Winner of the King George V S. last term, Desert Hero went on to claim Group 3 honours in the Gordon S. at Goodwood before finishing third to Continuous (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {JPN}) in the St Leger. 

Haggas had suggested that an Australian campaign could be on the cards for Desert Crown after the St Leger, however, it would appear that those plans have been put on the back burner for the time being at least. 

Speaking to RadioTAB Australia, Haggas said, “We decided definitely that His Majesty's horse will not be coming to Sydney in the autumn. We may well come down at the backend of the year in your (Australian) spring, but I just felt he needed a bit more time and they (his owners) concurred.”

When asked if the Melbourne Cup would be a likely destination, Haggas replied, “Possibly or possibly something in Sydney, we'll see. We are going to concentrate on going to Royal Ascot for the Hardwicke Stakes, which will be his first major target.

“He's done very well this winter. He will benefit from all the time he can get. It's 'do we press the button now or wait a bit' and we plumped for the second option, we're going to wait a bit.

“He's pretty useful, he got better and better last year and we think he's done better again this winter, so I am very pleased with him.”

Haggas will be represented in the big Australian races once again by Dubai Honour (Ire) (Pride Of Dubai {Aus}), who won both the Ranvet S. and the Queen Elizabeth S. last year before finishing a fine third to Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) in the QEII Cup in Hong Kong.

“He'll go into quarantine on February 15. We're looking at the same two races as last year,” he commented. “I probably shouldn't have run him in the Eclipse, as he'd been on the go for a while, but there were only four runners and I thought he ran well for a long way in the Champion Stakes.

“To be honest, his whole summer was based around getting him in top shape to come to you (Australia) in February/March. He will be the same horse he was, I hope.

“I'd like him to come back for two years. If all goes well this year and he runs competitively, then basically it will be all the same again.”

Two more could travel with Dubai Honour, as Post Impressionist (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), winner of the Old Borough Cup, and Mujtaba (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), last seen finishing second in the Huxley S. in May, are both pencilled in.

“Post Impressionist will run in the Sydney Cup, he's been bought by Lloyd Williams. He's in really good shape,” said Haggas.

“Mujtaba might well go. I'm really pleased with his condition. He'll either go Ranvet or Tancred and then hopefully Queen Elizabeth.

“He's never won a Stakes race, in his only start last year he was second in a Group Two and then got colic. He's a good age, he's six but has only run nine times in his life.”

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A far more telling statistic for the head of the vast Ballydoyle training operation was that the victory of Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}) in the G2 Hardwicke S. brought up O'Brien's 900th victory in Group/Graded races in a career which has so far spanned almost 30 years and is surely still full of running. 

The run-up to the big 900 had been provided perhaps most notably by Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the Gold Cup, a race in which so many of the Ascot faithful would have loved to see one last hurrah at the meeting for Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}). Instead, perhaps we have welcomed a new staying king from a family replete with top-level black type and just the sort of horse with which O'Brien has excelled over the years, with eight wins in the Gold Cup alone, four of those having been delivered by the mighty Yeats (Ire) (Sadler's Wells).

Overall, however, the results from Royal Ascot 2022 highlight the versatility and general dominance which has been key to O'Brien's training career. Changingoftheguard (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) was perhaps fortunate that Grand Alliance (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) snatched defeat from the jaws of a likely victory when veering badly left in the closing stages of the G2 King Edward VII S. The more straightforward winner was bouncing back from a fifth-place finish in the Derby following his emphatic win in the G3 Chester Vase.  That win came three hours after Meditate (Ire) had her trainer dreaming of more Group 1 days to come when winning the G3 Albany S. on a day when John Magnier made a rare visit to Ascot. The daughter of No Nay Never also gave O'Brien and her Coolmore sire a juvenile stakes double at the royal meeting following the second-day victory of Little Big Bear (Ire) in the Listed Windsor Castle S.

Just a few weeks after O'Brien set a new record for the number of British Classics won when Tuesday (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) became his 41st in the Oaks, by Saturday evening he had claimed his eleventh leading trainer title at Royal Ascot. His five winners were all ridden by Moore, who secured his ninth title as leading jockey with seven winners.

