Gold king Yeats on course for fantastic four
The Aidan O’Brien-trained eight-year-old will be seeking an unprecedented fourth victory in the staying championship, although he must bounce back from a disappointing reappearance at Navan in April.
Leading the opposition is his old foe Geordieland, twice runner-up to Yeats in this race and on a high after landing the Henry II Stakes at Sandown.
Jamie Osborne’s grey showed battling qualities many thought he did not possess that day in overhauling Patkai, who reopposes as he seeks another Royal success to add to his Queen’s Vase from 12 months ago.
Osborne expects Geordieland to rise to the challenge following his Sandown run but acknowledges Yeats will be the one to beat again.
He said: “If I could take one horse out of the race it would be Yeats.
“I wouldn’t be worried if I was them (about his reappearance run). He’s a big, gross eight-year-old who ran on soft ground and if he wasn’t quite 100% on ground he didn’t like, I wouldn’t read too much into it.
“He also seems to raise his game a bit in this race and he’s the one to beat.”
However, Osborne thinks Geordieland’s new-found spark can help him peg back some, and possibly all, of last year’s winning verdict.
He added: “He just seemed to run out of gas a bit last year but he’s been working in a different manner this year and he’s not going to run out of gas.
“I think we are every bit as good as Yeats and with the new and improved Geordieland, we can go and win it.”
Godolphin have three possibles to choose from in Coronation Cup also-ran Eastern Anthem, Sagara and Yorkshire Cup third Veracity.
John Gosden could field Centennial while David Nicholls’ Hindu Kush, the Howard Johnson-trained Washington Irving and Barry Hills’ Tastahil complete the contenders.
Meanwhile, Godolphin supplemented unbeaten filly Flying Cloud for Thursday’s Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot at the confirmation stage.
The former Andre Fabre inmate was last seen winning a Group Three event at Saint-Cloud at the start of May but now looks set for her first start in the famous royal blue silks.
Michael Stoute still has a strong hand in the mile-and-a-half contest with Enticement, July Jasmine and Leocorno among the 14 possibles, while Grace O’Malley, Oh Goodness Me and Totally Devoted could travel from Ireland.
Recent Lingfield maiden winner Flame Of Gibraltar could represent master trainer Henry Cecil, while other contenders include Anice Stellato, Mooakada and Take The Hint.
