Ascot Racecourse

Two-race maiden King Of Cloughan (St Mark's Basilica) was, at odds of 33-1, the outsider of Joseph O'Brien's three runners and he paid a handsome compliment to his Leopardstown conqueror and TDN Rising Star Nola Soul (Justify), a Listed Chesham Stakes contender, with a taking performance in Wednesday's new-look Listed Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot. "We thought bringing King Of Cloughan back in trip was the right move, but it was hard to fancy him because he'd been beaten in two maidens," the winning trainer said. "We liked the...

Last term's G1 Sun Chariot Stakes runner-up Blue Bolt (Blue Point), a rare Juddmonte purchase, is back on the path into elite-level company after breaking Andrew Balding's duck at this year's Royal Ascot meeting with a dominant performance in the latter stages of Wednesday's G2 Duke Of Cambridge Stakes. "This has been the plan since she ran so well in the Sun Chariot at the end of last year," said Balding. "Barring her first start at Southwell, she has never run a bad race and we've had this in our...

Aidan O'Brien had not won the G2 Queen Mary Stakes until subsequent G1 1000 Guineas heroine True Love (No Nay Never) prevailed last year and the Ballydoyle maestro edged closer to a century of Royal Ascot winners when TDN Rising Star Victorious (Wootton Bassett), who is blind in one eye, produced a telling burst in the closing stages of the five-furlong contest to provide the trainer with a 99th Royal winner. "She's incredible, we knew she was very classy and we've always felt that she'd be very good," O'Brien said....

Friday's G1 Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot will witness a clash of the Guineas heroines as G1 Irish 1000 Guineas victrix Precise (Starspangledbanner) and G1 1000 Guineas winner True Love (No Nay Never) meet for a third time. Ryan Moore will partner the Precise, while Wayne Lordan will be aboard True Love. Nine-strong opposition to the Aidan O'Brien stablemates includes the Donnacha O'Brien-trained GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Balantina (Ten Sovereigns). Earlier on the card, 22 speedsters will go forward for the G1 Commonwealth Cup with Ballydoyle supplying...

Aidan O'Brien's pattern-race resume at Royal Ascot had yet to include the G1 King Charles III Stakes and the Ballydoyle maestro completed the set when Ryan Moore produced the gelded three-year-old Mission Central (No Nay Never) fast and late to follow up Great Barrier Reef's Coventry success and secure a quickfire double for his sire in the five-furlong charge. The race is a "Win and You're In" for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland in the autumn. "They went hard, which suited him, and Ryan [Moore] gave him...

Ascot Racecourse is set to leave the Racecourse Association (RCA) at the end of the year, due to the fact that "sufficient progress has not been made" to address concerns about the organisation's governance structure. In March, following Lord Allen's resignation as chair of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and the failure to establish an independent BHA Board, a joint-statement was released by the Jockey Club and four large independent racecourses - Ascot, Goodwood, Newbury and York - which called for an urgent review of the governance structure at the...

In recent weeks, Forever Young has won the world's richest race for the second time, Ka Ying Rising has set a new record in winning 18 consecutive races, Romantic Warrior landed his 13th Group 1 contest, and Rebel's Romance posted his 21st career victory. They have respectively earned the equivalent of approximately £23m, £13m, £26m and £12m. It would seem that there has never been a better time to own a top-class racehorse.  Calandagan, the world's top-rated racehorse in 2025, has just turned five and may be seen next in...

Prize-money at Ascot Racecourse will be a record £19.4 million in 2026, an increase of £1.65 million on this year. Figures exclude the industry-owned QIPCO British Champions Day. Across 25 racedays, 88 of Ascot's 169 races (52%) will have a higher total prize fund than in 2025, with all races on the Flat worth £25,000 or more. Royal Ascot will be worth £10.65 million, from £10.05 million. Increases have been made across the Royal Ascot programme, with all eight Group 1 races now worth a minimum of £700,000 (including two...

Juddmonte's star distaffer Kalpana (Study Of Man), trapped wide and never really a factor in this month's G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, bounced back to her best in imperious fashion and outsmarted her rivals for back-to-back renewals of Saturday's G1 Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares at Ascot. "It was a great performance and she's been very consistent all year," said winning rider Colin Keane. "Things didn't go to plan in France and fair play to Andrew [Balding] and the team for making the call to bring her back...

Last term's G2 Mill Reef Stakes winner Powerful Glory (Cotai Glory) was the lowest-rated and least experienced contender lining up for Saturday's G1 Qipco British Champions Sprint at Ascot and, having beaten just one rival in two starts this season, came home with a career high after posting a 200-1 shock in the straight six-furlong dash. His odds are the longest for the winner of a European Group 1 contest, surpassing Qirat's 150-1 in this term's G1 Sussex Stakes. "We always thought he was a nice horse, but at 200-1...

Godolphin's G1 Gold Cup victor Trawlerman (Golden Horn), who has also picked up wins in this term's G3 Henry II Stakes and G2 Lonsdale Cup, sealed his status as the year's outstanding stayer with another defeat of his John and Thady Gosden-trained stablemate Sweet William (Sea The Stars), in race-record time, in Saturday's G1 Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot. "Trawlerman is a relentless galloper and I couldn't be more thrilled with him," beamed John Gosden. "It is late in the year for him and he has been...

The 2025 Ascot fan experience has been enhanced with the introduction of infographics powered by GPS data from Total Performance Data (TPD). The graphics, already shown post-race at Royal Ascot, are now set to feature throughout the autumn programme at the racecourse and include QIPCO British Champions Day, as well as the upcoming jumps season. Each infographic contains key performance metrics from TPD's GPS tracking including the time taken for a horse to accelerate from 0-30mph, the top speed achieved during the race, the horse's speed through the final two...