John Gosden is confident Emily Upjohn’s turn of foot can prove a “potent weapon” when she drops back in distance for the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown next month.

Unfortunate to be beaten a head in the Oaks at Epsom last season, the daughter of Sea The Stars made a triumphant return to the Surrey Downs with a brilliant victory in the Coronation Cup.

That win doubled the four-year-old’s Group One tally, having rounded off 2022 with victory on Champions Day at Ascot, and she is now being readied to take on the colts again at Sandown on July 8.

Emily Upjohn is 9-4 with the sponsors for the Eclipse, a race Gosden has previously won with Nathaniel (2012), Golden Horn (2015), Roaring Lion (2018) and Enable (2019).

“The Eclipse is the plan. That is what we said right after the Coronation Cup, that we would go for the Eclipse. We are very happy with her,” said the Clarehaven handler.

“She took the Coronation Cup in her stride and we will now head to the Eclipse. For a big girl she has a tremendous turn of foot, which is a potent weapon.

“She had quite a time off from October before her run at Epsom and she didn’t run a lot last year after it all went a bit strange in the King George, but she seems in great order now.

“Coming back in trip will be alright for her and 10 furlongs at Sandown should suit her fine. We will then hopefully look towards going back over a mile and a half again.”

Gosden said he was surprised by the manner of her performance at Epsom, adding: “She had been working well before the Coronation Cup, but we don’t try to do what she did on the track at home.

“You can travel well in your work on the bridle at home, but I didn’t let her come off the bridle.

“I knew those that rode her felt there was plenty there, but you don’t go asking for it at home and to that extent we were very pleased with the way she quickened at Epsom.

“It looks like it will be a good Eclipse with a good combination of horses coming, but we are very happy with her.”

William Buick has been booked to ride a pair of George Boughey’s top two-year-olds at Royal Ascot next week.

The Newmarket handler is “delighted” the champion jockey will partner Asadna in the Coventry Stakes and Soprano in the Albany Stakes, both of whom are at the forefront of the market for the respective races.

Both worked nicely on the watered Rowley Mile gallop on Tuesday, as the Classic-winning trainer put the finishing touches to his preparations for the five-day meeting, where he is expected to have approximately 20 runners.

“The two-year-olds will probably be leading the charge,” said Boughey. “They are the shortest prices, so I’m not telling anyone anything new.”

Asadna is vying for favouritism with River Tiber for Tuesday’s Coventry Stakes on the back of a scintillating 12-length debut success at Ripon under Buick.

He worked well in a recent racecourse gallop and appears to have thrived since.

“Asadna was very good at Chelmsford in a piece of work the other day. Oisin Murphy rode him there and William rode him this morning and was very happy,” said Boughey.

“He looked very good this morning. He has a super attitude. I think we will watch him walk round the paddock ahead of the Coventry like he is here in the paddock. He would go there with a good chance.”

He went on: “He has just got an amazing temperament. He doesn’t sweat, he doesn’t do anything wrong. He’s a very sound horse. He just loves his work. He is not ‘showy’ in the morning, but when he went to Chelmsford the other day, he worked like a good horse.”

Buick added: “He did it nicely. It was nice ground on the watered gallop and I was very happy with him.

“He did everything I asked of him and his prep for Ascot has gone very well. Today was a good bit of work for him, but he seemed pretty smooth and he was his usual self. He was very impressive when he won and he has very good credentials. I’m looking forward to him.”

Highclere-owned filly Soprano landed a hot five-furlong maiden at Newmarket and had that form franked when runner-up Midnight Affair took the Hilary Needler at Beverley on Saturday.

Partnered by Connor Planas, she worked upsides Asadna and looked on good terms with herself ahead of Friday week’s Albany bid, for which she is currently a general 4-1 second-favourite behind Jabaara.

“They worked well. It was good work together,” said Boughey.

“Soprano was very good at Newmarket. She goes there with a good chance.

“William will ride Asadna as it doesn’t look like Charlie (Appleby) has got anything for the race. William will also ride Soprano in the Albany, which we are delighted about. He has won on both of them.

“William has ridden most of ours for a while now. It is great to have him on the big day, because usually he has to get off, so we are lucky to have him.”

