Australian challenger features in Queen Anne Stakes cracker

North American and Australian horses have undoubtedly helped make Royal Ascot the spectacle it is over the last few years. Now, it is almost a case of the best of both worlds, with

Carl Spackler

an attention-grabbing runner in the opening race, the Queen Anne Stakes.

A three-time Grade One winner for Chad Brown in the States, the Lope De Vega five-year-old is now owned by Yulong Investments and is with a new trainer in Ciaron Maher, meaning he will be a first Australian runner in the race superstar American mare Tepin won in 2016.

Connections feel they have the right type of horse to be competitive, with William Bourne, Maher’s bloodstock manager, saying: “The sample size (of international runners in the Queen Anne) isn’t huge, but his times really stacked up and just his temperament and attitude, he’s the perfect horse to travel – he’s an absolute dude and I think he’s going to run a big race.

“He’s a very straightforward horse, there’s not much to know – what you see is what you get. He’s got a great temperament, he’s like a kid’s pony, he’s made it so easy to bring him here, get him into the rhythm and train him. He’s definitely made life easy for the boss.

“It’s a red-hot race, there’s no hiding, you’re at Royal Ascot in a Group One so you’re under no impression you’re going to get an easy field. It is what it is, we think he’s a pretty good horse and hopefully he can show up on Tuesday.

“When you speak to English owners and trainers at the Melbourne Cup, the buzz is the whole week and this is very similar – great weather, a lot of people, a lot of hype. It’s a very international raceday and world class so just to even be here as a spectator or have a horse here, it’s a privilege and to have Yulong entrust us with the horse is just amazing.”

Lead Artist

, Dancing Gemini,

Rosallion

and

Notable Speech

set a high standard for Carl Spackler to aim at, having filled the first four places in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury, as does Sardinian Warrior.

John Gosden, who is responsible for Lead Artist, said: “I think the stiff mile at Ascot will suit him well rather than a slick mile and it’s a wonderful race.

“You have the first four in the Lockinge all turning up and will they finish in the same order, that will be the question.

“He got stuck in the ground at Sandown and he doesn’t like that. He likes what we got at Newbury in the Lockinge and what we’re hopefully going to get at Ascot on Tuesday.

“He was in need of the race at Sandown and he came there travelling nicely, it was just on that ground he struggled to get home. He turned that round and it wasn’t a huge surprise. Did I think he would win? Probably not, but I did think he would run a huge race.”

Notable Speech won last year’s 2000 Guineas and Sussex Stakes and Charlie Appleby expects him to take a good step forward from his Lockinge reappearance.

He told the Godolphin website: “Notable Speech comes into this in great order and we are looking forward to seeing him on the straight track at Ascot.

“The Lockinge was his first start of the year and he has definitely come forward for the run. Conditions are there to suit him and it looks a fantastic race to kick off the meeting.”