Royal Ascot

Another absorbing day of action can be expected at Royal Ascot on Friday where the big match-up between Guineas winners True Love and Precise in the Coronation Stakes takes centre stage. Here are five things to look out for on Friday. Donnacha O'Brien Has Big Chance Of Joining Aidan And Joseph On Scoresheet One of the stories of the week has been the red-hot form of Aidan and Joseph O'Brien respectively. Donnacha could well join his father and brother on the scoresheet for the week on Friday given he has...

The King must by now be on pretty friendly terms with Aidan O'Brien, the trainer who has spent more time than any in his counting house. On Tuesday he handed him the trainer's prize for the five-furlong sprint named in His Majesty's honour and 48 hours later another was dished out for the longest Group 1 race run in Britain. The Gold Cup, with its 219-year history, is also one of the most cherished races of the week. In these eyes it ranks above all others, and a huge portion...

One race after breaking his duck for the 2026 Royal Ascot meeting, James Doyle was riding the wave again as Jeff Smith's Generic (Kameko) brought up a quickfire double in the G3 Hampton Court Stakes. Last seen finishing seven lengths adrift of Constitution River in Chester's Dee Stakes, the Andrew Balding-trained homebred stayed on best in a strongly-run renewal to deny Ballydoyle's 11-8 favourite Endorsement (Wootton Bassett) by a length at 18-1. The Hugo Palmer-trained Glacius (Too Darn Hot) was a head further back in third. "There was a bit of a...

In one of the very finest of Gold Cups, Scandinavia (Justify) ousted Trawlerman (Golden Horn) to provide a fitting crowning moment for Aidan O'Brien as the Ballydoyle maestro reached 100 Royal Ascot winners. Coming of age in the race that draws unusual sentiment, the 11-8 favourite needed every yard of the two-and-a-half mile trip to wear down the Gosdens' gallant title-holder and for most of it looked unlikely to do so. But, with Ryan Moore at his formidable best, Scandinavia got it done very late to add suitable drama and...

It all began with a pretty innocuous suggestion. Little did Craig Bernick know at the time but his mother Carol's plan to go and try to buy some colts instead of concentrating solely on fillies at the breeding stock sales would bear fruit at Royal Ascot less than two years down the line.  But in Nola Soul, one of five colt foals that Bernick purchased in the winter of 2024, the family now has a potential stallion prospect on their hands after the son of Justify backed up his impressive...

It is taking almost a crowbar to deny Joseph O'Brien at Royal Ascot this week, but luckily for Wathnan and James Doyle they had the equine equivalent as the operation's recent acquisition Earth Shot (Time Test) got up to deny the Owning Hill runner Johanna Walsh (Sea The Stars) late in a thrilling G2 Ribblesdale Stakes. Rated highly from an early point by William Haggas, the bargain 90,000gns Tattersalls October Book 2 purchase who is a half-sister to Wednesday's Prince of Wales's pacemaker Devil's Advocate had been sold by Childwickbury...

Justify had the favourite for Thursday's Listed Chesham Stakes Aix La Chapelle withdrawn at the start, but remarkably still filled the first two places with his sons Nola Soul and On Just Terms. Bred by John Gunther, the Fozzy Stack-trained TDN Rising Star Nola Soul was always prominent under Seamie Heffernan and stayed on to gain the advantage approaching the furlong pole en route to a half-length verdict over the Joseph O'Brien-trained newcomer On Just Terms. Aperoll (Ghaiyyath) was a head back in third. "From day one, he had the...

Australia's big hope for Royal Ascot 2026, Joliestar (Zoustar), has been drawn in the middle for Saturday's G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes as 19 sprinters were confirmed on Thursday morning. James McDonald's mount will exit from stall nine in the six-furlong feature, with last year's runner-up Satono Reve (Lord Kanaloa) towards the stands' side in 18 under Ryan Moore. Tony Bloom and Ian McAleavy's recently-gelded 2024 Golden Eagle winner Lake Forest (No Nay Never) retains regular rider Cieren Fallon in stall one on the far wing, while Tuesday's King Charles...

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...

A daughter's wedding day ought to be one of the proudest moments of a father's life, and for James Hanly, the Greek wedding of his daughter Rosanna last year was indeed such an occasion, even if it meant that he missed what may then have felt like the pinnacle of his achievements as a breeder. But sometimes the racing gods are a friendly bunch and, twelve months on, they convened to grant Hanly a second chance, much to the relief of Rosanna. Watching on as Ombudsman was led back in...

The money spoke for Ombudsman (Night Of Thunder) ahead of Wednesday's G1 Prince of Wales's Stakes and by the line the 11-10 odds were looking generous as the Godolphin kingpin romped to glory. Becoming the first to win more than one of this Royal Ascot feature since it was turned into an elite contest, the market-leader turned what had been long touted as a match with Daryz (Sea The Stars) into a one-sided affair with a four-length success. Last year's Arc winner failed to see off the Arc runner-up Minnie...

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...