Ascot

Three of the world’s top-rated racehorses – Ombudsman, Delacroix and Calandagan – will meet in a blockbuster Champion Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.

Ombudsman, number one in the rankings, swooped late to beat Delacroix (rated joint sixth) in the Coral-Eclipse Stakes before the tables were turned in the Juddmonte International – and the pair now meet for a third time.

King George winner Calandagan, who is joint ninth in the global rankings, joins them, along with last year’s Irish Champion Stakes winner Economics who races for the first time in a year.

The Champion Stakes (16:05 BST) headlines five top-level Group One contests on a seven-race card on Qipco British Champions Day – the country’s richest raceday with a total of £4.35m prize money on offer.

Ombudsman’s stablemate Field Of Gold will run in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes for trainer John Gosden, whose strong hand on the day also features Gold Cup victor Trawlerman in the Long Distance Cup.

Owners Godolphin ran a pacemaker to assist Ombudsman in the Juddmonte at York and do so again in the £1.3m Champion Stakes, with Devil’s Advocate supplemented at a cost of £75,000.

French challenger First Look is another supplementary entry while other leading contenders include Dante and Great Voltigeur winner Pride Of Arras and Almaqam, who beat Ombudsman earlier in the season.

AIDAN O’BRIEN has mysteriously pulled a Royal Ascot winner ‘who can really move’ from a £500,000 race.

The Ballydoyle boss pulled the plug on Hampton Court Stakes hero Trinity College’s planned run in the German Derby on Sunday.

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Trinity College’s French Derby fourth automatically got him an entry in the Group 1 won last year by former Nicky Henderson inmate and world’s most expensive jumps horse Palladium.

He had been installed favourite by bookies on the back of his Ascot heroics.

But just 48 hours after putting him in the race O’Brien scrapped Trinity College’s entry.

It came as word spread O’Brien was set to supplement The Lion In Winter into a blockbuster Prix Jean Prat on Sunday.

The former Derby favourite, who is 25-1 for the City Of York stakes having been given an entry over 7f there too, could line up against Juddmonte’s Cosmic Year and Godolphin’s Dewhurst winner Shadow Of Light.

More to follow.

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• Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
• Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
• Never chases their losses
• Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressed
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ROYAL Ascot jockey Gary Carroll has been banned and fined – days after winning the biggest race of his life.

Carroll steered home 33-1 roughie Cercene in a shock finish to the Coronation Stakes last Friday.

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Trainer Joseph Murphy said the unlikely victory – worth just shy of £500,000 – was the culmination of his life’s work and there were emotional scenes in the winner’s enclosure afterwards.

But the superstar filly will need a new jockey for her intended run in the Irish Oaks next month after Carroll was hit with a big ban.

He has been whacked with a two-week suspension and fined £5,800 for using his whip twice above the limit of six in the mile race.

More to follow.

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Commercial content notice: Taking one of the offers featured in this article may result in a payment to The Sun. You should be aware brands pay fees to appear in the highest placements on the page. 18+. T&Cs apply. gambleaware.org.

Remember to gamble responsibly

A responsible gambler is someone who:

• Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
• Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
• Never chases their losses
• Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressed
• Gamcare – www.gamcare.org.uk
• Gamble Aware – www.gambleaware.org

Find our detailed guide on responsible gambling practices here.

French runner Lazzat held off Satono Reve to deny Japan a first triumph at Royal Ascot.

James Doyle was victorious aboard the 9-2 winner, trained by Jerome Reynier.

The jockey and winning owners Wathnan Racing, who also had the third-placed horse Flora Of Bermuda, were celebrating a double on the day after the earlier victory of Humidity in the Chesham Stakes.

Favourite Satono Reve was bidding to become the first Japanese-trained winner at the meeting after 12 previous attempts but was beaten by half a length.

As Doyle celebrated after the line, Lazzat unshipped his jockey and ran loose around the Ascot track before being caught.

Reynier was happier with Doyle than fellow jockey Flavien Prat, having described his effort on Facteur Cheval – who faded to finish sixth in Wednesday’s Prince of Wales’s Stakes – as “perhaps the worst ride given to one of my horses”.

“James knew he was never going to get beaten. He listened exactly to what we said to him,” said the trainer.

Rebel’s Romance won the Hardwicke Stakes to give Godolphin trainer Charlie Appleby his first victory at Royal Ascot since 2022.

It was an eighth top-level Group One victory for the horse, ridden by William Buick.

“He was the horse we needed. I’m just glad to get one on the board in the end,” said Appleby.

Appleby’s 6-4 favourite Treanmor had earlier finished fifth behind Humidity and Rebel’s Romance was his last Ascot runner of the week.

The Princess of Wales has pulled out from a planned attendance at Royal Ascot.

Catherine, who is making a gradual return to public life after her cancer diagnosis last year, is trying to find the right balance as she fully returns to public engagements, according to royal sources.

The princess was said to be disappointed to miss the sporting occasion in Berkshire, where she would have appeared in the carriage procession.

She was due to attend on Wednesday with her husband the Prince of Wales and the King and Queen.

Racegoers had been hoping to see Catherine as William was named as one of the figures awarding race prizes during the second day of the meet.

Kensington Palace confirmed she would not be attending the races.

The princess was last seen smiling and joking with other royals on Monday during the Order of the Garter service in Windsor.

Recently her public appearances have increased with attendances also at Trooping the Colour and a visit to the V&A East Storehouse museum in London.

Catherine revealed in January she is in remission from cancer after making an emotional return to the hospital where she received treatment.

She announced her diagnosis last March before she revealed in September she had completed her chemotherapy, saying: “Doing what I can to stay cancer free is now my focus.”

Catherine did not attend Royal Ascot last year, saying at the time she had been “blown away” by the messages of support she had received since her diagnosis and had been “making good progress” but was “not out of the woods yet”.

The event, one of the highlights of the summer social calendar, is taking place over five days at the Berkshire racecourse and is expected to draw more than 250,000 spectators.

Around 270,000 spectators are expected at the Berkshire track over the five days.

Ascot is confident it can cope with a week of warm weather, with temperatures expected to reach as high as 29C by Saturday.

“Thoroughbred racehorses are able to run in very hot temperatures, including in countries such as Dubai,” said a course spokesperson.

“To ensure their welfare here at Royal Ascot we provide them with lots of water and ice if necessary.

“We’ve had days at Royal Ascot over 30C and we have a dedicated team of people to help cool the horses after they’ve raced.”

Going conditions are described as good to to firm, with the ground watered to help with safety for runners and riders.

The course’s dress code was relaxed for the first time during a heatwave three years ago, but the same is not expected to happen this week.