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Royal Ascot: Kevin Philippart De Foy Stable Tour
By Racing TV
Last Updated: Sun 14 Jun 2026
By Graham Clark
Victory at Royal Ascot has so far eluded Kevin Philippart De Foy, but with the support of Amo Racing behind him hopes are high that statistic can be changed.
It was almost a year ago that the Belgian handler was appointed to take over at the helm at Freemason Lodge, a yard that is synonymous with winners at the Royal meeting when operated by the now retired Sir Michael Stoute, by Amo Racing supremo Kia Joorabchian.
In that time the pair have celebrated numerous triumphs together as the Amo Racing operation continues to develop, but a winner at the Royal meeting would be a major push in helping take things to the next level.
The likes of Cathedral and Ghostwriter bring a touch of quality to the team, and they will be ably supported by an intriguing team of two-year-olds plus several interesting handicap candidates.
And although the Newmarket trainer is refusing to get carried away with things, it is easy to see why he is looking forward to heading to this year’s meeting.
Philippart De Foy said: “We've got a couple of interesting ones coming back like Ghostwriter and then there is Cathedral, who has been consistent at a decent level
“We have a good bunch of two-year-olds, and we inherited a couple from Ireland as well, which made our two-year-old bunch a bit stronger. It is an interesting team.
“We have a couple of horses in there that will be shorter than 10-1, but we still need everything to go well. We would love to have a couple of winners, but we would settle for one then see what happens.
“It is my first year going into Royal Ascot for Amo Racing, which is obviously the highlight of the year. It's the biggest meeting, and there is no secret about that, but I'm happy with where the team is.
“We are sending a decent number of horses there, and fingers crossed we can hit the goal.
“As a team we put so much into it, and Kia is a massive supporter of racing, and Royal Ascot in particular, so hopefully we can reward him.”
Tuesday
GHOSTWRITER (Wolferton Stakes)
“It is a big task coming back in this after almost 12 months off. It is well known he had his injury at the July Course last year. Clive (Cox) did a wonderful job with him.
“We inherited him, and we've just tried to bring him back to his best. He will arrive in good condition, but he will improve from the run as he is a big horse.
“I think he's slightly better over a mile and a half than he is over a mile and a quarter. He's done very little wrong, but he will be at 85 per cent.
“He will improve from the run, but the most important thing is to get him back on track.
“It took us a while to get where we are, but he is working well. He doesn't do too much in his homework. I’ve spoken to Clive and that's the way he is.
“Hopefully, he shows it on the track, but we're very happy with him and he is in great shape.
“We had planned a couple of things prior to Ascot, but, unfortunately, they didn’t materialise.
“If we had a run over a mile and quarter on the run to Ascot we would probably go to the Hardwicke, but I don't want to go straight back to a mile and a half.
“I want to get the first run into him. The most important thing is to get him back on the racecourse.
“Whatever happens on Tuesday will improve from that, but he will be there to run his race.
“He is in great shape, and he had a piece of work on the July Course last week, so all is good with him.”
Wednesday
Amo Racing supremo Kia Joorabchian
CROWNBREAKER (Queen Mary Stakes)
“She is a filly I like. She made a very good debut at Newmarket and I then I sent her to Carlisle, but it rained all night and all day.
“She got stuck in the mud, and she is a fast ground filly. The winner was probably a bit special, and we have ten lengths to find on her, which won't be an easy task, but we really didn’t handle the ground.
“If we had been at Newmarket or Yarmouth, we would have pulled her out, but the fact she was already at Carlisle we decided to run. It didn’t do any harm to her.
“My filly will be completely different on faster conditions. Her first run was good, and I think we draw a line through the second run.
“I've been happy with her. She came back bouncing and she did a good piece of work on the Limekilns last week. She's very fast and very sharp."
LOVER GIRL (Queen Mary Stakes)
“She is two from three this season. She tracked a filly that went very fast in the Marygate, and the race was run in favour of horses that were sitting at the back.
“She travelled through the race very well and only got caught late on. She's small, and sharp, and deserves to be there. She already has some black type so there is nothing to lose.
“She is a typical Ascot type and she came out of the Marygate in good form. I would say that Crownbreaker has more left in the tank though as she is less exposed.”
ROXELINA (Queen Mary Stakes/Albany Stakes)
“She made her debut at Windsor recently and finished third. I didn’t want to run her on soft ground, and she got a bit stuck in the mud, but I was keen to get a run into her.
“She has shown some ability and some speed. She is be entered in the Queen Mary and the Albany, but it is a question mark if she would get in either of them.
“On much faster ground she should show a completely different attitude. She will be entered in both and we'll make a plan.”
CATHEDRAL (Duke Of Cambridge Stakes)
“She has been a bit unlucky not to have already be a black-type winner. She just needed her comeback run in the Snowdrop. She came there well, but she was still behind in her coat.
“I was keen to get a run into her before the Dahlia. She improved significantly going into the Dahlia.
“Unfortunately, Falakeyah went off very fast in front and we decided beforehand to ride our filly really close to the pace because we just think she lacks a bit of turn of gear.
“She did very little wrong as she was eight lengths clear of the third. It was a very fast run race and it suited horses coming from behind. The filly didn’t disgrace herself though.
“She is multiple Group placed, and I think she's as good as I've ever had.
“She has got a bit to find to win it, but she's in great shape. We've campaigned her boldly. She was not beaten far into fourth in both the Matron Stakes and the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf.
"She deserves to win one at this sort of level.
“We would love to win a Group race at Royal Ascot. We need to find that slight improvement, but hopefully she keeps improving.”
NAPA (Windsor Castle Stakes)
“He came back a bit sore after the National Stakes and he wasn’t 100 per cent.
