Rakti heads 52 in Royal Ascot race
Rakti heads an international entry of 52 for the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 16.
The five-year-old finished a two-length second to Falbrav in the Group One Hong Kong Cup in December, following excellent efforts to win Newmarket’s Champion Stakes and to finish second to Nayef in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes last year.
The race has attracted foreign contenders headed by Elegant Fashion, a top performer in Hong Kong, Outta Here, seventh in the Kentucky Derby last year, and Paolini, joint winner of the Dubai Duty Free at Nad Al Sheba this year.
The Queen Anne Stakes has a distinctly international feel to it, with the South African-trained Right Approach among the 56 entries.
The five-year-old was runner up in this race last year when owned by the Queen and trained by Sir Michael Stoute.
The St James’s Palace Stakes has attracted all the main protagonists for Saturday’s UltimateBet.com 2000 Guineas, headed by Aidan O’Brien’s ante-post favourite One Cool Cat.
Red Bloom, favourite for the UltimateBet.com 1000 Guineas, leads an entry of 71 for the Coronation Stakes.
Last year’s winner Mr Dinos heads 51 in the Gold Cup and he could face dual winner Royal Rebel and O’Brien’s St Leger winner Brian Boru.
Top French horse Westerner is also in the race, along with Dermot Weld’s pair of Vinnie Roe and 2002 Melbourne Cup winner Media Puzzle.
The Golden Jubilee Stakes also has interesting foreign entries, most notably the Canadian-trained Soaring Free, who finished fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Mile last year.
Hong Kong could be represented by David Oughton’s Cape Of Good Hope, but his preferred target could be the King’s Stand Stakes, while Exceed And Excel could bid to emulate fellow Australian runner Choisir, who won the race last year.
The United States has two possibles in Glick (Jeff Mullins) and Lennyfromalibu (Barry Abrahams).
One Cool Cat, Grey Swallow and Carry On Katie are interesting entries, as they are due to run in the weekend’s Classics.
Nick Cheyne, racing director at Ascot, said: “We invest significant time and resources in overseas promotion of our race programme and it is beginning to bare fruits.
“This year, in addition to Exceed And Excel from Australia, we have received some exciting entries from Canada, the USA, South Africa and Hong Kong for our Group Ones and this is very much the direction in which we want to be going.”
Coral have released odds on the Group One events, making One Cool Cat the 4-1 favourite for the St James’s Palace Stakes and Red Bloom 4-1 market leader for the Coronation Stakes.
Russian Rhythm is the 6-1 favourite for the Queen Anne Stakes, while Rakti heads Coral’s betting for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at 7-2.
Westerner and Mr Dinos are joint 4-1 favourites for the Gold Cup and Exceed And Excel is 8-1 favourite for the Golden Jubilee Stakes.
