Tag Archive for: Lazzat

Haydock not the track for Lazzat after beaten Sprint Cup effort

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Jerome Reynier felt the six-furlong course at Haydock could have proved too sharp for Lazzat after he was a beaten favourite in the Betfair Sprint Cup.

The four-year-old blazed a trail in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Ascot on his penultimate start, setting a new course record as he fended off the Japanese raider Satono Reve at the Royal meeting.

He subsequently met with defeat in the six-and-a-half-furlong Prix Maurice de Gheest and while punters still had plenty of confidence in his chance on Merseyside, sending him off the evens market leader, Lazzat fell short at the finish, coming home a two-and-a-half-length fifth behind Big Mojo.

Reynier and owners Wathnan Racing now face the choice of returning to Ascot on Qipco Champions Day for the Sprint, or moving back up to seven furlongs for the Prix de la Foret on Arc weekend, with the trainer sure a stiffer test will suit.

He said: “It’s a six-furlong proper sprint and he had horses all around him and it was maybe a bit too sharp for him, so maybe next month there will be a bit more cut in the ground over six furlongs in the Champions Sprint or in the Foret over seven furlongs.

“We have to chat about the next race with connections, but it was my fear that he likes to be on top of the game, in front and leading and today at the three-furlong marker he (jockey James Doyle) was already asking him to keep up and he stayed on well.

“He was happy with the way he fought and he wasn’t beaten far. That’s just a bit too sharp for him I think today.”

Following a second successive defeat, Reynier also raised the possibility his record-setting run at Ascot had left more of a mark than anticipated.

He added: “The six furlongs at Ascot is much stiffer and that is probably more his game. I think the Maurice de Gheest was under his best and once again it’s a little bit lower than I would have expected.

“When you beat course records, like at Ascot, it’s not an easy task and obviously some horses take a long while to recover, so we will have to see if he’s all good.”

Wathnan Racing were well represented in the race and last year’s runner up Kind Of Blue continued his recent renaissance by taking second place again, a nose ahead of Flora Of Bermuda for the same owner.

Having started the year by entirely fluffing the start in France before a disappointing Newcastle run, his trainer James Fanshawe has taken heart from his third place in the Phoenix Sprint last time and this run ahead of the defence of his British Champions Sprint title next month.

The trainer said: “Really pleased, delighted with him. After a very sticky start, he’s coming back to himself.

“He ran well in Ireland and he’s run a blinder today and we’re looking forward to Ascot.”

The Andrew Balding-trained Flora Of Bermuda could also be on her way to Ascot, with the trainer’s wife Anna Lisa saying: “I am absolutely delighted. She is such a superstar.

“We just hope one day she’ll get one of these but to be third in another Group One is magnificent.

“We are so thrilled to be training for Wathnan and I am thrilled for Mick Appleby too.

“I don’t see any reason why we wouldn’t look at Ascot now. She was third in it last year I think and today was the third time she has come third in a Group One race.”

Harry Eustace relishing Sprint Cup test for Time For Sandals

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Harry Eustace is keen to find out where his Royal Ascot winner Time For Sandals ranks against the best six-furlong sprinters in Europe when she contests the Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock.

Winner of the Commonwealth Cup against her own age, she then dropped down to five furlongs at Goodwood against her elders, finishing a three-quarter-length third.

Back up to her favoured trip this weekend, she is second favourite in most lists behind Lazzat.

“It’s a positive for us they didn’t get much rain and while it’s a tough race, we’re looking forward to seeing where we fit in,” said Eustace.

“It was nice to see her back up at Goodwood against the older ones over what isn’t really her trip having done it at Ascot against her own age.

“We’ll find out now where we really fit in against the best over six furlongs.

“The draw (two) is fair, I’d rather be drawn closer to a few more fancied runners but we can’t do much about that, so we’ll see how we go. We are at least next to Sayidah Dariyan and we might have to look after ourselves.”

Lazzat was also a winner at Royal Ascot and went close to following up in the Prix Maurice de Gheest for trainer Jerome Reynier.

“Lazzat has been staying in Deauville for the last month. We are very happy with him and he did his last piece of work on the straight course on the racecourse last Saturday. That was very nice – he moved well and behaved well. We were very happy, and he looks amazing physically. We can only hope for the best,” said Reynier.

