Almaqam

A contentious G1 Prince Of Wales's Stakes is in the cards at Royal Ascot next week, as nine horses have stood their ground, among them John and Thady Gosden trainee Ombudsman (Night Of Thunder). Successful in this race last term, the Godolphin colt faces G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe hero Daryz (Sea The Stars) and multiple Group 1 scorer Minnie Hauk (Frankel) among others. Ascot's dual G1 British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes heroine Kalpana (Study Of Man) is back, as is fellow top-level scorer Almaqam (Lope De Vega)....

Golden boy of the week has to be Starspangledbanner (though Wayne Lordan and Karl Burke both deserve consideration for that title). To have had both Cartier champion two-year-olds last year was a big enough feather in his cap but for both Gstaad and Precise to progress into Classic winners in the space of 24 hours at the Curragh cements their sire's position among the elite. A more in-depth look at the Starspangledbanner story to date in TDN back in December put forward the suggestion that the best days were still...

With the longed-for rain having arrived across Britain in the last week, Ed Walker has confirmed that progressive four-year-old Almaqam will head to the G2 Sky Bet York Stakes this Saturday.  Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum's colt has run just twice this year, notably beating beating subsequent G1 Prince of Wales's Stakes winner Ombudsman in the G3 Brigadier Gerard Stakes in May. Walker said of the son of Lope De Vega, "I left him in the King George but didn't feel Ascot was the right track in which to test him...

Saturday's G1 Coral-Eclipse at Sandown is shaping up to be the race of the season so far after a plethora of Group 1 winners were confirmed on Monday, headed by the John and Thady Gosden-trained Ombudsman. The son of Night Of Thunder came of age at Royal Ascot when winning the G1 Prince Of Wales's Stakes and only has one defeat on his record from six career starts. That came over this course and distance in May when Almaqam (Lope De Vega) produced a dominant performance from the front to...

Few trainers have been in better form of late than Ed Walker, who already has nine stakes winners to his name this season. Prior to a busy week at Royal Ascot, the Lambourn trainer has another shot at Classic glory in Sunday's G1 Prix de Diane with American Gal. The Kameko filly, who races for the Drew Family's Mildmay Racing, won the Listed Prix de Lilas over a mile at Chantilly back in early May. "This has been the plan since then, so I just hope the ground doesn't dry...