Speaking at Ascot on Friday, Magnier, the man responsible for installing the then-successful young jumps trainer O'Brien at Ballydoyle, said of his phenomenal tally of stakes winners, “That does the talking and he doesn't have to do it. It's refreshing to see a modest approach, I think.”

The same can be said for his stable jockey. Members of the media attempting to extract a word or two out of Ryan Moore may not often find his modesty, which often borders on terseness, refreshing, though they may take heart from the fact that the jockey is similarly sparing in his debriefs when being interviewed by his sister Hayley on Sky Sports Racing. 

Twelve years ago Moore won his first Classic on Snow Fairy (Ire) in the Oaks. His memorable comment when being congratulated on this success was, “Well it's not the Derby, is it?” The next day he won the Derby on Workforce (GB). No cartwheels were forthcoming. 

And that's the measure of Moore. He does his job with the minimum of fuss, saving his all for his horses and his paymasters. For this observer at least, Moore's complete lack of showboating is one of the best things about him – second only to his undeniable talent, and those are two attributes which so perfectly mirror O'Brien.

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Stoute won his sixth Derby when Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) powered home at Epsom just over a week ago for Suhail, who was also successful in 2003 with Kris Kin (Kris S), and the in-form trainer-owner combination will be bidding to maintain their good run of form at the royal meeting. 

Solid Stone was last seen winning the G2 Huxley S. at Chester and will bid to emulate previous Stoute-trained winners of the Hardwicke like Harbinger (GB), Sea Moon (GB), Telescope (Ire) and more recently Crystal Ocean (GB). 

All bar one of the past 14 winners were 4-year-olds and the Charlie Appleby-trained Hurricane Lane (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), winner of the Irish Derby last season, will be bidding to strengthen that record. 

Not seen since finishing third in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Hurricane Lane is likely to give the 6-year-old Solid Stone most to think about, and Appleby provided an upbeat bulletin on the colt's wellbeing.

He said, “I'm delighted with the way he has physically done from three to four and this has very much been our target, we're very much working back from the Arc.

“Compared to some of the older horses he had an extended break as we knew we weren't going to do anything early in the season with him.”

Appleby added, “He took in a racecourse gallop at Newmarket the other day, William (Buick) sat on him and he was very pleased. He needed it in the sense that everything is very relaxed at Moulton Paddocks and he was in a relaxed mode, so William just had to give him the signal to remind him to switch on his racing brain and you could see the penny dropped at the right time.”

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The four-year-old filly was making her seasonal debut after winning the G1 QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes at Ascot on her final start in 2020.

Racing keenly early on, jockey William Buick eventually got Wonderful Tonight (5/1) settled behind the leaders before kicking clear in the straight for an impressive length and a half success over 9/4 favorite Broome. Hukum (8/1) was the same distance again back in third.

Menuisier said: “Wonderful Tonight is an absolute champion. I couldn't be bullish in the press before the race because she was always going to improve for the run.

“She was running against tough opposition with the benefit of at least one run, so you always have to be on the side of caution, but she is amazing. I didn't know what to say in the last 50 yards, it gave me a great sense of pride.

“Wonderful Tonight showed a tremendous turn of foot which she perhaps never showed before. I am very proud of the team, proud of the filly and also proud it is the only day Her Majesty came to this week, so I'm pleased she got to see this filly live.

“The fact that she handles soft/heavy ground so well compensated for the lack of fitness today. Can I go as far to say she will show the same traits on good ground? I don't know. Perhaps we will try in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe if the ground happened to be good. Would we try her on good ground before that? I don't know. She loves Longchamp and Ascot so we will keep an eye on all the races she can run it at both venues.

“The King George was run on very soft ground last year. The Hardwicke was not the plan until last week and at the confirmation stage I saw that there was rain forecast and we decided to keep her in. Sometimes you need to be lucky as well!

Speaking about what a first Royal Ascot win means, he added: “It means the world because you carry it like a monkey on your back until it happens. I am absolutely thrilled.”

Winning owner Christopher Wright said: “I couldn't believe it. I honestly couldn't believe it, I was breathless. Absolutely staggered. I knew she needed the race. What a filly. She is amazing.

“I wasn't expecting her to win, the trainer had managed my expectations and he had also managed the expectations of the entire punting public in the Racing Post by saying that she was at 80/85 percent fit. Maybe she was, I don't know, but didn't she win so well! What a filly she is, that was unbelievable.

