Believing And Ruling Court Represent Dubai Racing Carnival Graduates At Royal Ascot

The Dubai Racing Carnival (DRC) and Dubai World Cup day form will be prominently featured during the five days of Royal Ascot, starting Tuesday, 17 June. The event includes eight Group 1 races, with the Queen Anne Stakes kicking off the week. Cairo, who finished second in the G2 Al Rashidiya at Meydan Racecourse in December, will compete for trainer Alice Haynes against favourites Rosallion and Carl Spackler.

Ruling Court brings Meydan form to Tuesday’s third Group 1 race, the St James’s Palace Stakes for three-year-old colts. Charlie Appleby’s horse won the Listed Jumeirah 2000 Guineas and then triumphed in the G1 2000 Guineas at Newmarket. He faces Field Of Gold again here. "We took Ruling Court out of the Derby due to the [soft] ground, and we can have no excuses with conditions at Ascot," said Appleby.

The G1 King Charles III Stakes is a notable sprint featuring Believing and Regional, first and third from April's G1 Al Quoz Sprint on Dubai World Cup day. Believing arrives at Ascot in top form despite being in foal to Frankel. Trainer George Boughey remarked on her excellent condition: "It was a huge result in Dubai to get her Group 1 win." Her performance has been outstanding this year.

Wednesday highlights include the G1 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes over 2000 metres. Facteur Cheval, winner of the 2024 G1 Dubai Turf, competes under Jerome Reynier with Flavien Prat riding for the first time. Certain Lad, a past Carnival winner from 2020, also participates for trainer Jack Channon. Aidan O'Brien enters Continuous, who previously ran in the G2 Dubai Gold Cup.

Trawlerman aims to improve on last year's second-place finish in Thursday’s G1 Gold Cup after competing in three G2 Dubai Gold Cups. John and Thady Gosden hope their gelding can surpass last year's performance when he was runner-up to Kyprios. Also on Thursday, The Fingal Raven targets the Britannia Handicap for Jamie Osborne after finishing second to Ruling Court in the Jumeirah 2000 Guineas.

Cinderella’s Dream returns as favourite in Wednesday's G2 Duke Of Cambridge Stakes following a win at Newmarket. Arabian Light, victorious in the Lord Glitters Handicap at the Carnival, competes in Wednesday's Royal Hunt Cup. Frost At Dawn represents Meydan form as well; he won the 2024 G3 Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint and runs for UAE owner Abdulla Al Mansoori.

Final Day Excitement

The Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes concludes Saturday's action over 1200 metres. Symbol Of Honour takes part after winning both the Al Wasl Stakes and Dubai Trophy at Meydan for Appleby. Having secured two wins from three starts since returning to the UK, he stands as a strong contender here.

The Golden Gates Stakes is one of Saturday's penultimate races where Norway-based trainer Niels Petersen debuts his first runner at this meeting with War Socks. War Socks finished third behind Ruling Court in the Listed Jumeirah 2000 Guineas and now attempts 2000 metres for his first time here.

With inputs from WAM