Ombudsman headlines Sandown winners set for Royal Ascot
Racenews
1 June, 2026
Ombudsman featured among a trio of Godolphin horses who booked their Royal Ascot places with victories at Sandown Park on Thursday night.
The three-time G1 winner, who was making his first start since capturing the Dubai Turf on Dubai World Cup Night, overcame a 7lb penalty as he outbattled Gethin in the G3 Brigadier Gerard Stakes.
Having secured a first top-level win in last season’s Prince Of Wales’s Stakes, Ombudsman will attempt to become the first horse in 31 years to win the Royal Ascot feature twice. The Eclipse Stakes and Juddmonte International could also feature on his radar as the season progresses.
Dubai Future became the first 10-year-old to win in the Godolphin silks with an impressive display in the G3 Henry II Stakes. The son of Dubawi was third behind Trawlerman in the G1 Gold Cup last year and will attempt to go two places better in the staying highlight later this month.
Talk Of New York sidestepped the 2,000 Guineas but looks set to take on the best three-year-old milers in the G1 St James’s Palace Stakes after an exhilarating performance in the Listed Heron Stakes.
In beating Time To Turn by five and a half lengths, the Wootton Bassett homebred earned himself a crack at Bow Echo and Gstaad, the respective winners of the 2,000 Guineas and Irish 2,000 Guineas, at Royal Ascot.
Woodbine has proven a happy hunting ground for Godolphin runners, and Maycocks Bay and Deloraine added their names to a long list of royal blue winners in Toronto as they enjoyed Graded Stakes success at the track on Saturday.
Maycocks Bay made all for a commanding victory in the G2 Eclipse Stakes on his all-weather debut, while Deloraine showed a willing attitude as she swooped late to take the G3 Belle Mahone Stakes.
Current Darley stallions Cody’s Wish and Palace Malice both won the G1 Met Mile, with the recently departed Frosted also scoring with a brilliant victory in 2016. Knightsbridge will be aiming to join the trio on the roll of honour when he lines up in a deep renewal of the race at Saratoga this Saturday.
