By J A McGrath Charlie Appleby’s decisiveness in withdrawing RULING COURT on Derby Day has set up an unparalleled feature attraction at one of the most attractive Royal Ascots this century. Tuesday's Group 1 St James’s Palace Stakes showcases the three best three-year-old milers in Europe: Field Of Gold and Henri Matisse v Ruling Court, with their credentials established by winning, respectively, the Irish, French and Newmarket 2000 Guineas. Watch every race of Royal Ascot 2025 live on Sky Sports Racing (Sky 415 | Virgin 519) from Tuesday 17th June to Saturday 21st June. Appleby scratched Godolphin’s 2000 Guineas winner at Epsom for good reason. It was not a case of fearing the formidable challenge from Ballydoyle or any of the other big guns, it was more out of his respect for a colt he thinks can prove outstanding. Appleby explains: “When you are making decisions at that level, you must want to make sure it is right for the horse and everybody else. We felt the ground was going to be too testing over that trip and on that track. “We saw the evidence the day before with our filly Desert Flower (third) in the Oaks — though you are talking about two different characters. She paid the price, due to the track and the ground. Therefore, for us, it highlighted it (the task) even further for the colt. “We felt we took the right decision on the day, and subsequently, post-race, we walked away thinking it was definitely the right decision (to withdraw the colt) after seeing the Derby result and the way the race was run.” Appleby reports Ruling Court galloped on Tuesday (10 June), nicely priming him for his Royal Ascot engagement.  “I was very pleased with the gallop,” he says. “William rode him. We have kept to the same daily routine with him here at Moulton Paddocks and he is doing everything right.” The trainer is well aware that many feel Field Of Gold should have won the Guineas at Newmarket rather than finish second to Ruling Court, who they argue had it all his own way up front. “William certainly rode him very well, but they went steady,” Appleby points out, hinting that it may have been more beneficial if another colt had gone on and given him some help. “We think Ruling Court will get a mile and a quarter and might get a mile and a half. The fact is we’ve beaten Field Of Gold once, and he’s got to beat us at the end of the day. We’re the one going there with the feather in our cap, and it should be a great race.” Colin Keane, the newly-appointed Juddmonte first jockey, replaced Kieran Shoemark on Field Of Gold in the Irish Guineas, which the colt duly won by an impressive three and a quarter lengths. Ballydoyle’s Henri Matisse continues to progress with every run. He goes to the Royal meeting off the back of wins in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar, a Group 3 at Leopardstown, and more recently the Irish 2000 Guineas at the Curragh. Charlie Appleby turns 50 on July 5. He has been with Godolphin more than half his life, joining the organisation in 1998 and filling a variety of roles including travelling head lad to David Loder when the latter trained for Sheikh Mohammed at French track Evry. He was also assistant to Godolphin trainers, in turn Saeed bin Suroor and Mahmood Al Zarooni, before being appointed trainer himself on the removal of Zarooni, who was banned for eight years for doping offences in 2013. Appleby’s consistency at the highest level is striking and he has helped revived Godolphin’s fortunes after the ‘Blue Army’ spent some time in the racing wilderness. His confidence is bordering on infectious. “We are quiet on numbers this Royal Ascot, but we’ve got a couple of good quality arrows to throw. We’ve got some great chances,” he says. NOTABLE SPEECH, last year’s 2000 Guineas winner, finished fourth in the Lockinge at Newbury last month, in which the Richard Hannon-trained Rosallion took third. Both raced on the far side of the pack. Both will be major players in the opening race of the week, the Queen Anne Stakes, run over the straight mile. “Notable Speech has definitely come forward from Newbury. He’s race-hardened now. “The Lockinge developed up the centre of the track and both Notable Speech and Rosallion were on the wing. They were dropped in, and the pace was up the centre. Our fellow has come on a lot. It will be another of the week’s great races.” SHADOW OF LIGHT, Godolphin’s Dewhurst winner, who went on to take third behind stablemate Ruling Court in the Guineas, drops back to six furlongs for Friday’s Commonwealth Cup. “With Ruling Court confirming his place in the St James’s Palace field, it therefore made our decision slightly easier to drop Shadow Of Light back in trip. I’m not saying he doesn’t get the mile. Far from it. “He could go for a mile again sometime in the future. But the race we are working back from is the 7f City Of York Stakes at the Ebor meeting in August, which is Group 1 for the first time. “He shows a lot of natural pace, and he has a turn-of-foot. He’s come out of the Guineas in good order and should acquit himself very well,” he predicts. The other Godolphin star to watch for is the popular REBEL’S ROMANCE, who has Saturday’s Hardwicke Stakes as his target.  “We experimented stepping him up to 1m 6f at York and although he won, Will said it was all heart that enabled him to get home in front. He will stick to a mile and a half from now on.” Charlie Appleby has saddled some truly good horses to win at Royal Ascot, namely Blue Point, who was a triple winner, as well as the ill-fated Coroebus. There are some other would-be big names poised to join that list on Royal Ascot's roll of honour in the coming week. Watch every race of Royal Ascot 2025 live on Sky Sports Racing (Sky 415 | Virgin 519) from Tuesday 17th June to Saturday 21st June.