Royal Ascot

Providing a boost for Saturday's G1 Diamond Jubilee S. favourite Starman (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}), Oxted (GB) (Mayson {GB}) who had previously felt the force of that ascendant sprinter stormed to victory diverted to Tuesday's G1 King's Stand S. Third to that Ed Walker trainee in the May 12 G2 Duke of York S. on his most recent start, last year's G1 July Cup hero was reunited with Cieren Fallon on his first try at this five-furlong trip and the alignments were perfect as he came home strong to deny...

Leaving it late on debut when scoring over an extended five furlongs at Newbury Apr. 16, Berkshire Shadow (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}) was again one of the last on the scene as he swooped to conquer in Tuesday's G2 Coventry S. First time up, the winner had spotted subsequent TDN Rising Star Gisburn (Ire) (Ribchester {Ire}) several lengths headstart with his tardy break before showing his class. With the strong tempo in part carved out by Gregory Kaufman's Kaufymaker (Jimmy Creed) and this more suitable trip to aid him, he...

Royal Ascot 2021 will be a unique experience for an action-starved public and the lucky 12,000-strong crowd witnessed a textbook beginning on Tuesday as the world's leading Thoroughbred Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}) provided the ultimate showman Frankie Dettori with the latest in his catalogue of Royal winners in the G1 Queen Anne S., a "Win and You're In" for the GI Breeders' Cup Mile this fall. While odds of 2-7 suggested a total eclipse was imminent, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum's TDN Rising Star could only partially overshadow...

Edited Press Release In advance of the five-day Royal Ascot meeting kicking off on Tuesday, below are 10 things to know about the World Pool, which will be utilised for the third year at the historic event. World Pool was created by Hong Kong Jockey Club and brings together racing fans from over 20 nations so everyone is effectively betting into one pool creating huge liquidity. It's like the EuroMillions version of the lottery. World Pool in the UK is operated by the Tote. You can bet with the Tote...

NBC Sports will provide live coverage of this week's Royal Ascot meeting, beginning Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. Daily telecasts of the full five-day Royal Meeting will air on NBCSN through Friday and conclude Saturday on NBC (9 a.m. ET) and CNBC (11 a.m. ET). In total, NBC Sports will present nearly 25 hours of coverage over the five days. This week's Royal Ascot meeting includes four "Breeders' Cup Challenge Series--Win and You're In" races: Tuesday's G1 Queen Anne S., Wednesday's G1 Prince of Wales's S., Thursday's G1 Norfolk S., and...

After the UK Government announced that they would be taking a four-week pause on the country's progression out of COVID-19 restrictions on Monday, the UK Racing industry acknowledged the reasons for the delay, but expressed disappointment at the news. The COVID-19 roadmap out of lockdown had been due to switch to Stage 4 on June 21, but instead the current restrictions will continue, affecting major racing events like Coral-Eclipse Day at Sandown Park, and the Moet & Chandon July Festival at Newmarket. Currently, the industry is working with the Horserace...

   Frankie Dettori left it late to win his second consecutive jockey's title at Royal Ascot in 2020, so this time he will be looking for an instant boost via Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}) in the opening G1 Queen Anne S. on Tuesday. If form is any guide, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum's 'TDN Rising Star' can be fully expected to hand the Italian a 74th winner at the meeting, having been his 73rd on the Saturday of the last renewal when causing a minor surprise in the...

Group 1 winner Subjectivist (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) emerged from a Friday training incident in good order and is second choice in the G1 Gold Cup to dethrone Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) on June 17. The 4-year-old entire, who won the G1 Prix Royal-Oak at ParisLongchamp last October and the G2 Dubai Gold Cup at Meydan in March, fell en route to the gallops on Friday. "We had a scare on Friday, he fell over and skinned both knees and his hocks but just superficial grazes," Mark Johnston told...

While it is expected that The Queen will be at Royal Ascot on Tuesday, the fact that the monarch is not going to attend each day and that there will be no royal procession means that as far as normality is concerned we are far from out of the woods. In an upgrade on the atmospheric void that was 2020, there will be 12,000 in attendance to create some buzz at Flat racing's magnificent summer showcase which still boasts a strong, if slightly diminished, international element. While French entries have...

Len Green's DJ Stable has purchased a majority interest in Masseto (GB) (Territories {Ire}), who is scheduled to start in Tuesday's G2 Coventry S. at Royal Ascot. The 2-year-old colt will race in the name of DJ Stable, and will continue to be trained by Donnacha O'Brien with minority partners involved in the ownership. Masseto, a debut winner at Navan Apr. 25, was second in the G3 GAIN Marble Hill S. in his second outing over heavy ground as the 15-8 favorite. He was a 62,000 gns Tattersalls December Foal...

Near the entrance to The Royal Studs at Sandringham is a magnificent bronze commemorating the Prince of Wales's homebred Persimmon (GB) (St Simon {GB}), whose racing record highlights the fact that things were done a little differently back in the 1890s. Very differently, in fact. The Coventry S. winner of 1895 went on to win the Derby and the St Leger and, kept in training, he returned to Royal Ascot to win the Gold Cup, which had been his principal 4-year-old target. Exactly a century later, the horse who was...

Sean Levey has already set several notable benchmarks in British racing--being the first black jockey to ride in the Derby in 2016 when fifth on Humphrey Bogart (Ire) (Tagula {Ire}) and, two years later, the first black jockey to win a British Classic when steering Billesdon Brook (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}) to victory in the G1 1000 Guineas-and next week Levey hopes to earn a belated first Royal Ascot victory. The 33-year-old Swaziland-born rider, who will partner the likes of Snow Lantern (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and Happy Romance (Ire) (Dandy...