“I have been running horses here for 40 years, almost every year at least one, sometimes several. I've never ever had a winner at Royal Ascot – lots of seconds, lots of very good horses. Culture Vulture, who won a Classic, was second twice, but I've never had a winner here. I almost can't believe it – I thought I never ever would have a winner here, but I have.

“It means everything, actually. There are winners and winners, but a Royal Ascot winner… I've won a lot of very good races, but to win at Royal Ascot is like I've died and gone to heaven.

“After last year, when we almost ran Wonderful Tonight in the Arc, we thought that we would target the Arc this year. I know that's like shooting for the moon, and it's a pretty tough target to aspire to, but that has been the target and her program has been based around it, so we didn't want her to start the season too early. We don't think she's a filly who will like a mid-season break particularly, so we wanted to start the season and gradually bring her along so she could peak on the first weekend of October. This was step one of that plan.”

Buick is still in the hunt for the Royal Ascot leading jockey title after riding his third winner of the week. He said: “Wonderful Tonight has a lot of stamina. I won the Fillies & Mares on her on Champions Day last year and I rode her like a real stayer because she'd won the Royallieu, the 14-furlong fillies race on Arc weekend, making plenty of use of her.

“She is top-class. She probably does handle this ground well compared to some others, but I thought that performance today against the colts was her best yet. And she showed a turn of foot today that I don't think she'd shown before. I thought she looked great – David and his team had done a great job with her over the winter and have bided their time.

“She is very versatile tactically. She can make her own running as long as she's in a good rhythm and doesn't get chased along too early. She was entitled to be a bit fresh today, first run for a while, but I was very comfortable where I was after a furlong or so. It was a nice smooth race; good performance from her and she's got it all ahead.”

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“If he wins all those, we'll decide where we go after that,” Muir said. “He's been cantering since early January and doing two steady canters for the last four to six weeks. He still moves like a ballet dancer.”

Muir said the bay stayed in his Lambourn stable over the winter.

“He had a fantastic break,” he said. “His break was an exercise on the horse walker in the morning, and then he went out in the field for four hours every afternoon. He then went into small paddock on his own in the afternoons–which was lovely, when there were no others out–and he loved it, acting like a stallion in a stallion paddock. He thrived and put on about 55-60 kilos.

“He was still a boy last year. Now he's turning into a man. He's got his strength very nearly. This year, and next year, should be when he's at his peak. I'm looking forward to it now.”

Pyledriver was last seen finishing seventh of 10 over the heavy going in the G1 Champion S. on Oct. 17.

“I wasn't disappointed with his last run,” Muir said. “He was still a big baby and still finished seventh in the Champion S. and finished in front of Mishriff, and the way we rode him on the day nothing came from behind. We decided to ride him the same, but I feel being forward on the day was a big advantage. From that day on, he was on his holidays. We lost nothing in defeat. He did everything great for us. Personally I feel the Leger, in which he ran a fantastic race, left its mark. It took more out of him than we realised.”

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Varian has hit a real streak over the past two days and is looking at a potential trainers’ title at the meeting. “We felt it was a bit tight running in the Pavilion at Newcastle beforehand and liked the idea of getting him to Ascot as a fresh horse,” he said. “We’d have loved to have got a prep run into him in May, but he’s not a horse I wanted to go ‘bang-bang’ with and so we took the decision to try and get him cherry-ripe for Ascot. He’s probably got to overcome a little bit of inexperience, but he is a very natural horse and he won in group company after a four-month lay-off on only his second start. Hopefully, his ability will shine through and he will be streetwise enough for the big day. He’s got to prove himself at the top level, but he’s got the gears, definitely, and I think he now has the strength.”

While Pierre Lapin lacks experience, AlMohamediya Racing’s Golden Horde (Ire) (Lethal Force {Ire}) has plenty under his belt as he prepares to provide trainer Clive Cox and jockey Adam Kirby with another big afternoon at the Royal meeting. Successful in the G2 Richmond S. at Goodwood at the start of August, the imposing chestnut came up against Earthlight (Ire) (Shamardal) on two occasions with a third placing in Deauville’s G1 Prix Morny later that month followed by a neck second to that Godolphin heavyweight in the G1 Middle Park S. at Newmarket in September. “He has done very well over the winter and carries a real level of form into the race,” Cox said. “I believe he’s done as well as any horse possibly could from two to three. With the sprinting brigade, in particular, it’s all about maturity and strength. Once you’ve got that natural speed and ability, maturity is the curve you hope and pray continues upwards. I’m hoping we go there with a good chance.”

