Field Of Gold has Keane relishing mouthwatering Sandown task

Colin Keane is relishing being reunited with Field Of Gold in what is set to be a mouthwatering running of the bet365 Mile at Sandown.

John and Thady Gosden’s son of Kingman was one of the stars of last season, making up for a near-miss in the 2000 Guineas by claiming the Irish equivalent before delivering a devastating performance in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.

The Juddmonte number one was the man in the saddle for both of those victories and, encouraged by the form of both the Clarehaven team and the feel he got on a recent visit to Newmarket, the Irishman is keen to see what his star mount has to offer this term.

Keane told the Press Association: “I got to sit on him a few weeks ago and he has done very well from three to four.

“John and Thady have been very happy with him since, which is good to hear, but in fairness it looks a very good renewal of the race and they are all Group One winners barring Karl Burke’s horse Zeus Olympios and he’s looked very progressive.

“All the same it looks a lovely place to start him back and John and Thady’s horses couldn’t be in any better form, that’s for sure.

“When you have horses like him it definitely shortens the winter and I’m looking forward to getting back on him.”

Often used as a stepping-stone to events such as the Lockinge and Queen Anne, the Group Two event is effectively a Group One in disguise on this occasion, such is the obvious strength in depth display among the six-strong field.

And while the assembled cast is stacked with proven Group One form, the one bringing untapped potential to the table is the unbeaten Zeus Olympios, who created a deep impression with his rapid rise through the ranks last term.

Like the Gosdens, the Burke team have also hit the ground running in the early salvos of 2026, with the Spigot Lodge handler saying: “He goes there in good shape, but I think like most horses he will improve for his first run.

“All our three-year-olds are in great shape and the older horses as well. They’re all running well first time up and he is working really well, but he will improve for the run.

“It is a Group One in all but name, but I think it’s the right thing to do to have a prep run before the Lockinge.

“It’s going to be a good race, a good one to watch and I’m sure we’ll learn a lot going forward with him.”

Zeus Olympios has already claimed the scalp of Opera Ballo when they clashed in the Joel Stakes last autumn, but Charlie Appleby’s colt is unbeaten in two appearances at Meydan since, winning the Group One Jebel Hatta on his most recent outing.

Appleby told www.godolphin.com: “Opera Ballo is dropping back in distance following his two wins over nine furlongs in Dubai and we wanted to have a look at him over a mile again to see whether he remains over it or goes back up in trip.

“Carrying a penalty will make things tough and it’s a case of getting a run into him over this trip against a top-quality field to see where we stand. He goes into it in great shape and we hope that this can give us a steer as to which of the top races we will be aiming at for the rest of the season.”

Andrew Balding won this with Beat The Bank in 2019 and will look to do so again with Never So Brave, who was a model of consistency last term, racking up three wins starting in handicap company and climaxing with Group One success at York.

He may have slightly disappointed in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on his final outing of the campaign, but connections are happy to again compete in elite company in a season where he could be a regular in the top mile events.

“It looks more like a Group One to me than a Group Two, but we’re very much looking forward to it and Andrew is very pleased with him,” said Philip Robinson, racing manager for owner Saeed Suhail.

“It’s a tough race, but it will be interesting and I think we will be focusing on a mile with him this term rather than going back over seven furlongs, so this is the ideal place to start.

“It’s not going to be an easy Group Two to begin with, but we will see how we get on.”

Elsewhere in the line-up, Roger Teal is hoping for a fitting return to the winner’s enclosure for Dancing Gemini in the race he won in great style 12 months ago.

Victory would elude him for the rest of the campaign, but Teal explained: “He was a bit jaded come the back-end of last year.

“He’d been to France twice and it’s difficult to get a horse to France now – it probably just took its toll on him and he probably wasn’t in his best shape going into his last couple of runs.

“The ground is probably going to be on the quicker side of good and I’m sure they’re all going to come on for the run, but we’re very pleased with him and he’s going there in good shape.”

The line-up is completed by Charlie Hills Cicero’s Gift who was last seen springing a 100-1 shock on British Champions Day but brings high-class course form to the table, now bidding to prove that Ascot triumph was no fluke.

“Hopefully we’re going to have a very exciting year with him,” said Hills.

“We could think about travelling with him, but you’ve always got to be wary of the ground for him. In saying that the day he won the QEII at Ascot he did it in a very good time so it certainly wasn’t slow ground.”