon singles champion Venus Williams has been awarded a wild card for next month’s championships.
Williams, who played mixed doubles at the All England Club last year, has not played in the singles event since 2021 but rolled back the years on Monday to beat Camila Giorgi at the Rothesay Classic in Birmingham days after her 43rd birthday.
Williams competes sparingly these days and only played her first tournament since January at a grass-court event in the Netherlands last week before heading to Birmingham.
Her gutsy 7-6 (5), 4-6 7-6 (6) victory over Giorgi in more than three hours on Monday represented a first win over a top-50 opponent since 2019.
Ten singles wild cards have been handed to British male and female players, including Liam Broady and Katie Boulter, while Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina will be involved in Wimbledon after she missed last year’s tournament due to her pregnancy.
Former world number three Svitolina gave birth in October but made the quarter-finals at Roland Garros last month in her first grand-slam since becoming a mother.
Svitolina made the last four at Wimbledon in 2021 and could encounter more Russian and Belarussian players in SW19.
She was booed at the French Open after not shaking hands with Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka following her quarter-final exit.
British hopefuls Jodie Burrage, Harriet Dart, Katie Swan, Heather Watson have also been given wild cards.
In the men’s singles Ryan Peniston has received a wild card, along with fellow Britons Arthur Fery, Jan Choinski and George Loffhagen, with the trio set to make their main draw debuts at Wimbledon.
Belgian David Goffin, the world number 124, has been handed a wild card following his run to the quarter-finals in 2022, where he lost in five sets to British number one Cameron Norrie.
The All England Club has one more women’s singles and two more men’s singles wild cards to hand out.
Frankie Dettori has yet to decide whether he will appeal a nine-day ban he picked up on the first day of Royal Ascot.
The 52-year-old was adjudged by the stewards to have caused interference shortly after the start on Saga in the Wolferton Stakes on Tuesday.
Owned by the King and Queen, Saga went on to finish fifth with the ban compounding a frustrating afternoon for Dettori, who filled the runner-up spot on three occasions.
The suspension is due to run from July 4-12, meaning he will be unable to ride likely favourite Emily Upjohn in the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown on July 8.
He would, though, be free to ride at Newmarket’s July Festival as he chases one of the few remaining Group One gaps on his CV, the July Cup.
“I’ve got to consult my legal team and we’ll decide whether I’m going to appeal or not,” Dettori told ITV’s The Opening Show.
“I’m glad that nobody got hurt. It’s one of those things, the bend comes very quickly after the start and it can get very congested at that point in the race, but I haven’t had chance to go through it properly yet.
“I’ll talk to my lawyers today.”
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