Lazzat impressed at Royal Ascot
Lazzat impressed at Royal Ascot (David Davies/PA)

“He was racing after 50 days (since Ascot) and we brought him to Deauville five days prior to the race and I think he became a bit fresh between his travelling and the race. When he won the Maurice de Gheest last year, we came the day before.

“On Saturday, he is running after 27 days off and will be travelling the day before. I think he has done enough work to make sure he won’t be too fresh and keen.

“He is a horse that’s happy in any kind of routine. He’s travelled the world and been in quarantine, so is very versatile and can adapt himself to any kind of conditions, so he’s very easy to deal with. He gets on well with his morning rider, Franck Blondel, a former champion jockey. As long as he has Franck with him, he is happy to visit the world.”

Richard Hughes’ No Half Measures is bidding for a Group One double following her surprise win in the July Cup.

“It was a brilliant day in the July Cup. We were hoping she would run well, but on that (quick) ground we didn’t think it would be possible to win,” said Hughes.

“I thought she would need it softer to be able to overcome that level of horse, but she went and proved she can do it on any ground.

“Ryan (Moore) kept saying she is really good over five furlongs but I thought she might be able to excel if she could travel over a bit further, and she hasn’t let me down.

“She is improving, and although she was beaten on her first start over six furlongs, she hasn’t been beaten over it since.”

Hughes also runs Sayidah Dariyan.

The William Haggas-trained Sky Majesty was supplemented for the race after winning in Ireland the last twice, having landed Group races at Ayr and Chantilly on contrasting conditions last term.

Sky Majesty (right) winning at Ayr last season
Sky Majesty (right) winning at Ayr last season (Steve Welsh/PA)

Sean Graham, racing manager to her co-owner Tony Bloom, said: “William has been very happy with her since Naas and her best run last year was at Chantilly when she won on heavy ground.

“She just hadn’t come to herself when she ran first time out at Chelmsford and although she improved significantly for that run, she probably still wasn’t where William would have wanted her at Royal Ascot (in the Commonwealth Cup).

“The ground was very quick that day and maybe she just didn’t let herself down on it either and she has won twice at Naas since and looks a million dollars, so we’re looking forward to taking our chance.”

Jerome Reynier confident Lazzat is ‘spot on’ for Haydock test

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Jerome Reynier is backing Lazzat to regain his spot at the top of the speed division in the Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock on Saturday.

The Wathnan Racing-owned gelding made a successful trip across the Channel in June to land the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot, after which he lost his title in the Prix Maurice de Gheest back on home turf.

Reynier has kept the horse in good form at Deauville in recent weeks, and has him poised to get his head back in front when he returns to British soil this weekend.

James Doyle salutes the crowd aboard Lazzat at Ascot
James Doyle salutes the crowd aboard Lazzat at Ascot (David Davies/PA)

“We have kept him in Deauville and given him a workout on the racecourse, on the turf, he’s got a long journey to Haydock but I think he’ll be spot on for the race on Saturday,” the Frenchman said.

“It’s a very different feeling when you bring a horse over for a Group One and he is the favourite, we are all hoping he doesn’t fail.

“When he got beaten by Sajir in the Prix Maurice de Gheest it was tough, but we were very happy with the horse and he ran a good race.

“It’s a lot of pressure, because if he wins another Group One sprint in Europe, he could be the champion of the year and that’s very important to all the team.

“They have invested a lot, it was great to be able to win a Group One for them at Royal Ascot.

“I’m hoping to bring many more for the team and every race is important, he was beaten the other day so he needs to fire back and prove he is the best.”

Kind Of Blue (right) finished second at Haydock last year
Kind Of Blue (right) finished second at Haydock last year (Nigel French/PA)

Lazzat leads the way as a maximum field of 17 assembles for the six-furlong contest, with Wathnan also represented by Kind Of Blue, trained by James Fanshawe to finish second in the contest last year, and Andrew Balding’s Flora Of Bermuda.

Time For Sandals, Harry Eustace’s Commonwealth Cup winner, is declared alongside Richard Hughes’ July Cup heroine No Half Measures and her stablemate Sayidah Dariyan.

Big Mojo was second in the July Cup and turns his attention now to Haydock, with Annaf also set to line up from the same Mick Appleby yard.

Last season’s winning trainer William Haggas will be represented solely by Sky Majesty as Almeraq has not made the cut having been declared, whereas Kevin Ryan has two runners in Inisherin and Ain’t Nobody, who was second in the Nunthorpe at 100-1.