Graceful Thunder, who took a five-furlong Sandown novice on debut, will head to the Queen Mary, following a decent piece of work under Kevin Stott, while Boughey’s juvenile team is completed by Muqtahem, who showed promise on debut before scoring at the second attempt at Pontefract. He breezed nicely under Pat Cosgrave and heads to the Windsor Castle.

“The two-year-olds are still learning,” added Boughey. “We worked six, four of them who will go to Ascot.

“I didn’t find anything out, necessarily. They are just teaching each other as they go along. Asadna, Soprano, Muqtahem, Graceful Thunder, they are all going to their respective races and it was all pretty straightforward work, but they all pleased me.”

The 30-year-old struck twice at the Royal meeting last year, with Missed The Cut taking the Golden Gates Handicap and Inver Park scoring in the Buckingham Palace Stakes.

Boughey admits he faces higher expectations now. “I’d bite your hand off for winner at Royal Ascot,” he added.

“I never thought that I would be a Royal Ascot-winning trainer.

“Since we had two last year, now we have to try to find another one this year – and it is very, very hard.

“We have got a strong team going there, but no one realises quite how hard it is. You need the draw right, you need the ground right. It has been quick ground for the last three weeks and it might go and be soft ground, and all our quick ground horses are kaput and you only have two bullets to fire who want soft ground.

“There is a lot of water to go under the bridge, but I’m very happy with how they are at the moment.

“If one goes in, there will be a big party, anyway.”

Charlie Appleby took some of his stable stars to Newmarket’s Rowley Mile ahead of Royal Ascot next week, with Prince of Wales’s Stakes favourite Adayar the main attraction.

The son of Frankel comfortably beat subsequent Group One winner Anmaat in the Gordon Richards Stakes on his comeback this season and was partnered by William Buick in a gentle piece of work.

Second in the Champion Stakes last season, Appleby hopes the decision to keep the 2021 Derby winner in training at five is rewarded with a Group One win over 10 furlongs.

“It was a nice, pleasing piece of work. He is there now and we didn’t want to be doing anything too strong with him,” said Appleby.

“You could see his enthusiasm in dragging William to his lead horse there and he went through the line well and had his ears pricked. I think it is a great experience for these horses and we are lucky to be able to do it.

“A week out we just want them to come up and enjoy themselves.

“He goes into the Prince of Wales’s as near-favourite or joint-favourite and deservedly so on what we saw at the Guineas meeting. He has come forward for that first run.

“Hopefully we can get our rewards, more so for him, for staying in training.”

He added on the prospect of an unsettled weather forecast: “We all want decent ground, but the one thing he has up his sleeve is that he can handle soft ground. I wouldn’t say he is better on soft ground by any stretch of the imagination, but he handles it.

“Any of these Group One races are hard to win. If you think you are worried about just Luxembourg or Bay Bridge then more fool you. Whoever turns up you respect them all, but I’m just delighted with how our horse is going into the race.”

Appleby looks like fielding a very strong hand in the opening Queen Anne Stakes with Lockinge winner Modern Games and last year’s Irish Guineas hero Native Trail.

“I was pleased with Native Trail’s first run and he has definitely come forward for his run at Newmarket. As you know he has had wind surgery during the winter, but I was very pleased with that this morning,” said Appleby.

“Like any of those older horses they take a bit of work and you could see the improvement from that first run. He moved well today, he has always got that raspiness but that is him. It doesn’t stop him. I was pleased with the way he hit the line there.

“He will head to the Queen Anne now along with Modern Games, who is back at home as he doesn’t need to do any more himself.

“There is no doubt about it that it was all about Native Trail last season, but they don’t know what price they are. To be fair from our own point of view we don’t worry what price they are. They are two lovely horses to have around.

“One has already done it this year with Modern Games winning a Group One and I’m a strong believer Native Trail won’t be too far behind him in getting his Group One this year.”

Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Yibir, another who went through his paces, is stepping up markedly in trip for the Gold Cup. But Appleby believes his running style gives him a chance of staying the trip.

He said: “Yibir is heading towards the Gold Cup. I’m pleased with him and he showed plenty of enthusiasm today. He has definitely come forward for his run at Newbury.

