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| Sumita Pawar |
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On Thursday, June 22nd at Royal Ascot, Yibir aims to transition from a middle-distance star to a top stayer in the Gr.1 Gold Cup, which is the highlight race of the day.
After securing wins in the Jockey Club Derby and Breeders' Cup Turf, which led to him being awarded the 2021 Eclipse Award for Champion Male Turf Horse, the talented international performer, Yibir, is now set to compete in the two and a half mile Gr. 1 Gold Cup race at Royal Ascot.
Royal Ascot: A Competitive Handicap
In the 2022 G1 Dubai Sheema Classic, Yibir narrowly missed out on a win by a neck, and he has also achieved two G2 victories over the same distance, with his most recent triumph being in the G2 Princess Of Wales's Stakes at Newmarket last year. In May, he returned for the season and finished in fourth place in the G3 Al Rayyan Stakes at Newbury.
His trainer Charlie Appleby said, “Yibir will be ridden cold early on, as he normally is, and we will be in unknown territory for the last mile of the race. We feel that he has the right running style and demeanor that will hopefully allow him to get the trip, while his pedigree suggests he will. We are very much sitting on the fence as to whether he will stay but he is obviously a very exciting horse if he does see it out.”
Tagabawa, a three-year-old trained by the same trainer, is part of a quartet of horses on Thursday's card and brings with him a progressive profile in the 12-furlong King George V Handicap, making his first turf start after winning two out of three all-weather appearances, including a victory over two subsequent winners in a Kempton Park handicap in April.
Charlie Appleby said, “We saw marked improvement from Tagabawa when he stepped up to a mile and a half on his last start and he goes into this in great shape. Any handicap at Royal Ascot is always going to be very competitive but we feel he has the right credentials to be a big player. Quicker ground will suit and he stays this trip well.”
Bold Act steps up to Gr.3 debut in Hampton Court Stakes
Having finished strongly to narrowly miss out on a win over the 10-furlong trip in a heritage handicap at Newbury's Lockinge meeting, Bold Act will now be making his Gr.3 debut in the Hampton Court Stakes.
Charlie Appleby said, “We were pleased with Bold Act’s latest run in the London Gold Cup, when he ran a very solid race. His rating suggests that he can be competitive at this level, while the ground and trip will suit. He ticks plenty of boxes and should hopefully be a live player.”
After productive winters at Meydan, One Nation and Highbank will compete in the Britannia Handicap, having finished second and third respectively in the Jumeirah Derby back in February.
Charlie Appleby said, “One Nation and Highbank were both very competitive out in Dubai and have plenty of race experience, which is a plus in a race like this. They are drawn high, so we will have to see if that is a positive or a negative, but they won’t look out of place in the field.”