Diligent Harry (left) is popular runner for Clive Cox
Diligent Harry (left) is popular runner for Clive Cox (Scott Heppell/PA)

Clive Cox is another trainer with two runners as he has put forward Diligent Harry and James’s Delight, with Henry Candy’s Run To Freedom and Eve Johnson Houghton’s Rage Of Bamby both on the list also.

There are two further horses travelling from overseas, a second French raider in Yann Barberot’s Beauvatier and an Irish challenger in Ger Lyons’ My Mate Alfie.

Nighteyes and Celandine are the two reserves for the race.

Lazzat leads maximum field hunting Sprint Cup honours

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Lazzat leads the way as a maximum field of 17 look set to assemble for the Betfair Sprint Cup Stakes at Haydock on Saturday.

Jerome Reynier’s gelding made a successful trip across the Channel in June to land the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot, after which he was second in the Prix Maurice de Gheest back on home turf.

He now heads back to British shores again for owners Wathnan Racing, and will be ridden by their retained jockey James Doyle at Haydock as he bids to add another Group One to his CV.

The same owners are also due to be represented by Kind Of Blue, trained by James Fanshawe who finished second in the contest last year, with Flora Of Bermuda the third Wathnan runner for trainer Andrew Balding.

Time For Sandals, Harry Eustace’s Commonwealth Cup winner, is declared alongside Richard Hughes’ July Cup heroine No Half Measures and her stablemate Sayidah Dariyan.

Big Mojo was second in the July Cup and turns his attention now to Haydock, with Annaf also set to line up from the same Mick Appleby yard.

Last season’s winning trainer William Haggas will be represented solely by Sky Majesty as Almeraq has not made the cut having been declared, whereas Kevin Ryan has two runners in Inisherin and Ain’t Nobody, who was second in the Nunthorpe at 100-1.

Clive Cox is another trainer with two runners as he has put forward Diligent Harry and James’s Delight, with Henry Candy’s Run To Freedom and Eve Johnson Houghton’s Rage Of Bamby both on the list also.

There are two further horses travelling from overseas, a second French raider in Yann Barberot’s Beauvatier and an Irish challenger in Ger Lyons’ My Mate Alfie.

The last two to make it in where Nighteyes and Celandine.

Lazzat leads 22 contenders for Sprint Cup gold

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French star Lazzat, July Cup hero No Half Measures and the supplemented Sky Majesty are among 22 potential runners in the Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock on Saturday.

Jerome Reynier’s Lazzat got the better of Japanese ace Satono Reve when striking Royal Ascot gold in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes on his penultimate start.

He suffered a surprise defeat when bidding for back-to-back wins in the Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville last time, but is a 2-1 favourite with Paddy Power to get back on the winning trail in this weekend’s Group One feature on Merseyside.

No Half Measures reduced Richard Hughes to tears when providing the former leading jockey with his first top-level success as a trainer in Newmarket’s July Cup and she will get the opportunity to prove that shock 66-1 victory was no fluke.

Hughes could also saddle Sayidah Dariyan, who was beaten four lengths into seventh place in the Nunthorpe at York a fortnight ago.

Hughes said: “She (No Half Measures) looks really good at the moment and we are really pleased with her. She has had a nice gap, but we always thought this was going to be her Derby.

“When we got started with her in the spring, we said the Sprint Cup at Haydock Park was her race as it is normally slow ground but either way now it doesn’t matter what the ground is really.

“If it is slower ground up there, she will step forward again.”

Of Sayidah Dariyan, the trainer added: “She missed the kick in the Nunthorpe trying her over five furlongs. We were hoping she would be quick enough, but when you miss the kick like that in a sprint you have no chance, however she ran on strongly to the line. I was impressed with her.

“Her only dent is the Nunthorpe, but she has plenty of valid excuses for that effort.

“No Half Measures has been there and done it, but I have high regard for both fillies and I dare not say which is better as they are two good fillies that are going the right way.

“If it is slow ground at Haydock it would hamper her performance a little bit, whereas we know it is fine for No Half Measures, but she is a very good filly.”

William Haggas has supplemented fast-improving filly Sky Majesty to join similarly progressive stablemate Almeraq at a cost of £20,000.

Sky Majesty is one of two supplementary entries along with Eve Johnson Houghton’s Rage Of Bamby.

Other leading contenders include Harry Eustace’s Commonwealth Cup heroine Time For Sandals and the James Fanshawe-trained Kind Of Blue, who won last season’s Qipco British Champions Sprint and bounced back from an underwhelming start to his campaign when third in the Phoenix Sprint at the Curragh.

