George Boughey Royal Ascot 2022 stable tour

“It’s been a good start,” said George Boughey.

That could be downplaying it a bit. In only his third full year with a training license, 30-year-old George Boughey has already sent out 46 winners in 2022. Only six yards (Charlie & Mark Johnston, John & Thady Gosden, William Haggas, Charlie Appleby, Andrew Balding and Michael Appleby) have trained more winners.

Boughey told SBK: “It was nice to start the turf season with Cachet in the Nell Gwynn and backing it up in the Guineas was the stuff of dreams. When you get up at five o’clock in the morning to go to work and work in racing, whatever anyone says it's because you want to be running horses at the highest level. To do it so early is a huge compliment to everyone here who is working very hard and long may it continue.”

Of those 46 winners, Cachet’s memorable QIPCO 1000 Guineas success in May was the yard’s standout success and Boughey hopes that his star filly can give the yard their first Royal Ascot success in next week’s Group One Coronation Stakes.

Below, George Boughey provides the inside track on his Royal Ascot team.

Race: Albany Stakes.

Believing is likely to line up in the Albany Stakes. She was impressive at Wolverhampton when she missed the kick by ten lengths and still managed to win. That suggests there is definitely some ability there. The one thing with a jockey like James Doyle is I knew he wasn’t going to panic. Highclere are very easy to train for so if she had missed the kick by ten lengths and got beat it wouldn’t have been a disaster. James took his time and got her back into the race. Turning in she still had plenty to do and was green. She’s probably learnt more doing that. She worked nicely this morning. She’s a very straightforward filly by Mehmas and is certainly entitled to line up.

Race: Coronation Stakes.

I was delighted with her run in the French Guineas. She ran a blinder. In hindsight I think we should have made a bit more use of her, but it was a huge run. She had an easy week after that run. She’s done well physically again. Everyone who sees her now sees a more mature horse. She’s been looking good recently and moving good. James (Doyle) came and sat on her at the end of last week and was delighted, so roll on the Coronation Stakes. It’s probably going to be one of the races of the week. It looks like everyone is turning up, Guineas winners from around Europe, and obviously Inspiral coming back from injury. It’s very exciting, it’s huge for us and huge for Highclere to take a Guineas winner to Royal Ascot. It’s what we strive to do.

Homeless Songs was very impressive last time out, wasn’t she? Mr. Weld has always said the ground has been a big factor for her. She showed a devastating turn of foot, and we need to try and work out how to beat her. I’ve got a filly who is incredibly tenacious, goes forward, and likes going round a bend. I think if it had been on the straight track, we’d have been at more of a disadvantage. Hopefully she can get a good position and it’ll be interesting three furlongs from the bell.

Race: King George VI Stakes.

Charles St is in line to go for the Duke of Edinburgh. He’s entered at the end of the week which he might have to win in to get in. He’s from a very good family that the Gredley’s have bred from for years and was unlucky to bump into one last time. He has a great attitude and is a horse who will probably stay further but we’re pretty keen to keep him at a mile-and-a-half. He’s a horse who has improved dramatically since being gelded and he is a horse with plenty of upside anyway.

Race: Sandringham.

Fiorina is quite ground dependent. She wants to get her toe in so will only run if it’s slow ground. She heads to Sandown this week as a trial for Ascot. I shouldn’t have run her at Carlisle last time when she got very unbalanced. She wants a stiff mile and an uphill finish so Ascot should suit, and we’ll just be on weather watch.

Race: Palace of Holyroodhouse Stakes.

Hellomydarlin has been a model of consistency, she ran in France the other day when the headgear lit her up too much and she didn’t finish which was my fault. We’ll take the headgear off, and a stiff five furlongs will suit her well.

Race: Wokingham Stakes/Buckingham Palace.

Inver Park has two entries. He’s in the Wokingham but if he doesn’t get in there he’ll go for the Buckingham Palace. He’s been a revelation. He was well bought by Sam Haggas. We bought him on an online sale from Goffs. He’s by Pivotal and is expected to improve with age. He was pretty impressive at Hamilton and the question mark would be the stiff seven furlongs at Ascot, but he’s taken his form to a different level recently.

Race: Queen Alexandra Stakes/Copper Horse Handicap.

Lydford will have a few entries on the Tuesday. He was bought to go jumping in Saratoga this summer, so the owners are coming over for their first experience of Royal Ascot. He’ll be entered in a few races, and we’ll see where we get a run. He’s been training good and showing plenty of speed so he should give his owners plenty of fun this summer.