“We've worked on fixing the little issues, and I think she's in much better shape. I think we will see a different horse this time.
“Things went wrong on the day at Sandown Park and we had to fix a few things. We know what we're dealing with, and we have taken a different approach going into the Windsor Castle.
“Six furlongs will really suit him. He won on a very fast ground at Newmarket. He is a horse that shows ability, and he should run a much better race.
“I was quite keen to get another run into him for the experience but looking back at it afterwards you wish you didn't, but the race was there.
“If he had won, he would he have carried a penalty here, but I was keen to get the experience in between.”
Friday
SILENT BEAUTY (Albany Stakes)
“She won well on debut at Yarmouth. It rained a lot on the day and I think she should be better on faster conditions. She was slightly green in the preliminaries, but we have worked on that as she has done some paddock schooling.
“Through the race she was very professional and beat whoever she had to beat that day. She was very straightforward and knew her job. She should improve from her first run into a second run.
“This will be a much stiffer task, but her homework has been good. I'm happy with her and we will see what happens.
“I think she will have a red hood on, but she will improve from first run. Once she has got an idea of what's happening she gets better.
“We will make sure we keep a lid on her down to the start.
“She showed ability at home, and first time out, so she deserves to be there. There should be improvement there on faster conditions.”
Persian Force carried the Amo colours with distinction (focusonracing.com)
WHAT A GIRL WANTS (Albany Stakes)
“She was previously trained by Robson De Aguiar in Ireland. She has had three starts and is still a maiden.
“She finished second in a conditions race at Naas last time. She was ridden patiently over five furlongs, and six should suit her a lot better.
“She has improved with every run, without winning. She was only beaten a neck on the third start and was flying at the finish.
“She's got plenty of experience and is very straightforward mentally, which is the same as all the others by Persian Force. She is very genuine and deserves to be there.”
TYCOON (Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes)
“I’ve entered Tycoon in the Duke Of Edinburgh. He didn't run his race at Epsom [in the Derby], but he [previously] ran very well at Newmarket over nine furlongs in the Suffolk Stakes.
“I think he wants 12 furlongs. I just feel he wants a strong pace and 12 furlongs on fast ground and we should have most of that at Ascot.
“He is a horse that shows plenty at home, but I haven't quite worked him out yet. I think there is a good one in him at some point this year.
“He came under pressure a long way out in the Suffolk Stakes but stayed on very well and he wasn't beaten far. I would write off Epsom as that didn't go to plan.
“He is an interesting horse at a bigger price. He might not get in, but if he does then he could easily run a decent race.”
SOVEREIGN SPELL (Palace Of Holyroodhouse Stakes)
Rowan Scott tells us more about Sovereign Spell after his Newmarket win
“We are going to drop him back in trip for this. A stiff five furlongs over a strong pace could suit him.
“He won very well at Newmarket and afterwards he lost a fair bit of weight. The turnaround was quite quick for him and that is why it didn’t work out next time.
“He is a horse that runs well fresh, so we turned him out for ten days to two weeks after the Guineas meeting. He has got his weight back on and his work has been good.
“He is not lacking speed, and he is a talented enough horse that handles fast ground.
“Is in a better place now and he should show his full face again. I think he's still slightly unexposed.”
Saturday
FORCE NOIR (Norfolk Stakes)
“He got stuck in the mud on his first start at The Curragh in the first race of the season in March.
“He showed a lot of speed that day, but he just struggled on heavy ground. After that he showed his true face at Naas, winning his maiden very well.
“He has done everything right since he joined us. His work has been good and he is a very good horse mentally.
“He made all at Naas last time, but he versatile the way how he can be ridden. He is a Persian Force, and they're all pretty straightforward mentally, and he seems very genuine.
“The faster the better for him. He will need to improve, but he deserves to be there.
“He will handle the preliminaries, and everything like that very well, so he is an interesting contender.”
DOMINA IGNIS (Jersey Stakes)
“She will be quite a long shot in there. She is not going for the Sandringham as I don’t think she quite stays the mile.
“She won over six furlongs on her first start last year. Then we put the hood going seven furlongs at Newbury in the Fred Darling as we were thinking of going a mile.
“She has run twice in the hood this year and I think she's slightly better if we take it off. I think the hood has put her too much to sleep. She will be travelling a bit stronger over seven furlongs without the hood, but she should show more gears.
"She will be a long price in the Jersey, but she is a filly on the up and has had only three races.
“The 1000 Guineas was a big task over a mile, but I've been happy with her since. Dropping back to seven furlongs will be a good spot for her."
LAKERS (Wokingham Stakes)
Lakers finishes second at Beverley
“He is entered in the Wokingham, and he also holds an entry in the Buckingham Palace, but he will only go unless there is a drastic change of weather at the end of the week as he won’t run on fast ground.
“He would be an interesting horse if the conditions are a bit slower. He has been confirmed, but I would say he is probably unlikely to run.
“He ran alright in Newbury, and that wasn't quite soft enough for him. The day he gets his conditions he will run a big race somewhere.
“The Ayr Gold Cup is the long-term plan for him.”
MAXI KING (Queen Alexandra Stakes)
David Egan reflects on a Newmarket win for Maxi King
“He went up 3lb for finishing second in the Chester Cup and that pushed him out of the Ascot Stakes and the Copper Horse.
“He ran a huge race at Chester under Toby (Moore). It was his first try at the trip and stayed on very well.
“The horse is in great form and he did a good bit of work on Thursday. He is open to some slight improvement as Chester was his first start this year.
“He is relatively untried as a stayer and that make him an exciting contender. He doesn’t want it rattling fast, but they will go at a steady pace in the Queen Alexandra.
“He is a very generous horse, and he is like the yard mascot. It would be great to finish the meeting on a high with him.”
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