Aidan O’Brien has left in Whistlejacket, who has not been seen since finishing down the field in the July Cup, but he appears far from certain to make the trip to Haydock.

“Whistlejacket is in at Haydock but he could miss that and wait for the Flying Five at the Curragh the following Saturday,” O’Brien said on Monday.

“He was a very quick two-year-old so we might get him back for that. He could be on his way back.

“He’s quick, it’s just taken a while to get him back, the last day was a bit of a mess as well but he could be back for that.”

Lazzat in prime form as he bids for Deauville repeat

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Lazzat is being backed by connections to relish his optimum conditions when he defends his Prix Maurice de Gheest crown at Deauville on Sunday.

The four-year-old gave new owners Wathnan Racing a day to remember when landing the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Royal Ascot and Jerome Reynier’s sprint king now tries to make it three from three on the Normandy coast.

“Jerome reports he has come out of Ascot in good form and is fresh and well ahead of Sunday,” said Richard Brown, racing adviser to Wathnan Racing.

“He obviously won this race last year and we would be looking forward to seeing him go and try to defend his crown.

“I think a straight track is important to him and he’s versatile between six and seven furlongs, so this is right in the middle. It looks like it’s going to be nice ground and probably on the quick side which will be perfect for him.

“He’s already won us a Group One, he’s is a very talented animal and is exactly the type of horse we are looking for in the operation.”

The home side have a strong squad assembled for the Group One event and along with Lazzat, Francis-Henri Graffard’s Woodshauna also heads into the event with standout claims having scooped the Prix Jean Prat on his most recent start.

“Francis says he is in top form for this weekend’s race in Deauville,” said John Stewart of owner Resolute Racing.

“It looks to be an exciting race with a deep field and should be a good challenge to see him run against older horses.”

It has not been unusual to see Graffard in the winner’s enclosure in his homeland this term and as well as Woodshauna he will saddle Commonwealth Cup third Rayevka.

Charlie Appleby’s 2000 Guineas third Shadow Of Light just missed out on the podium in the Prix Jean Prat when beaten half a length, while he finished fifth in the Commonwealth Cup on his penultimate start.

He is joined in the line-up by Moulton Paddocks stablemate Symbol Of Honour, with the Godolphin handler hopeful this six-and-a-half-furlong test could prove perfect for both.

Appleby told www.godolphin.com: “Shadow Of Light has run solid races all year without getting his head in front, and this should be a nice distance for him. We are hopeful that, if he can run up to his best two-year-old form, it will make him very competitive.

“Symbol Of Honour ran a very creditable race in the July Cup (eighth) and I feel that the six and a half furlongs here will be a good trip for him.”

Other British interest is provided by Kevin Ryan’s Inisherin, who will be partnered by Ryan Moore as he seeks compensation after being withdrawn at the start of the July Cup, and Ed Bethell’s ever-consistent flagbearer Regional.

Deauville repeat firmly on the radar for Lazzat

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Royal Ascot sprint star Lazzat is pencilled in to make his next start on home turf, as the Prix Maurice de Gheest beckons again.

The gelded four-year-old, who is trained in France by Jerome Reynier and owned by Wathnan Racing, was an excellent winner of the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes on his first start for new connections.

His next port of call is likely to be the Deauville feature, a Group One he won by an impressive three lengths last season.

“We were delighted with him at Ascot, that was a very serious performance,” said Richard Brown, racing manager to Wathnan.

“He probably had a hard enough race, they always do at that level, so we said we’d give him a bit of a chance to give him a bit of a wind down and then wind him back up again.

“His next run will be in the Prix Maurice de Gheest and Jerome’s delighted with him, he came out of the race very well.

“We could have brought him back quicker if we’d wanted to, but we just thought we’d give him the chance now to be a fresh horse going into the autumn.

“We want to look after him, he’s a multiple Group One winner and he’s clearly a very high-class animal.

“We’ll race him with his long-term future in mind and hope he can be around for the next few years.”

