Royal Ascot day one: Blue Point and Battaash face King’s Stand rematch

Last year’s one-two Blue Point and Battaash are among 12 runners declared for the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot on Tuesday.

Charlie Appleby’s Blue Point wore down the Charlie Hills-trained Battaash to claim a brilliant victory in this five-furlong Group One 12 months ago and returns to defend his crown having won each of his three starts in Dubai earlier this year.

Battaash is in similarly fine form after a hugely impressive start to his campaign in last month’s Temple Stakes at Haydock.

The pair will renew rivalry on the opening day of the Royal meeting, with Blue Point in stall one and Battaash drawn highest of all in 12.

Hills has a second string to his bow in Equilateral, while Aidan O’Brien fields Sergei Prokofiev and Fairyland.

There are three international runners in American challenger Imprimis – the mount of Frankie Dettori – the Australian raider Houtzen and New Zealand-based outsider Enzo’s Lad.

Michael Dods saddles his top-class mare Mabs Cross, with Judicial (Julie Camacho), Soldier’s Call (Archie Watson) and Signora Cabello (John Quinn) completing the field.

SWEET SIXTEEN IN QUEEN ANNE:

Le Brivido and Mustashry feature in a final field of 16 runners for the Queen Anne Stakes.

Already a winner at the Royal meeting having landed the 2017 Jersey Stakes when trained by Andre Fabre, Le Brivido has run twice since joining Aidan O’Brien – finishing third in the Gladness Stakes at Naas and fifth in the Lockinge at Newbury.

With O’Brien not declaring I Can Fly and Magical, Le Brivido is the Ballydoyle maestro’s sole contender as he seeks a fourth victory in the race following the previous triumphs of Ad Valorem (2006), Haradasun (2008) and Declaration of War (2013).

The Irish challenge in the traditional Royal Ascot curtain-raiser is completed by Dermot Weld’s Hazapour – the mount of Frankie Dettori – and Romanised from Ken Condon’s yard.

The home team includes Sir Michael Stoute’s Lockinge hero Mustashry, Godolphin’s 2017 St James’s Palace Stakes hero Barney Roy – who has this season returned from a spell at stud – Karl Burke’s popular filly Laurens and last year’s shock winner in Eve Johnson Houghton’s Accidental Agent.

There is one French-trained runner in Jean-Claude Rouget’s Olmedo.

PHOENIX OF SPAIN AND TOO DARN HOT MEET AGAIN:

Phoenix Of Spain and Too Darn Hot – the first two home in last month’s Irish 2,000 Guineas – are the headline acts among 11 runners declared for the St James’s Palace Stakes.

John Gosden’s Too Darn Hot was the undoubted star of the juvenile division last season, with his unbeaten run of four wins including a comprehensive victory over Phoenix Of Spain at Doncaster.

Having suffered his first defeat when narrowly denied in last month’s Dante Stakes at York, Too Darn Hot was strongly fancied to claim Classic glory at the Curragh, but proved no match for the Charlie Hills-trained Phoenix Of Spain, who dominated from the front on what was his seasonal debut.

Gosden has an interesting second string to his bow in the progressive King Of Comedy.

Aidan O’Brien – who has saddled a record seven previous winners of this Group One contest – has three runners in this year’s renewal, with The Irish Rover and Van Beethoven joined by the supplemented Circus Maximus.

The latter drops half a mile in distance after finishing sixth in the Investec Derby at Epsom.

Bell Rock (Andrew Balding), Fox Champion (Richard Hannon), Royal Marine (Saeed bin Suroor), Shaman (Carlos Laffon-Parias) and Skardu (William Haggas) are the other hopefuls.

All three race form part of the QIPCO British Champions Series.