“We know it is an extra mile on top of his normal trip, but on the back of what we have seen with the likes of Broome and those good older mile-and-a-half horses they can do that.

“Talking to the guys that have ridden in the Gold Cup they will often get the two miles, it is when you go beyond two miles that are obviously extreme distances for Flat horses.

“I would be a bit bold to say he is going to get the two and a half miles, but he has got the right run style and if it is quick ground we know he enjoys that sounder surface.

“William will be able to ride him coming into the race and if he comes good when the bell rings then he will be there as a live player that is for sure.

“These older mile-and-a-half horses don’t get any quicker and the division he is in is a tough division now and we thought going this way might just open up some doors for him going the Gold Cup distance. It is an open division, but he is fit and well and I’m pleased with the way he is going into it.”

Inspiral limbered up for her return to action at Royal Ascot next week with a racecourse gallop on Newmarket’s July course on Tuesday morning.

Unbeaten in four juvenile starts, the Cheveley Park Stud-owned filly did not make her three-year-old debut until running out a brilliant winner of the Coronation Stakes 12 months ago and will once again make her reappearance at the Royal meeting, this time in the curtain-raising Queen Anne Stakes.

Following her scintillating success in the Coronation, Inspiral went on to suffer a shock defeat in the Falmouth Stakes before bouncing back to claim a third Group One win in the Prix Jacques le Marois in France.

With last month’s Lockinge at Newbury coming too soon, the Frankel filly has not been seen in finishing down the field in the QEII on Champions Day at Ascot in October, but trainer John Gosden expressed his satisfaction after seeing her pull comfortably clear of her work companion under Frankie Dettori.

“We have been very happy with her recently and she enjoyed her work there. It was nice to get her back on the track,” said the Clarehaven handler.

“A racecourse gallop was part of the plan and it is a big help heading into Royal Ascot without having had a run.

“She has taken her time to come to hand. We had a cold wet spring then we had a lot of cold, dry weather with winds from the north east off the North Sea. A lot of these fillies just haven’t flourished, that is all.”

While Gosden is taking some encouragement from the fact Inspiral proved herself capable of producing a big performance first time out last season, he admits she has more on her plate this time around, with the Breeders’ Cup Mile and Lockinge winner Modern Games among her likely rivals.

He added: “We were hoping to go to the Lockingem but it didn’t quite happen so we will go straight into the Queen Anne. We did it last year going into the Coronation Stakes.

“It does give us confidence going there knowing that we have done this before. It is like all these fillies though – they will tell you when they are ready to run, you don’t tell them.

“Last year we were just taking on three-year-old fillies. This year we are taking on proven older horses like the Breeders’ Cup Mile winner, so it is a much bigger test.

“It would be very exciting if she did win. We just want to get her there in good order and at the moment we would be very pleased with her.”

George Boughey will take his time with Classic-winning filly Cachet, after she proved slow to come to hand this spring.

The daughter of Aclaim gave the Newmarket handler a breakthrough top-level success when landing the Qipco 1000 Guineas last year, but has not been since since finishing fifth to Inspiral in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot.

The Highclere-owned four-year-old will be a hot commodity as a broodmare, and Boughey says she is not ready for a return and will hold her back.

He said: “Cachet looks better than she has all spring. It wasn’t fair to take her straight to Royal Ascot a year off the track, running six furlongs for the first time.

“And I also didn’t think it was fair to run her in a Group Two over a mile, not having been a convincing stayer on the stiff track.

“I haven’t really got a plan at the moment. She’s training away nicely, but at the end of the day, her main target is a mares’ sale at the end of the year.

“She wasn’t right to go to a sale at the end of last year and we will try to have her as busy as she can be into December, but I’m not going to rush her – she’s a very valuable filly and doesn’t really need to prove anything else.”

Narrowly beaten in the French Guineas after her Newmarket effort, the Saffron House handler has not ruled out the possibility she will run again this year before retiring, with all the top mile races under consideration.

Boughey added: “There are lots of races for her, Forets, Sun Chariots, Breeders’ Cups. She might be a fresh horse against horses who have had a busy year.

“I’m very positive we will see her on the track in the next period of time, but I’m not sure when that will be, though.