Monday Musings: Ten Grand Poms

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After the Betfred Derby, I catalogued the astonishing price drop of what was no doubt expected to be one of the jewels of the Coolmore breeding operation, writes Tony Stafford. Australia, winner of the 2014 Epsom and Irish Derby, started the 2025 breeding season with a tag of €10,000 with only a couple of his flat-race oriented shed-mates offered at a lower figure.
When you consider he was the son of Galileo and another Classic winner, and a good one at that in Oaks heroine Ouija Board, his slump in popularity was way outside the norm for a Coolmore stallion.
His price was just 3.3%, for example, of that required for the services of Wootton Bassett in the same results-based academy. His lack of attention is generally put down to less than ideal precocity of his progeny, but Derby winner Lambourn would have pricked up a few industry ears. If he follows up in next Sunday’s Irish Derby, for which he is currently a 4/6 shot, the rehabilitation would have scurried along a little further.
I related how I’d heard that Aidan and Anne Marie O’Brien had been his staunchest followers, contrary to the perceived industry wisdom at the time, and Royal Ascot’s final two days would have given the champion trainer and his wife further cause for satisfaction.
On Saturday at Ascot, I bumped into someone who reckoned we’d met in the same spot there probably three years ago. His Royal Enclosure name tag, Shane B Stafford, inevitably caught my eye, and when this big Australian guy told me he owned a chunk of Friday’s Coronation Stakes winner Cercene, a nice story began to unfold.
My “cousin”, or more probably “nephew”, has extensive racing interests back home in Aus but has Cercene trained by Joseph Murphy in Ireland where he has a couple of properties.
There wasn’t the slightest fluke in her win on Friday, Gary Carroll sending the 33/1 shot off in front. When she appeared to have been bested by the promoted French 1.000 Guineas winner Zarzana and Mickael Barzalona, who came with apparently a perfectly-timed challenge, she simply battled back in the closing stages up the inside rail to win by a neck.
It didn’t take long for Shane in true Aussie style to downplay the achievement (unlike so many in the racing game). “Lake Victoria wasn’t here, so we might have been lucky.”
Lucky or not, she picked up the first prize of £411,572, adding to one previous win and four places in a seven-race career to date. Her 33/1 price seemed over-generous, considering she was only a 20/1 shot the previous time out when third to said Lake Victoria in the Irish 1,000 Guineas.
Just as we were finishing off our conversation, marvelling that Australia, regarded solely as a stamina influence by many, could have had a Group 1 success – and a big one at that – at a mile, there was another notification that his star is firmly in the ascendency.
Saturday’s top sprint, the 6f Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes was won by Jerome Reynier’s Lazzat. The 4yo by Territories was winning for the eighth time from only 11 career starts. His dam, Lastochka, you guessed it, is by Australia! She won over a mile on debut for Roger Varian but had just two more runs before retiring. Those speed genes, so hidden for so long, are coming to the fore. Not unnaturally as Australia won two of his three two-year-old starts at seven furlongs and a mile.
M Reynier caused something of a stir before his win. After his Facteur Cheval (a 25/1 shot) had finished sixth in Wednesday’s Prince Of Wales’s Stakes behind impressive Gosden-trained Ombudsman, the youthful monsieur, offered some Gallic fire to the proceedings.
He suggested that Flavien Prat, his fellow countryman, although one that has plied his trade in the United Stakes for many years, had made a right Flavien of himself, giving the horse one of the worst rides any horse of his has had since he started training. Nice to get a bit of fire and enthusiasm into the deal.
There was fire and heat aplenty all week with temperatures approaching 30 degrees Celsius at times. Sensational performances by the Ballydoyle juvenile colts Gstaad (not entirely anticipated in the Coventry) and Charles Darwin, massively so in the Norfolk. The money was shovelled rather than lumped on and the style of the win was mind-boggling.
Now it’s left for us to wait for the absent from Ascot Albert Einstein to show his face (and pace) when he recovers from the setback that ruled him out of the piece, causing a re-shuffle which made no difference. In between two very easy wins, I reckon we saw a Ryan Moore masterclass on True Love in the Queen Mary Stakes.
Stuck on the flank while the action was all out in the middle, Ryan needed to humour the filly, rousting her along though not resorting to the whip until she got level and then went away to win well. The end of the week juveniles from the team were not quite up to that standard but, as I mentioned earlier, it’s Irish Derby weekend upcoming and we’re sure to see some more smart juvenile talent on show as the master handler sorts his team for that fixture.
Top trainer honours for the meeting deservedly went to the Gosdens, with Field Of Gold seamlessly adding to his Irish 2,000 Guineas success with a romp in the St James’s Palace Stakes. Such is his finishing power, ten furlongs should not be a problem, and you would imagine he’d be hard to beat in the Juddmonte at York in August, probably after a crack at Goodwood’s Sussex Stakes. He’s a proper horse and new retained rider Colin Keane is pretty good too.
There has to be a congratulation though for Field Of Gold's former but now displaced partner Kieran Shoemark, who responded to the uncomfortable sight of his one-time ride picking up another big prize after the Curragh. Ed Walker expressed his delight that he can now use Kieran more often and they did each other a mutual turn with a double on the week, 22/1 shot Never Let Go in Friday’s Sandringham Handicap being followed by Noble Champion, 25/1, in the Jersey Stakes on Saturday.
Back to the Gosdens. The absence of Kyprios after his retirement left the way clear for a new staying star and yet the Gold Cup provided such a triumph for the hardly-new Trawlerman. The seven-year-old is in his sixth season’s racing but has been sparingly and shrewdly campaigned by his trainers, here winning for the ninth time in just 20 starts.
Illinois had been asked to step up to fill his departed mate’s shoes but after getting within reach at the bend, he had no answer to the leader as, under William Buick, he came up the straight in remorseless fashion to win by seven lengths with another seven back to the third, Dubai Future, a nine-year-old gelding. That veteran is trained by Saeed bin Suroor and also for Godolphin.
I could go on forever, but on a week where the honours - riding, training and owning - were spread around nicely, it ended with a general gamble that everyone knew was about to happen.
Willie Mullins booked Ryan Moore for last year’s 115k purchase Sober in the Queen Alexandra Stakes that concluded the meeting. A six-year-old, the gelded son of Camelot has already seen a hurdle, scoring comfortably on debut as befits a previous Group 2 winner in France.
Allowed to take his time, Sober appeared to have three authentic challengers coming to the last furlong, but Ryan opened him up and he went clear to give Mullins a fifth win in the race and the seventh of the week for his jockey. A great week. Don’t know how I stayed sober, but I did.
 - TS

