French 2000 Guineas winner Rayif misses out on the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot on Tuesday. However, a star-studded field of six were declared, with the final fields for the other day one contests now.
Here is today’s racing news round-up as Royal Ascot week arrives.
Royal Ascot: Glittering Group 1s in store on day 1 of royal meeting
The opening day fields for Royal Ascot have been declared. Six horses feature in the Group 1 St James’s Palace Stakes, which is quickly emerging as the headline contest of day one. Rayif, the French 2000 Guineas hero, is not among them. A mild fever ensured he could not travel, though English and Irish 2000 Guineas winners, Bow Echo and Gstaad, do feature. Puerto Rico and Talk Of New York add to a superb line-up for the three-year-old race. (Racing Post)
Australia’s two big sprinting hopes for Royal Ascot week stretched their legs at the track during the weekend. Joliestar will wait until later in the week to compete in her race. However, Overpass is one of a whopping 26 declarations for the King Charles III Stakes on day one. The 5f showpiece is the third race on Tuesday and Overpass is the strong favourite. He has won back-to-back editions of the top level Winterbottom Stakes on home shores. (Thoroughbred Daily News)
The Queen Anne Stakes has fetched nine declarations to open the festival. They include recent Lockinge Stakes scorer and former 2000 Guineas winner Notable Speech. He and the fellow Charlie Appleby-trained Opera Ballo have a strong grip on the betting for the race. Last year’s winner Docklands also features among the nine hopefuls. More depth is added by promising combatants More Thunder and Zeus Olympios. (Racing Post)
Ascot Gold Cup: Trawlerman in goggles as Rahiebb connections grow in confidence
John & Thady Gosden have made an unusual decision regarding Ascot Gold Cup hope Trawlerman. The eight-year-old is the defending champion, having won by seven lengths last year. However, his return in 2026 has so far been delayed. John Gosden stated that he has developed a “sensitivity to light”, causing visibility issues. As a result, he has been working in ski goggles at the Clarehaven yard and will sport them in the preliminaries at the Berkshire track. (Mirror)
One of the more significant threats to Trawlerman’s crowd comes from Rahiebb. Trained by Roger Varian, he was second in the 2025 St Leger behind current Gold Cup favourite Scandinavia. His rider Ray Dawson has stated that the four-year-old is now a “stronger and more mature horse” as he prepares to fave a big step up in distance to 2m4f. (Sky Sports)