“She is not quite there yet, but she has worked quite nicely. She has done a couple of bits, but she’s not sparkled yet and we know what she can do, so we’ve given her plenty of time.

“I don’t know why she hasn’t (sparkled). It has been very warm and now she is starting to thrive, but it has been a pretty hard spring for them and she just hasn’t for some reason.

“Emily Upjohn didn’t thrive through the spring and is now flying and a star again. Inspiral didn’t. There are a few of those good fillies that haven’t and it’s been easier for the colts than the fillies.”

Next week’s Hampton Court Stakes at Royal Ascot is among the options under consideration for Caernarfon after trainer Jack Channon decided against a bid for Classic glory in France on Sunday.

A creditable fourth over a mile in the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket, the daughter of Cityscape stepped up on that performance when third in the Oaks at Epsom over a mile and a half.

Caernarfon had the option of running in this weekend’s French Oaks at Chantilly over a mile and a quarter, but while Channon is keen to try her over the intermediate distance on her next start, he scratched his stable star from the Prix de Diane on Tuesday morning.

Explaining the decision, Channon said: “If I’m brutally honest, I didn’t like the outlook of the French race, simply due to the fact it can be a very messy race.

“From a wide draw you can’t win at Chantilly and even with a plum draw, she’s not the biggest, she’s the type of filly that could lose her position and if you get too far back round there it’s a very hard place to win.

“I just thought there’d be better options and some of the races in the late summer, like the Nassau at Goodwood, are going to be right up her street.”

Caernarfon will now either take on the boys at the Royal meeting or wait for Group One opportunities against her own sex.

“We’ve got a couple options, you’ve got the Hampton Court Stakes over a mile and a quarter if you wanted to go against the colts at Ascot, or you’ve obviously got the Ribblesdale against the fillies over a mile and a half,” Channon continued.

“We could definitely look at a mile and a half again in the future, but I think a mile and a quarter is where I want to go with her next.

“You’ve got the Pretty Polly in Ireland over a mile and a quarter a couple of weeks after that, so we’ve got a few options and we’re not concrete on anything yet.

“She’s in great form and wherever we go she’ll be ready to rock and roll. She’s come out of Epsom probably better than she did Newmarket, so we’re chuffed.”

Great State will aim to extend his winning run this weekend when he heads to Sandown for the Scurry Stakes.

Richard Fahey’s three-year-old has won four of his last five and is unbeaten since dropping back to five furlongs in March – winning at both Southwell and Thirsk, before stepping up to Listed company in the Westow Stakes at York last month.

The son of Havana Grey handled the rise in grade with aplomb, readily winning by two and a half lengths, and he will now bid for more big-race success over the minimum distance at the Esher track on Saturday where once again Oisin Murphy will be in the saddle.

“He’s an improving horse and we’re pleased with him,” said Fahey.

“I thought it was a good performance winning the handicap against older horses at Thirsk, he picked up well and then came on for it and it was no surprise he stepped up at York and did it very well. He’s improving.

“You would imagine the track and everything (at Sandown) will suit him. Oisin Murphy rides him as my Oisin (Orr) will be at York.”

Thunderbear is “not going to make up the numbers” when he lines up in the Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot.

The Jack Davison-trained three-year-old notched up just his second victory at Nottingham on his penultimate start, but highlighted his potential for competing with regularity at Group level when knocking on the door in the Lacken Stakes at Naas last month.

The son of Kodi Bear was beaten little over a length when fourth to Aidan O’Brien’s The Antarctic on that occasion and he will now step up to seven furlongs for the first time this season when he represents Davison’s burgeoning operation at the Royal meeting.

“He will go for the Jersey and we can’t wait for it really, he’s a really progressive horse,” said the Irish handler.

“He’s more of a six or seven-furlong horse, but a fast one all the same and it’s great to have a competitor at Ascot once again.

“I don’t think there were any hiding places at Naas last time, it was a very strong renewal and I think the extra furlong here will bring about more improvement.

“It’s a big day for our small but hopefully expanding stable. We’ve been training for five years and this will be the fourth year with a runner at Royal Ascot. We’re not going to make up the numbers, we’re going to try to be competitive, so it is definitely exciting.”