Race: Golden Gates Handicap.

Missed The Cut will go for the Golden Gates on the Saturday. He’s a very raw horse and I said to his owner that if we were going to go to Ascot with him this year we had to get him on the track. We introduced him at Newmarket when he was very green but then he was ultra-impressive at Pontefract next time out. He then won what looks to have been a very strong race at Salisbury after that. The handicapper has had his say by putting him up again for standing in his box. He’s a beautifully bred horse. He goes there with a good chance and I think the track will suit him. He’s probably entitled to get a bit further but he’s shown plenty of speed in his work so we’ll stay at ten furlongs and the track should suit.

Race: Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes.

Mr Alan will go the Duke of Edinburgh. He’s a horse who ran very well at Chester when the ground was drying up. He’s by Ulysses out of a Pivotal mare so he does want to get his toe in a little bit, but he tries. I don’t think it quite suited him when we went to Goodwood last time. I think what he really wants is a strong pace and they crawled round at Goodwood. He was sat last and never really got in the race. He’s in super shape and is training good so a fast gallop around Ascot should see him run well.

Race: Britannia Handicap.

My Little Tip will go to the Britannia where he should get in. He was a little warrior last year winning four races in less than two weeks. I think stepping up to the mile will suit him. He’s got form on all sorts of ground. He’s by Belardo which could suggest he wants to get his toe in, but the stiff mile at Ascot could suit him well.

Race: Ribblesdale Stakes.

Mystic Wells goes for the Ribblesdale Stakes. She’s had a short break since Lingfield. She wasn’t in The Oaks, and she was in The Ribblesdale so it made sense to swerve The Oaks and come to Royal Ascot. She’s been training good; she’s been doing lots with Cachet all year. That was a good indicator at the start of the year that we thought she might be progressive. She was bought as a filly from the breeze-ups last year for her owners to have a bit of a fun with. Her owners are probably going to breed from her now and she has a good pedigree. The fact she already has some black-type, I think she’s entitled to fly the kite in The Ribblesdale. She’s in good shape and is quite a versatile filly. She actually won her maiden at Southwell in quite a grinding situation. I would rather it faster ground, she’s American-bred and was pretty good on her last couple of starts.

Race: Palace of Holyroodhouse Stakes.

“Navello and Hellomydarlin both look like they’re going to go for the five furlong, three-year-old handicap. Navello has been incredibly unlucky for the best part of a year. He’s never really got his ground and his best runs have come on the all-weather. He ran well at Chester, and he ran well last time out at Windsor when it rained half an hour before the race. He goes there with a good chance and if the ground comes up fast, he’ll run pretty well.

Race: Sandringham Stakes/Jersey Stakes.

Oscula has two options. She’ll either be a Sandringham filly or she could go for the Jersey Stakes. Saudi Arabia took quite a lot out of her. She’s only a slight filly and in hindsight we shouldn’t have gone. It just shows her sheer determination to come back, and we’re delighted with that. She was placed in an Albany Stakes last year, so she’s certainly got course form.

Race: Golden Gates Handicap.

Tollard Royal goes for the Golden Gates Handicap on the Saturday at Royal Ascot. I never thought we’d still be running him over a mile and stepping him up to 10 furlongs for the first time at Royal Ascot. I look forward to seeing him step up in trip. He ran well at Haydock last time and stayed on when the horses who were prominent finished out the back. He’s a tough horse and it will be interesting to see how he gets on.

Race: Royal Hunt Cup.

Totally Charming may well go to the Royal Hunt Cup. He was the subject of a bit of a plan last week at Epsom. He’s a horse who I have given time to in between his races but Royal Ascot is the biggest of them all and he seems to have come out of Epsom really well. He gets a penalty which will probably get him into the Hunt Cup. For me, big-field handicaps are exactly what he wants. Whether he can do it at the highest level of handicap we’ll see but he was pretty impressive that day and William (Buick) was very pleased with him so there’s every chance he’ll turn up. He doesn’t take a huge amount of work at home. He worked once on the grass and worked very well. I don’t think he wants rattling fast ground but I was very confident going into Epsom that he would run a good race.

I think Missed The Cut is a horse who is improving at home and hopefully we’ll be seeing in better races through the year. He’s owned by a great friend in Ed Babington. It’s been a lifelong dream of Ed’s to have a winner at Royal Ascot and Missed The Cut goes there with a good chance.