Coppull (GB)

Of the first three from last year's Middle Park to line up in Friday's G3 Commonwealth Cup Trial, David Armstrong's Coppull (Bated Breath) was the least-expected in the market but came back strongest to turn that form around. Smartly away under Rossa Ryan in the course-and-distance prep for Royal Ascot's three-year-old sprint feature, the 7-2 shot who had won the Richmond at Goodwood and been third in the Coventry here as well as the Middle Park surged away from the main pack passing two out and was in front soon...

Things looked ominous for the G1 Tattersalls Middle Park Stakes favourite Wise Approach (Mehmas) yards after coming out of the stalls, but what would have been a chance-ending stumble for most proved no hindrance for Godolphin's class act. Overcoming a complicated trip to emerge late with his superior acceleration under William Buick, the half-brother to the 2021 Middle Park winner Perfect Power surged up Newmarket's climb to the line to overhaul fellow TDN Rising Star Brussels (Wootton Bassett) and prevail by 3/4 of a length. Coppull (Bated Breath) was a...

With a hefty storm brewing overhead Goodwood, Highfield Farm's Coppull (Bated Breath) showed his rivals a clean pair of heels in Thursday's G2 Markel Richmond Stakes. Third in the Coventry last month, David Armstrong's homebred was 5-1 to provide Clive Cox with a third renewal of this six-furlong contest in seven years and was always happy in front of the group racing towards the stands under David Probert. Finding the fence late on, the colt named like most of the owner-breeder's horses after a Lancashire village kept up the momentum...

Even without Albert Einstein, Ballydoyle were able to come up with one to completely dominate another seemingly competitive renewal of Royal Ascot's G2 Coventry Stakes on Tuesday. The colt in question was Starspangledbanner's Gstaad, a half-brother to Vandeek who had beaten the yard's much-vaunted filly True Love on debut at Navan last month and generated enough support here to start as the 7-2 favourite. Always travelling strongly up the centre, the bay who at 450,000gns was the top-priced colt at the 2023 Tattersalls December Foal Sale streaked away from two...