Dubai: With just two weeks to go for the start of Royal Ascot, Britain’s most valuable race meeting, the battlelines for several mouth-watering contests are finally taking shape.
Team Godolphin head into the five-day event with some strong chances led by top-miler Ribchester, the headline act on the opening day, Tuesday, June 20.
Richard Fahey’s stable star will bid to give Godolphin an eighth Queen Anne Stakes (G1), and set the tone for rest of the festival, which features six quality contests per day.
Ribchester is likely face another horse with Dubai connections in Mutakayyef, who represents Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance, who last took home the famous trophy in 1992 following the victory of Lahib, who was one of Europe’s top milers.
Mutakayyef and Ribchester were scheduled to meet in the Lockinge Stakes (G1) at Newbury, which was won by the latter, but his trainer, William Haggas, opted to skip the Newbury race and head straight to the Royal meeting.
The Queen Anne will be Mutakayyef’s first racecourse appearance since he finished fifth in the Dubai Turf (G1) at Meydan in March, a race in which Ribchester was third behind the Japanese-trained winner Vivlos.
Royal Ascot traditionally attract the best horses from around the world and France will be represented by the Andre Fabre-trained Cloth Of Stars, who is set to run in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes on Wednesday, June 21
A progressive son of Sea The Stars, Fabre’s four-year-old is already the winner of a Group 3, Group 2 and Group 1 contest for Godolphin this season and appears to be in the best form of his life.
However, he will need to put up a bold show in a race that has attracted several heavyweights including the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Ulysses, fellow Godolphin star Jack Hobbs, winner of the Dubai Sheema Classic (G1) in March and recent Coronation Cup (G1) hero Highland Reel
Fabre, who is likely to be represented by three runners in total at the Royal Ascot, said: “I won’t have many runners there. It’s possible Usherette will be supplemented for the Duke of Cambridge.
Godolphin, who recently acquired the record-breaking Harry Angel, will be hoping that their new acquisition can win them the G1 Commonwealth Cup, a new sprint race that was introduced in 2015.
The three-year-old smashed the 1,200-metre course record at Haydock Park when streaking home in the Group 2 Sandy Lane Stakes last Saturday. He recorded a time of 1min 8.56sec.
John Ferguson, Godolphin’s chief executive and racing manager, said on the stable’s website: “Harry Angel is one of the most brilliant young horses in training and we are delighted to have purchased him.
“Not only is he a fantastic prospect for all the major G1 sprints, being a son of Dark Angel, he also has the added attraction of being a potential stallion.
“We are also excited about having another top horse with Clive Cox, whose expertise and reputation is second to none,” he added.
Harry Angel is set to clash with the fellow Godolphin-owned colt Blue Point and the super impressive Caravaggio in a Royal Ascot thriller.