Like many others, Wesley Ward would not have wanted Thursday’s rain for Ten Broeck Farm’s Kimari (Munnings), although she did perform to a high standard on easy ground when a neck second to Raffle Prize (Ire) (Slade Power {Ire}) in the G2 Queen Mary S. over five furlongs at this meeting 12 months ago. Her win on sloppy going in the Purple Martin S. at Oaklawn Park on Apr. 4 was a perfect warm-up and she meets several opponents without that kind of race-sharpening experience. “Not all my horses do well from two to three, but she really has, which is why we’re bringing her back,” Ward explained. “My team tell me she is in really good form. Kieren Fallon has been riding my horses in Newmarket and out of them all she is his pick for the week. It would be fantastic if she can go one better than last year.”

Aidan O’Brien drops Lope Y Fernandez (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) back to six furlongs, having looked to run out of stamina late when third in the G1 Irish 2000 Guineas at The Curragh a week earlier, while further Irish representation is provided by last year’s G1 Cheveley Park S. winner Millisle (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) who also reverts to sprinting having been tried in the G1 1000 Guineas at Newmarket June 7. In a blow to the race, Al Shaqab Racing’s G3 Prix Texanita winner Wooded (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) was taken out on Thursday by connections due to the ground.

Charlie Appleby supplies a live outsider in Royal Crusade (GB) (Shamardal), who raced at seven furlongs at two and was runner-up in Doncaster’s G2 Champagne S. in September and in the G3 Prix Thomas Bryon at Saint-Cloud the following month. “I am looking forward to him dropping back in distance to six furlongs. He is a typical Shamardal in that he has got stronger and quicker as he has got older,” his trainer commented. “This could be an ideal target for him as it is a stiff six furlongs at Ascot and we know he gets seven. He has a big chance.”

Supporting action involves the G2 Hardwicke S., in which Elarqam (GB) (Frankel {Ire}) looks to prolong Shadwell and Jim Crowley’s purple patch. Trying a mile and a half for the first time, the son of Attraction (GB) (Efisio {GB}) was staying on stoutly when third in the G1 Juddmonte International over an extended 10 furlongs at York in August and when runner-up behind Wednesday’s impressive G1 Prince of Wales’s S. winner Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the G3 Brigadier Gerard S. at Haydock on June 7.

Mark Johnston’s son and assistant Charlie said he is hoping that Shadwell’s golden run continues in the mile-and-a-half feature of the meeting. “Sheikh Hamdan left it in our hands to make the decision and we felt it was the right race,” he explained. “We’re not ruling out going back to a mile and a quarter and his big midsummer target will be the Juddmonte at York–a track at which he goes so well. In the short-term, though, we’re interested to try a mile and a half because there are signs he could improve for it and if he does it opens up a lot more doors going forwards. He will improve a little for Haydock. He was built up in March and then again in May, so he’d done plenty of home work before that. Like in that race, he’s not exuberant–he only does what he has to do and is quite laid-back.”

Aidan O’Brien would not have welcomed the change in going for last year’s G1 Epsom Derby hero Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who is looking all the time a genuine fast-ground specialist. His 2 1/2-length second to the sensational Ghaiyyath (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the G1 Coronation Cup at Newmarket on June 5 would give him the edge had the rain not come. One who will benefit from the ease underfoot is King Power Racing’s Morando (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}), who beat Kew Gardens (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) by eight lengths in Chester’s G3 Ormonde S. last May and garnered the course-and-distance G3 Cumberland Lodge S. in October on two of the three occasions he encountered soft ground.

