Stars get their day in the sun with brilliant Royal Ascot performances

Royal Ascot once again lived up to its billing as the jewel in the crown of British racing, with superb wins for Ombudsman, Trawlerman and Rebel’s Romance in three of the highlights of the five-day meeting.

Ombudsman announced himself as the best older horse in Europe with a breathtaking display in Wednesday’s G1 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes. William Buick was forced to switch several times in the straight, but the Night Of Thunder colt unleashed a storming turn of foot to beat a top-quality field.

With a career record of five wins from six starts, Ombudsman could yet even scale greater heights and looks set to tackle some more of the top middle-distance races over the coming months. The G1 Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park could be his next port of call.

Runner-up to Kyprios 12 months earlier, Trawlerman gained a deserved success in Thursday’s G1 Gold Cup as he produced a relentless display of front-running to take the staying showpiece by a dominant seven lengths.

All roads lead back to next year’s Royal Ascot for Trawlerman, who will be given a well-earned break before a potential return to action later in the year. Dubai Future, who ran an excellent race to take third in the Gold Cup, appears to be Godolphin’s main contender for Cup contests throughout the rest of the season.

Trawlerman wasn’t the only seven-year-old to enter the winner’s enclosure during the week as Rebel’s Romance created more history by becoming the oldest ever winner of Saturday’s G2 Hardwicke Stakes.

The son of Dubawi delivered another assured effort to take his career record to 18 victories, increasing his lead over Anamoe as Godolphin’s most prolific winner. Seven of those successes have come at G1 level and Rebel’s Romance could yet bid for more international top-level honours, with Germany and Canada among potential destinations for the global superstar.

Arabian Story provided trainer Saeed bin Suroor with a landmark 40th Royal Ascot victory when gamely taking the Britannia Stakes on Thursday. The three-year-old was remarkably having his first turf start at the meeting, a feat also achieved by stablemate Real World in the 2021 Royal Hunt Cup.

Several strong efforts in defeat included Wise Approach, who chased home Charles Darwin in the G2 Norfolk Stakes, and Tornado Alert, a clear second in the G3 Hampton Court Stakes. Spy Chief also ran a fine race as he found only Noble Champion too strong in the G3 Jersey Stakes.

Cinderella’s Dream filled the runner-up spot in the G2 Duke Of Cambridge Stakes – one of two Group races during the week where Darley-sired runners finished 1-2-3. She is due to return to a straight course, with next month’s G1 Falmouth Stakes on Newmarket’s July Course high on her agenda.

Godolphin’s two recent 2,000 Guineas winners produced valiant performances in Tuesday’s G1 mile features. Notable Speech could yet aim to defend his G1 Sussex Stakes crown after going down by just over two lengths in the Queen Anne Stakes, although York’s G1 City Of York Stakes over seven furlongs looks an intriguing option.

Ruling Court looks set to step up in distance following his third in the St James’s Palace Stakes, with the G1 Eclipse and G1 Grand Prix de Paris among his options. Shadow Of Light, third behind Ruling Court at Newmarket, could tackle the G1 Prix Jean Prat after finding the ground too fast in Friday’s G1 Commonwealth Cup.