Royal Ascot

Continuing the purple patch of Joseph O'Brien and Dylan Browne McMonagle, the progressive Limestone (New Bay) edged the photo at the end of Wednesday's G2 Queen's Vase at Royal Ascot. One for the St Leger candidates, the mile-and-three-quarter contest lacked a clear-cut candidate this year and it was only in the dying strides that the colt who races for Valmont, Al Shaqab and Ballylinch Stud put his name on the honour roll ahead of Godolphin's Del Maro (Camelot). The official margin was a nose, with the long-time leader and outsider...

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...

They walked around the paddock one behind the other, like a little brother following his big brother around. The swaggering Gstaad led the more demure Bow Echo, looking as though at least a year separated them in age.  But when the time came to tussle there was no brotherly love lost as the pair fought with each stride to the line, delivering the battle royal we had hoped to see but perhaps had not dared to dream would happen. Whichever way the photo went, a Guineas winner would be crowned...

The only bad news emanating from Ascot following Tuesday's action is that the rest of the week couldn't possibly be as entertaining. Or could it? There are endless potential storylines just bubbling beneath the surface on Wednesday. We've outlined five below.  Big-Name Breeze-Up Graduates In The Spotlight Given the rise and rise of the breeze-up sales in recent years, and the extraordinary sums that potential Ascot runners can make in that sphere, it is always fascinating to track how some of the high-profile graduates perform on the big stage. Special...

It may have been super-smooth at Newmarket, but Tuesday's G1 St James's Palace Stakes offered a different test to Bow Echo (Night Of Thunder) which he was able to pass and at the same time show his other side. Whereas Billy Loughnane had enjoyed a trouble-free run through the 2,000 Guineas, this was a messy affair with some scrimmaging but the imperturbable rhythm of George Boughey's luminary saw him once again get there in front of Gstaad (Starspangledbanner). At the line, it was a short head this time but that...

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...

After taking up the rare position of bystander for the Queen Anne, Aidan O'Brien was back in business two races into Royal Ascot 2026 as Great Barrier Reef (No Nay Never) conquered the G2 Coventry Stakes. Partnered by Wayne Lordan with Ryan Moore on the sire's Confucius, the 6-1 shot who had taken the Marble Hill last month navigated his path from stall three far away from the stands' side to bring up a 12th renewal of the race that launched the trainer at the meeting in 1997. "Confucius is...

Continuing the recent trend of big-priced winners in Royal Ascot's G1 Queen Anne Stakes, TBT Racing's Ten Bob Tony swooped to prevail at 50-1 from More Thunder and lead a notable one-two for Night Of Thunder. Anchored in rear early by Kieran Shoemark, the Ed Walker-trained gelding was the last to make his move into the strong pace set by Billy Loughnane on Opera Ballo (Ghaiyyath) but his closing run proved the strongest as he overhauled that rival and More Thunder in the final yards. At the line, there was...

Thursday's G1 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot will see 11 stayers line up, with Ballydoyle's Scandinavia (Justify) set to tackle last year's hero Trawlerman (Golden Horn) in a clash to savour. Last year's St Leger hero will be the sole runner for Aidan O'Brien as the trainer seeks a record-extending 10th renewal, with Godolphin's Trawlerman one of two for the Gosdens alongside Normandie Stud's stalwart Sweet William (Sea The Stars). Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum's Leger runner-up and Yorkshire Cup winner Rahiebb (Frankel), Victorious Forever's Prix du Cadran and Prix Vicomtesse Vigier hero Caballo...

Whatever the week ahead at Royal Ascot brings, there is one certainty and that is Aidan O'Brien stretching what's possible even further from the centre. Let's get this out of the way first; the current master of Ballydoyle will undeniably form his own one-man club at some point over the next five days with his 100th Royal winner. It is a club so exclusive that it will likely see no other member for decades, with the County Wexford-born nonpareil still a relative youth in the training ranks. Ironically, his shortest-priced...

For the 10th consecutive year, NBC Sports presents daily live coverage of the Royal Ascot presented by Breeders' Cup Challenge Series at Ascot Racecourse in Berkshire, England, beginning Tuesday, June 16, at 8:30 a.m. ET on Peacock and NBCSN, and continuing through Friday (beginning each day at 8:30 a.m. ET). NBC and Peacock will present a live 4.5-hour Royal Ascot program on Saturday, June 20, starting at 9 a.m. ET. Britney Eurton and Nick Luck host Saturday's coverage on NBC and Peacock, with NBC News' Dylan Dreyer on-site with access...