Options open for Ancient Egypt following brave Ascot run

Charlie Johnston will consider a number of different options for Ancient Egypt following his narrow defeat at Royal Ascot.

Turned out just 13 days after running well for a long way in a soft ground Derby at Epsom, the Amo Racing-owned three-year-old did his connections proud with a bold front-running performance in the King Edward VII Stakes, ultimately finishing just a neck short after a pulsating final-furlong duel with Aidan O’Brien’s Causeway.

Johnston understandably left the Royal meeting with mixed emotions but is hopeful his youngster will enjoy his day in the sun before the end of the season.

“He’s come out of it fine. He’s just had an easy week since obviously as it has been a pretty busy fortnight for him,” said the Middleham-based trainer.

“It’s one of those situations where you have so much pride in the horse and his performance, but you can’t help but leave there thinking if it was one of the four years out of seven when there’s 20 days between the two races, I feel it would almost certainly have been a different result.

“It was a big, big ask for the horse to back up so quick after a soft ground Derby, but he performed with a huge amount of credit and proved he does deserve to be at the top table in those sort of races.

“We’re excited for the rest of the season and next year.”

Connections will shortly decide whether to give Ancient Egypt a mid-season break following his busy spell or press on, with the Princess of Wales’s Stakes at Newmarket on July 9 a possible next port of call.

Johnston added: “He’s in the Princess of Wales’s Stakes, he’s in the King George and you’ve also got the Grand Prix de Paris and the Gordon Stakes.

“It depends on how ambitious we want to be and how long we want to give him. We’ll let the dust settle for a few days and then have a chat with Kia (Joorabchian) and his team as to what he wants to do.”