Pensee Du Jour puts her unbeaten record and lofty reputation on the line when she contests Sunday’s Prix de Diane at Chantilly.

The daughter of Camelot made it three from three when winning the Prix Penelope with supreme ease at Saint-Cloud in April and having won by a combined 13 and a half lengths in her outings so far, will now bid to give trainer Andre Fabre a fifth win in the fillies’ Classic.

Owned by Ballymore Thoroughbreds, for whom Fabre trained Miss France to win the 1000 Guineas in 2014 and also guided Persian King to a trio of Group One victories, connections are hopeful Pensee Du Jour will continue her progressive ways following a short break.

“She was a backwards filly last year and Andre thought he could win some black type early on this year,” said Anthony Stroud, racing manager for Ballymore.

“Then she developed and developed and she won three races. After she won those races we thought we would give her a bit of time, as she had run in those races quite quickly.

“I thought she won nicely and in a progressive way (in the Prix Penelope). She has had to make the running in her three races and it would be nice if she didn’t. She’s also had three different jockeys on, so it will be nice that she will have a bit of consistency next time.”

Pensee Du Jour’s potential rivals include Oaks winner Soul Sister and Poule d’Essai des Pouliches victor Blue Rose Cen at this stage, with Stroud admitting he would like some rain in the coming days as her previous wins have come with cut in the ground.

“I would hope she will handle the ground OK, but I would love to see a thunderstorm come along,” continued Stroud.

“I would like there to be some sort of rainfall. She’s never run on this ground but we know she goes with a bit of ease in the ground, so I would like a thunderstorm to appear.”

If Sunday’s Classic mission proves successful, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe could prove an enticing proposition later in the year considering Fabre’s impeccable record in Europe’s richest middle-distance contest and the filly’s proven attributes on soft ground.

Although preferring to focus on matters closer to hand, Stroud is allowing himself to briefly dream about such races later in the season, with him envisaging Pensee Du Jour’s future lying over further.

He added: “I could see her going up to a mile and a half down the line and I think as time goes on, she will get better as she is quite a physically big filly. But it’s not often you have a filly that has won all three of her races and she deserves her chance to take part in this race.

“I think the Arc would be a wonderful dream, but we have to take it step by step and this weekend coming is the next step.

“I’m sure she will have a break and we will see how she is and then we will be advised by Andre. Of course there is the Prix Vermeille and the Arc, but I think it is important to not get ahead of ourselves, get Sunday out of the way and go from there. But it’s good to have dreams.”

A total of 18 fillies remain in contention for the race, with Running Lion, who was withdrawn at the start at Epsom, standing her ground along with the likes of Oaks fourth Caernarfon, Never Ending Story, Jannah Rose and Left Sea.

Ground conditions remain key to Hukum’s participation at Royal Ascot next week, with a tilt at the Hardwicke considered more likely than supplementing for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes.

Having suffered a career-threatening injury when breaking his Group One duck in the Coronation Cup at Epsom last term, the full-brother to the brilliant Baaeed made a successful return when inflicting defeat on last year’s Derby hero Desert Crown in the Brigadier Gerard at Sandown last month.

That first career triumph over 10 furlongs has led some to question whether the six-year-old should having another shot at top-level honours in the Prince of Wales’s on Wednesday week instead of lining up for the Group Two Hardwicke Stakes over a mile and a half three days later.

However, the combination of an uncertain forecast and the fact Hukum would need to be supplemented for the Prince of Wales’s on Thursday at a cost of £70,000 means he looks set to take the perceived easier option, if he runs at the Royal meeting at all.

Angus Gold, racing manager for owner-breeders Shadwell, said: “We need rain, nobody has ever made any secret of that, and if the heavens suddenly opened and the ground did go very soft, various people have said we should be supplementing for the Prince of Wales’s.

“If I’m brutally honest, I don’t think we’ll get enough rain to warrant spending that sort of money, especially when he’s favourite for the Hardwicke three days later.

“It is very much ground dependent. We’ve spent a long time looking after this horse and getting him back, so we don’t want to risk him on unsuitable ground. We’ll see what the weather is going to do.