In the G2 Queen’s Vase, William Haggas pitches the Tsui family’s Born With Pride (Ire) (Born To Sea {Ire}) against the boys tackling 14 furlongs. On the face of it, last year’s Listed Montrose Fillies’ S. winner was disappointing when seventh in the 10-furlong G3 Classic Trial at Kempton on June 3 but there were several mitigating circumstances that conspired against her in what has turn out to be a warm race and she has everything in her favour here. “We just felt the ground might not be soft enough in the Ribblesdale and we thought we’d wait until later in the week with some rain forecast,” her trainer said. “Her debut form looks very good now, obviously, but that was a long time ago. I think she’ll get the trip alright–she might even want it.”

Godolphin’s Listed Pat Eddery S. winner Al Dabaran (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) is tried in blinkers by Charlie Appleby and he is an intriguing contender on his second in Chantilly’s G3 Prix de Conde in September. “Al Dabaran’s preparation has gone well and we expect the step up to a mile and three-quarters is going to suit,” his trainer commented. “We were contemplating putting headgear on him last year and he is wearing blinkers this time, which we hope will also see some improvement. This will be his first start of the year but he is fit and ready to go.”

In the G3 Albany S., last year’s winning trainer Roger Varian Setarhe saddles the June 4 Newmarket maiden winner Setarhe (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}), as well as Cheveley Park Stud’s Undertake (GB) (Kodiac {GB}) who was off the mark at Lingfield’s Polytrack on June 6. Ballydoyle’s Mother Earth (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), who was second in an extended five-furlong maiden at Navan on June 10, is a half-sister to last year’s G2 Premio Dormello winner Night Colours (Ire) (Night of Thunder {Ire}) who operated on heavy ground, while it is guesswork as to how CJ Thoroughbreds’s impressive May 21 Gulfstream Park maiden special weight winner Flying Aletha (Tiznow) will react to this slow surface.

Wesley Ward said of Flying Aletha, “I see she’s favourite on the book and she is a filly with true quality–she’s not just a fast filly, which is why we think she can stretch out a little further. She did some eye-opening breezes prior to her first run. She ended up running on the dirt because the turf races were cancelled and still won really well, even though she’s a turf horse rather than a dirt horse. She isn’t a big, robust filly. She’s quite light and frail, which is keeping me a little grounded about her chances, but I’m still hopeful she’ll run a big race.”

The following G2 Norfolk S. sees Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum’s Eye of Heaven (GB) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) look to build on his debut success over this five-furlong trip at Newmarket June 4. He had Wednesday’s Listed Windsor Castle S. scorer Tactical (GB) (Toronado {Ire}) two lengths back in third and looks a ready-made juvenile group winner. Qatar Racing’s The Lir Jet (GB) is bidding to emulate the success of his sire Prince of Lir (Ire) in this in 2009 following his authoritative success at Yarmouth June 3, while Ballydoyle’s Lipizzaner (Uncle Mo) received a major form boost on Thursday as his stablemate Battleground (War Front) took the Listed Chesham S. He had been fifth when Lipizzaner was second over six furlongs at Naas on June 8.

At Chantilly, the G2 Prix de Sandringham sees the May 31 Listed Prix des Lilas one-two-three Miss Extra  (Fr) (Masterstroke), Golden Crown (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) and Porcelaine (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) re-oppose. They are met by the impressive May 18 Marseille-Borely maiden winner Like a Charm (Fr) (Charm Spirit {Ire}) from the G1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches-winning stable of Frederic Rossi. In the G3 Prix Paul de Moussac Longines also over a mile, Rossi also saddles last year’s G3 Prix la Rochette winner Kenway (Fr) (Galiway {GB}) who was fifth in the G1 G1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains at ParisLongchamp on June 1. One of the unexposed types in the line-up is Robert Ng’s unbeaten Natural Path (Ire) (Toronado {Ire}), but the Henri-Francois Devin-trained bay needs to improve off his May 28 Clairefontaine conditions win at this distance. In the six-furlong Listed Prix Marchand d’Or, one who would not have been out of place in the Commonwealth Cup is ‘TDN Rising Star’ Hurricane Ivor (Ire) (Ivawood {Ire}), who was so impressive over this course and distance on May 13. At Gowran Park, the Listed Irish Stallion Farms EBF Victor McCalmont Memorial S. over an extended nine furlongs sees Ballydoyle’s $1.2-million Keeneland September graduate Elfin Queen (American Pharoah) take on her elders after her 6 1/2-length June 8 Naas maiden success.

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