A patient Highland Reel proved too tough against a top-class field in Wednesday's Group 1 Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot, providing trainer Aidan O'Brien with his 300th career group or graded stakes win in a flat or jump race.
The American-trained runners Bound for Nowhere and La Coronel face brutal challenges in Group 1 races at Royal Ascot on Friday.
Barney Roy completed a Royal Ascot opening-day Group 1 double for Godolphin when he won the St. James’s Palace Stakes by one length over Lancaster Bomber.
Happy Valley selections for Wednesday, June 21.
Lady Aurelia followed up on her breathtaking win a year ago in the Queen Mary Stakes with a scintillating score Tuesday in the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Ribchester cemented his position as Europe’s best miler with a definitive victory Tuesday in the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes to launch the 2017 Royal Ascot meeting.
Order of St. George is the odds-on favorite to win the Group 1 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot on Thursday for the second year in a row, but the horse's reputation at this moment appears to have outpaced his form, and if the Ascot course stays dry, Big Orange will have a chance at an upset.
Jolly Convergence is winless in nine starts in Hong Kong this season, but the gelding’s record is not as discouraging as it seems. Jolly Convergence was second, beaten three-quarters of a length, in a troubled trip in a six-furlong handicap June 7 and returns at the same level of competition in Wednesday’s $158,375 Lantau Island Handicap at six furlongs on turf at Happy Valley Racecourse.
Highland Reel won the Breeders' Cup Turf at Santa Anita last November and the Group 1 Coronation Cup at Epsom on June 2. Those are brilliant credentials, but not enough to make Highland Reel a clear favorite in a tough running of the Group 1 Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot on Wednesday.
The five-day Royal Ascot meeting begins Tuesday with an excellent six-race card that includes three Group 1 races and six American runners.