“We’ve always quietly thought that if he’s in one piece the King George is the primary target, so if we couldn’t run next week, we’ll just have to wait for that and hope we get some rain in July.”

Hukum could lead a quality Shadwell team into battle at the Royal meeting, with Mutasaabeq set to be the opening batsman in the curtain-raising Queen Anne Stakes on Tuesday.

The Charlie Hills-trained entire dominated from the front in the bet365 Mile at Newmarket on his seasonal bow before finishing fifth, beaten three lengths, in the Lockinge at Newbury.

“We’ve just freshened him up a bit since Newbury and tried to keep him sweet mentally,” said Gold.

“He won very well first time out this year at Newmarket and on that run he deserves to take his chance.

“Various people thought he went too quick in the Lockinge, Jim (Crowley, jockey) himself felt the horse was a bit flat. He’s a horse who runs very well fresh, hence why we’ve tried to kid him into Royal Ascot and come in above himself a bit.

“He’d have to run a career-best to be winning a Queen Anne, but he was impressive on that first start so we’ll see how we get on.”

Mostabshir from John and Thady Gosden’s yard is also set for a Group One assignment on the opening day in what looks a red-hot renewal of the St James’s Palace Stakes.

The impressive York novice winner will have to take on 2000 Guineas hero Chaldean and Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Paddington, but connections are happy to roll the dice.

Gold said: “We have huge respect for the Guineas horses and all the other improving three-year-olds. You never know until they meet, I’m a big Chaldean fan and obviously Aidan O’Brien’s horse (Paddington) has improved and improved, but our horse was impressive at York and has worked very well since.

“I think he’s going in the right direction and we’ll find out where that takes him next week.

“The only thing that surprised me (at York) was the way he quickened – I hadn’t seen him do that before. It didn’t surprise me that he won, but it surprised me that he quickened as well as he did.”

Shadwell’s other intended Group One runner is Mostabshir’s stablemate Mostahdaf, who is being readied for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes in the assumption Hukum will not be added to the field.

The son of Frankel enjoyed a lucrative start to 2023, winning the Neom Turf Cup in Saudi Arabia before finishing fourth behind Japanese superstar Equinox in the Dubai Sheema Classic.

“I think he’ll run there, as things stand at the moment,” Gold added.

“He’d have to run out of his skin to be competitive in a Prince of Wales’s, but he’s won £1million this winter for us, he’s a fun horse and that’s why Sheikha Hissa kept him in training, to be contesting these good races, so we’ll let him take his chance and see how he gets on.

“He tried to serve it up to the Japanese horse off the bend in Dubai and paid the price against such a fantastic horse. He’d shown plenty of speed before then and they (Gosden team) just thought it was worth a try coming back in trip.”

Cicero’s Gift will step into the unknown as he lines up in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot next Tuesday.

Though unbeaten in three starts, trainer Charlie Hills is keen to see how the inexperienced Muhaarar colt fares against the likes of 2000 Guineas winner Chaldean and Paddington, who won the Irish version.

Cicero’s Gift has made rapid strides this spring and is a general 3-1 third favourite for the Group One mile contest, run on the round course.

A unfancied 22-1 chance on his debut in a Newbury novices’ race in October, he ran on well to score with ease and returned in March to take a restricted novice over an extended mile on the all-weather at Wolverhampton.

It was his five-and-a-half-length win in a conditions race at Goodwood last time that propelled him into the reckoning for a mouthwatering clash with a pair of Classic winners, however.

Hills said: “He did it really well at Goodwood last time.

“I was delighted with it. He has improved with every run he’s had.

“Mentally, he has taken a bit of a while to come to himself. Last year we were nice and patient with him. Physically he has strengthened up. His is nice-looking horse, similar to his dad, probably a little bit bigger version.

“It is hard to know where we stack up against the others, as we have come through a different route, but hopefully he will run well.”

The Faringdon Place handler is no stranger to recent success at the meeting. Dark Shift (2022) and Afaak (2019) landed the Royal Hunt Cup, while Battaash struck in the King’s Stand (2020).

“We might have quite a big Royal Ascot team – about 20-odd this time,” said Hills. “We are still finalising plans, but we have a nice team.”

