Tag Archives: Redkirk Warrior

Lady Aurelia Set for a Return to Royal Ascot

Photo: Keeneland via Twitter.

American sprinter Lady Aurelia has established herself as one of the quickest horses on the planet over the last couple of seasons and she will get the opportunity to win another big race in Europe later this year when she travels across to the UK for the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Wesley Ward’s runner first rose to prominence as a two-year-old in the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2016, where she made all in a dominant display which saw her prevail by seven lengths on her first appearance in the UK.

The filly returned to the Royal meeting last year to take on the opposite sex and much more experienced horses in the King’s Stand Stakes when going off at 7/2 in the betting for one of the leading spring races at the meeting. Under the hands of John Velazquez, she was ridden prominently once again and was able to hit top speed inside the final 200 metres to score by three lengths ahead of Profitable and Marsha, respectively.

Lady Aurelia is 4.5 in the ante-post betting for the King’s Stand Stakes next month and she is sure to be popular, especially with punters who take advantage of the best free betting offers on Royal Ascot, including a £30 free offer from Dafabet. Her odds drifted slightly recently as she was beaten on her seasonal reappearance at Keeneland in the Giant’s Causeway Stakes where she had to settle for second place behind Triple Chelsea.

Battaash Looks to Continue Dominance in Sprint Division

Battaash is the bookmakers’ favourite at 3.5 for the King’s Stand Stakes, following what was a dominant campaign in 2017, with four victories coming from his five starts. Charles Hills’ runner is set for his first outing at Royal Ascot this year and will be bidding to prevail in one of the biggest sprint races in the British Champion Series.

The son of Dark Angel beat a strong field in the Group Two King George Stakes at Glorious Goodwood last year which earned him the opportunity to line up in a Group One field. Connections took their chance in the Nunthorpe Stakes at York. Unfortunately for those associated with the horse, he did not produce his best performance of the season as he could only come home fourth on the Knavesmire.

Battaash had a second shot at Group One contest at Chantilly in the Prix de l’Abbaye. With Champion Jockey Jim Crowley on his back, the pair made all in France in what was a career-best performance from the then three-year-old. Given what he has achieved in the last 12 months, he is arguably the best sprinter in Europe right now.

Redkirk Warrior to Carry the Flag for Australia

FlemingtonRacecourse via Twitter

Australian horses often travel across to the UK for Royal Ascot – in particular, the leading sprinters who tackle the European horses in the King’s Stand Stakes and Diamond Jubilee Stakes. Redkirk Warrior has an entry in both races.

The seven-year-old has two Group One wins in the bag already this year at Flemington. He last raced at Ascot in 2014 when he was based in the UK in William Haggas’ stable.

Royal Ascot begins on June 19 and the King’s Stand Stakes is one of the feature races on day one of the meeting.