Royal Ascot

Recent listed winner Moon De Vega (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) (lot 26) has been added to the June 19 Goffs London Sale in association with Privat 3 Money. The wildcard, trained by Paddy Twomey, won the Listed Glencairn S. at Leopardstown. A 4-year-old filly, she is from the same family as multiple group winner Celimene (Ire) (Dr Fong), and the Listed Prix des Jouvenceaux et des Jouvencelles heroine Lunaska (Fr) (Ashkalani {Ire}). Held in the Kensington Palace Gardens, the sale also features 16 lots with Royal Ascot entries. For...

Share prices in Jessica Harrington's Givemethebeatboys (Ire) (Bungle Inthejungle {GB}), a leading G2 Coventry S. contender, took a spike on Thursday with the news that legendary jockey Frankie Dettori would take the ride on the colt at Royal Ascot on Tuesday. Givemethebeatboys, a gritty winner of the G3 Marble Hill S. at the Curragh when last seen, will be offered up for sale by his owner Con Marnane at the Goffs London Sale on the eve of the race. He is not the only horse that Marnane and Harrington will...

It was hard not to love the performance Selenaia (Ire) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) posted in the GIII Honeymoon S. at Santa Anita last weekend.  One man who loved it more than most was Derek Iceton of Tara Stud in County Meath. Iceton bought the dam [Dettoria (GB) (Declaration Of War)] of the Grade I-bound performer for just 12,000gns at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale in 2018.  Dettoria is still based at Tara Stud and has a Space Blues (Ire) colt at foot. She is happily reported to be back...

Australian sprinters Coolangatta (Aus) (Written Tycoon {Aus}) and Cannonball (Aus) (Capitalist {Aus}) took to the Ascot straight on  Wednesday morning for a racecourse gallop ahead of next Tuesday's G1 King's Stand S. The G1 Lightning S. winner Coolangatta is staying in Lambourn during her time in England and was overseen by her co-trainer Ciaron Maher, who arrived in the UK on Tuesday. Ridden by James McDonald, she worked over just less than five furlongs. "The idea was to bring Coolangatta here and have a look at the whole surrounds," Maher...

NEWMARKET, UK--George Boughey is aiming to build on his two winners at Royal Ascot last year by taking a team of around 20 to next week's meeting, led by the G2 Coventry S. favourite Asadna (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}). Sheikh Abdullah Almalek Alsabah's colt, who earned a TDN Rising Star with his 12-length win at Ripon on his sole start, will be ridden by William Buick, who partnered him in a gallop on Tuesday morning. Buick will also ride Soprano (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) in the G3 Albany S.  "The two-year-olds will...

With Royal Ascot looming large on the horizon, and racing about to switch from Newmarket's Rowley Mile to the July Course, John and Thady Gosden and Charlie Appleby took advantage of the latter for racecourse gallops for some of their Ascot runners on Tuesday morning.  Cheveley Park Stud's homebred Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) was out first under Frankie Dettori ahead of what will be her first start since QIPCO British Champions Day last October. The treble Group 1 winner is heading to the G1 Queen Anne S. on the opening...

Trainer Ralph Beckett has revealed that Group 3-winning filly Haskoy (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}--Natavia {GB}, by Nathaniel {Ire}) has been retired due to a tendon injury. Haskoy, fourth in the St Leger last year, having gone past the post in second, made a winning return at Newbury when landing the G3 Al Rayyan S. She had been just 8-1 for the Gold Cup at Ascot. Beckett said of the Juddmonte-owned filly on Twitter, "Haskoy has strained a tendon, consequently she is being retired to the paddocks." Haskoy is the first...

Australian sprinter Cannonball (Aus) (Capitalist {Aus}) is being predicted to make an explosive impact at Royal Ascot by majority owner James Harron who insists the Peter and Paul Snowden-trained colt will post "a very big performance" if the ground is good or better in the G1 King's Stand S. A general 10-1 chance to emulate last year's winner Nature Strip (Aus) and the brilliant Scenic Blast (Aus), Miss Andretti (Aus), Takeover Target (Aus) and Choisir (Aus) by winning the King's Stand for Australia, success for Cannonball would also reverberate as...

Royal Ascot prospect Seeking Gold (Ire) (Havana Gold {Ire}) will sell next Friday, June 16, Tattersalls Online announced on Friday. The 3-year-old colt, trained by Tom Clover, is being pointed toward the Listed Britannia S., which is run over a mile on the Thursday of the Royal Ascot Meeting. Seeking Gold has won once and placed once in five starts, his most notable performance a second, beaten just three-quarters of a length, behind subsequent G1 2000 Guineas hero Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}), in his debut last year. Bidding on Seeking...

Group 2 winner Just Beautiful (GB) (Pride Of Dubai {Aus}) will not participate at Royal Ascot, and will instead point toward targets later in the summer with a trip to the Breeders' Cup also a possibility, trainer Paddy Twomey revealed on Friday. The 5-year-old Moyglare Stud colourbearer ran fifth in the G3 Athasi S. at the Curragh in early May, before taking the G2 Lanwades Stud S. later in the month. The G1 Falmouth S., as well as the G1 Prix Rothschild--both in July--and the G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest...

One of the quickest juveniles out of the blocks in Europe this season has been The Fixer (Ire), who is trained in Chantilly by Francis Graffard and is now en route for Royal Ascot. Whether or not the young son of No Nay Never appears there in the same colours in which he won Sunday's Listed Prix La Flèche remains to be seen, however, as he will first go under the hammer at the Goffs London Sale on the eve of the royal meeting. The Fixer is out of the...

Heading into his final Royal Ascot, Frankie Dettori has landed the plum ride on last year's Derby winner Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) in the G1 Prince of Wales's S.  Richard Kingscote has ridden the Sir Michael Stoute-trained colt in all four of his starts to date, including his seasonal resumption when second to Hukum (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in the G3 Brigadier Gerard S. Kingscote is unlikely to be without a big-name partner in the race, however, as he is the intended rider for Bay Bridge (GB) on...