Galeron, who was fourth in the 2000 Guineas, did not get the cleanest of runs behind Paddington at the Curragh. He also holds an entry in the St James’s Palace, but could go elsewhere.

Hills added: “Galeron has done very well and they are two nice horses. Cicero’s Gift is less exposed.

“I’m not sure what race Galeron will go for – he’s in the Hampton Court as well. He wasn’t beaten far at the Curragh and was a little bit unlucky not to be closer, as he didn’t get the room when he needed it, and we got a little bit too far back in the race.”

Orazio is the general 8-1 market leader for the Wokingham Handicap. He has won three of five starts on the turf, including the last two, with a clear-cut victory over the same six-furlong course last month filling Hills with every confidence he can complete a hat-trick.

“I’m looking forward to Orazio running,” Hills added. “He is in the Wokingham and he would have a good chance, I would have thought. I think there is a little bit of rain in the forecast, and any rain wouldn’t go amiss for him.

“It was nice to get a bit of course-and-distance form last time. He had a bit of a problem last year, so he had a year off. He is a lightly-raced horse and he is unexposed, too.

“It is always hard to win at the meeting. Just one winner would be nice and if I had to pick one, I think Orazio would have a good chance.”

Tanmawwy could join his stablemate in the same race, despite having been a well-held favourite at Newmarket last month.

“Tanmawwy would like a little bit of cut in the ground as well. He ran in the Buckingham Palace last year and seven furlongs was a bit too far,” said the trainer.

Khaadem similarly holds a Wokingham entry. The consistent seven-year-old won the Group Two King George Stakes at Goodwood last July before finishing fourth in the Nunthorpe at York.

Touched off under hold-up tactics on his return to action at Salisbury, Hills would like quicker ground for him.

He said: “I was delighted with his run last time at Salisbury. We were just trying to run him a bit differently and he hit the line really well.

“We have a couple of other entries in the King’s Stand and the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee, so we will just keep a weather watch.”

He added: “We also have a couple in the Britannia. Racingbreaks Ryder has won his last four starts and he might have a squeak. He won at Ascot last time over seven furlongs.

“Bodorgan, if he gets in, will have a chance in that as well. We have a couple of two-year-olds, but they have to step up from their last run, but we have a nice team and as always, we’re really looking forward to the meeting.”

Kieren Fallon knew from the very first moment Russian Rhythm was a special filly. And so she proved when storming to Royal Ascot glory 20 years ago.

Trained by Sir Michael Stoute, Fallon first got to sit on the daughter of Kingmambo on the gallops in Newmarket at the beginning of her racing journey and it did not take him long to realise he was aboard a thoroughbred of the highest order, with his mind already drifting 12 months down the line to when she would get to contest the 1000 Guineas.

Having completed Fallon’s prophecy by securing Classic honours at Newmarket in the spring of 2003, attentions turned to Royal Ascot where the Cheveley Park Stud-owned Russian Rhythm would be assigned the task of completing the 1000 Guineas/Coronation Stakes double.

Although a regular in the winner’s enclosure at the Royal meeting, Russian Rhythm would go on to fittingly provide Fallon with his sole Coronation Stakes victory, justifying odds-on favouritism to see off Soviet Song.

“She won the Coronation and she was an amazing filly,” said Fallon.

“She probably didn’t get the recognition I think she should have done. I remember the first time I ever rode her it was up the Limekilns and a place they call the golden mile. She was a two-year-old and it was one of her first pieces of work, and I said this filly was something else. All I could think about was the Guineas, she was always special.”

Following her Royal Ascot triumph, Russian Rhythm went on to add another Group One in the Nassau Stakes and although only one further success in the following year’s Lockinge Stakes was to follow as injury curtailed her on-track career, there are few fillies that Fallon holds in higher esteem.

He continued: “She was like a colt, she had some stamp to her and everything about her was amazing. It was like driving a Rolls Royce, she had this cruising speed and you just floated on her. I will never forget that filly.

“She was an exceptional filly. I won the 1000 Guineas four times, nine (Guineas) in all if you include the colts, but she stood out by a mile. I rode Ouija Board, Bosra Sham and Russian Rhythm – they were the three. They were all stamped the same, they were like colts and had serious engines and serious temperaments, and I was lucky to come across Russian Rhythm.”

