As it lies at the zenith of flat racing, it comes as no surprise that horses from far and wide get entered at Royal Ascot. While the bulk of entries inevitably come from the British Isles, this year’s early closers have attracted horses of distinction from across the Channel in France, across the Atlantic in the USA and beyond. At Royal Ascot 2017, five of the 30 race winners were trained outside of the UK and Ireland – a significant minority of victories coming from abroad. It’s one thing to enter a thoroughbred several weeks in advance and quite another to then ship it over to Berkshire and go to post at perhaps the premier flat racing festival on the planet. The prestige that comes with being a Royal Ascot winner can serve a horse well beyond its retirement from running, so who counts among the notable foreign entries this year? We look at three. Le Brivido We start with a Royal Ascot winner from 2017 and Andre Fabre’s French raider Le Brivido. On his penultimate start, he landed the Group Three Jersey Stakes (a race for three-year-olds only) over seven furlongs at this meeting 12 months ago by a neck from Spirit Of Valor. Le Brivido then had 302 days off the track but returned to action in April when a three-length sixth of eight to Brando and again sent off favourite. He didn’t get a clear run towards the finish here, so in the circumstances and given the lengthy absence, this disappointment can be forgiven. That reappearance run this season apart, Le Brivido has finished first or second on his other four career starts. Connections – he is owned by Prince Faisal Bin Khaled – are stepping him up to a mile and pitching into Group One company with an entry in the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot 2018. Whether Le Brivido takes that up may depend on how the four-year-old colt performs in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury en route. He’s entered in that Group One contest too, but prior to that is ante-post favourite for the Queen Anne at a best-price 7/1. Lady Aurelia Timeform’s Royal Ascot preview is also sure to mention American sprint filly Lady Aurelia, who delivered in the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes over the flying five furlongs last year. Wesley Ward’s stable star hasn’t won since but went down by the narrowest of margins next time out in the Nunthorpe at the Ebor Festival at York – even jockey Frankie Dettori thought she was first past the post. Lady Aurelia’s three-length success in the King’s Stand was arguably the performance of Royal Ascot 2017. Her tenth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at the end of last season was a below-par effort and she made the frame on reappearance stateside when second in the Giant’s Causeway Stakes at Keeneland when giving weight to Triple Chelsea. Although a bid to win consecutive renewals of the King’s Stand is on the agenda despite the presence of Timeform’s joint-top rated flat horse for 2017 in Battaash among the entries, Lady Aurelia also holds an early entry in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes over six furlongs. It’d be a shame if connections swerved the best of British as it’s battle over the minimum trip many want to see. Whichever Royal Ascot race she ends up in this year, expect betting support for Lady Aurelia. She’s a narrow 7/2 second-favourite in the ante-post market on the King’s Stand and as big as 12/1 for the Diamond Jubilee. Vazirabad From sprinters to stayers now and the Aga Khan-owned French six-year-old Vazirabad. Alain de Royer-Dupre’s charge has earned over £2,000,000 in career prize money to date and been campaigned abroad before when spending the last three springs in the Middle East running at Meydan. As Vazirabad has finished first or second on all five of his starts at two miles or further, an entry at Royal Ascot 2018 for the Gold Cup was made. He beat last year’s winner of that feature contest, Big Orange, three times in the Dubai Gold Cup, so provided the ground is not too firm we could finally see a belated British debut. Anything that adds to the dynamic of Big Orange v Order Of St George – the best of Anglo-Irish stayers – should only heighten the excitement surrounding the Ascot Gold Cup. Vazirabad is a best-price 10/1 for the 2m 4f showpiece at the royal meeting.
As it lies at the zenith of flat racing, it comes as no surprise that horses from far and wide get entered at Royal Ascot. While the bulk of entries inevitably come from the British Isles, this year’s early closers have attracted horses of distinction from across the Channel in France, across the Atlantic in the USA and beyond. At Royal Ascot 2017, five of the 30 race winners were trained outside of the UK and Ireland – a significant minority of victories coming from abroad. It’s one thing to enter a thoroughbred several weeks in advance and quite another to then ship it over to Berkshire and go to post at perhaps the premier flat racing festival on the planet. The prestige that comes with being a Royal Ascot winner can serve a horse well beyond its retirement from running, so who counts among the notable foreign entries this year? We look at three. Le Brivido We start with a Royal Ascot winner from 2017 and Andre Fabre’s French raider Le Brivido. On his penultimate start, he landed the Group Three Jersey Stakes (a race for three-year-olds only) over seven furlongs at this meeting 12 months ago by a neck from Spirit Of Valor. Le Brivido then had 302 days off the track but returned to action in April when a three-length sixth of eight to Brando and again sent off favourite. He didn’t get a clear run towards the finish here, so in the circumstances and given the lengthy absence, this disappointment can be forgiven. That reappearance run this season apart, Le Brivido has finished first or second on his other four career starts. Connections – he is owned by Prince Faisal Bin Khaled – are stepping him up to a mile and pitching into Group One company with an entry in the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot 2018. Whether Le Brivido takes that up may depend on how the four-year-old colt performs in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury en route. He’s entered in that Group One contest too, but prior to that is ante-post favourite for the Queen Anne at a best-price 7/1. Lady Aurelia Timeform’s Royal Ascot preview is also sure to mention American sprint filly Lady Aurelia, who delivered in the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes over the flying five furlongs last year. Wesley Ward’s stable star hasn’t won since but went down by the narrowest of margins next time out in the Nunthorpe at the Ebor Festival at York – even jockey Frankie Dettori thought she was first past the post. Lady Aurelia’s three-length success in the King’s Stand was arguably the performance of Royal Ascot 2017. Her tenth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at the end of last season was a below-par effort and she made the frame on reappearance stateside when second in the Giant’s Causeway Stakes at Keeneland when giving weight to Triple Chelsea. Although a bid to win consecutive renewals of the King’s Stand is on the agenda despite the presence of Timeform’s joint-top rated flat horse for 2017 in Battaash among the entries, Lady Aurelia also holds an early entry in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes over six furlongs. It’d be a shame if connections swerved the best of British as it’s battle over the minimum trip many want to see. Whichever Royal Ascot race she ends up in this year, expect betting support for Lady Aurelia. She’s a narrow 7/2 second-favourite in the ante-post market on the King’s Stand and as big as 12/1 for the Diamond Jubilee. Vazirabad From sprinters to stayers now and the Aga Khan-owned French six-year-old Vazirabad. Alain de Royer-Dupre’s charge has earned over £2,000,000 in career prize money to date and been campaigned abroad before when spending the last three springs in the Middle East running at Meydan. As Vazirabad has finished first or second on all five of his starts at two miles or further, an entry at Royal Ascot 2018 for the Gold Cup was made. He beat last year’s winner of that feature contest, Big Orange, three times in the Dubai Gold Cup, so provided the ground is not too firm we could finally see a belated British debut. Anything that adds to the dynamic of Big Orange v Order Of St George – the best of Anglo-Irish stayers – should only heighten the excitement surrounding the Ascot Gold Cup. Vazirabad is a best-price 10/1 for the 2m 4f showpiece at the royal meeting.