The 2003 edition proved to be a fruitful Royal Ascot for Fallon as he also got his hands on the Gold Cup for the first time when steering Mr Dinos to a six-length victory over Persian Punch for Paul Cole in the week’s feature.

He went on to add a second Gold Cup three years later when guiding Yeats to the first of four victories in the race, and having ridden many big winners at the Royal meeting over the course of his decorated career, the five-day festival holds a special place in the six-time champion jockey’s memories.

“Royal Ascot is amazing. It’s unique,” continued Fallon.

“You go down there on the Tuesday and you stay there for the week, everyone comes together from all over the world, you can have your parties after racing on the evenings, it’s just amazing. You have the royal family there. The Queen was a highlight of the whole week from start to finish – forget the horses, sometimes people just wanted to see the Queen.

“For all the great horses I had to ride – and that was some feeling and a buzz – but it is also a buzz when you walked into the paddock and saw the royal family. It really is something not a lot of people experience and the pleasure you get from it you take to your grave.

“When you were on horses for Aidan (O’Brien) and Sir Michael you knew you were on live ones, but even to get rides down there was special.

“There were times when I was starting out when I could have had five good rides at Redcar or somewhere like that, but you’re not even thinking about that, you want to go to Ascot just to be part of it. It’s once-in-a-lifetime thing, Royal Ascot, it’s like heaven.”

Haskoy, a leading contender for the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot, has been retired after straining a tendon.

Trained by Ralph Beckett, Haskoy did not make her racecourse bow until last July, when she ran out a seven-length winner on the all-weather at Wolverhampton.

The daughter of Golden Horn made rapid strides, winning a Listed race at York before coming home second in the St Leger, although the filly was demoted to fourth after causing interference in the closing stages.

Haskoy was as short as 5-1 for the Gold Cup after a game Group Three victory on her Newbury return last month, but the setback means she will now head to the paddocks rather than the Royal meeting.

Beckett tweeted: “Haskoy has strained a tendon, consequently she is being retired to the paddocks.”

Connections of Shaquille can hardly wait for his big date at Royal Ascot, with the exciting three-year-old reported to be in rude health ahead of his intended appearance in the Commonwealth Cup.

Winner of three of his four juvenile starts last season, Julie Camacho’s stable star picked up where he left off with an impressive comeback victory in handicap company at Newmarket’s Guineas Festival.

The Charm Spirit colt successfully stepped up to Listed class for the Carnarvon Stakes at Newbury last month and is now being readied for a tilt at Group One glory on June 23.

Camacho’s husband and assistant, Steve Brown, said: “He worked well (on Saturday morning) and you’re counting the days – the bubble wrap is on!

“He’s in good shape and we’re not changing anything. We’ll stick to his routine and he’ll have one more strong bit of work and then we’ll leave him.

“He looks good and we’re happy. It’s fantastic to think you’ve got a chance of going down there and being competitive and he’s a horse that keeps finding some improvement.

“We can dream a bit longer and see what comes.”

Saeed bin Suroor intends to run both Shining Blue and Ghaly in the Royal Hunt Cup at Ascot on June 21.

The Godolphin trainer won the annual cavalry charge with the high-class Real World two years ago, and his two entries are both towards the head of the betting this time around.

Shining Blue bolted up off a mark of 103 at York last month, while the lightly-raced seven-year-old Ghaly has not been seen since beating King Of Conquest at Newmarket in October.

“Shining Blue won well last time and he’s come back good, he’s in good form. Ghaly worked a few days ago and he worked well, but he still has a few more bits to do. Both are in good form and we’re looking forward to running them,” said the Newmarket-based handler.

“Shining Blue is back in good condition, in good form. He’s happy and healthy so he should run well.

“We’ll see how he gets on at Ascot before we make any more plans, but maybe we can start looking at Listed races for him.”

He went on: “Ghaly has had some problems, he had a setback earlier in the year so we’ve given him time.

“He’s been back in full training for some time and it has been going good, two more pieces of work and he’ll be ready to run.

“He’s not had many races for a seven-year-old and he’s not very big but he always tries.

“I think this race should suit the both of them, this is the right trip for them and they go on any ground.”