Lazzat fends off Satono Reve to take Jubilee crown

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French raider Lazzat broke Japanese hearts as he outbattled Satono Reve in a thrilling international finish to the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Satono Reve was sent off the 2-1 favourite to become the first Japanese winner at the Royal meeting and was travelling powerfully throughout the contest in the hands of Joao Moreira.

However, it was Jerome Reynier’s Lazzat, who made every yard in the hands of James Doyle, who stayed on strongest in the closing stages, striking on his first start for owners Wathnan Racing at odds of 9-2 to continue a fine week for both his rider and owners.

There was drama after the finish as Lazzat unshipped Doyle as the pair returned to receive the Ascot applause, with the four-year-old running loose for some time before eventually being caught and safely returned to the stables.

Lazzat was adding a second Group One win to his tally after landing last year’s Prix Maurice de Gheest, but he had been beaten in Australia when sent on his travels at the end of the campaign.

Reynier, saddling his first Royal Ascot winner, said: “He did (win at the top level) as a three-year-old in the Maurice de Gheest in Deauville but after having been all the way to Australia and Hong Kong, I was a bit scared that it was going to be tough to find Lazzat the same as he was but obviously we have been trying him over a mile to open his options, but he’s a pure sprinter and we will stick to the sprinting distances over the straight courses for his future.

“That was a pretty tough challenge (from Satono Reve). I’ve been watching all his races and he’s always coming late and he’s always running on but James had a really good feeling with the horse and when the Japanese came to him, he put his ears back and tried again and he said there was no way he was going to pass him today.”

James Doyle after being unshipped from Lazzat
James Doyle after being unshipped from Lazzat (David Davies/PA)

Paddy Power cut Lazzat to 7-2 favourite from 8-1 for the July Cup at Newmarket, but Reynier feels that is an unlikely option.

He added: “The July Cup is coming a little quickly I guess but maybe we’ll defend his crown in the Maurice de Gheest, we’ve got the Sprint Cup (at Haydock) and we can be back here in October (Qipco British Champions Sprint) because he can handle any ground, if the ground is heavy he can do it then as well.

“He’s a very good champion. Today everything went right for once and we’re happy to have a first Royal Ascot winner, especially for Wathnan and Nurlan Bizakov as a breeder. I’m very happy for the connections involved.”

Reflecting on Lazzat’s post-race antics, Reynier said: “I was too happy to throw the winning sheet on him, he got a bit spooky and he obviously wasn’t too tired after the race so he said ‘let’s have a spin around the track’!

“We were so proud of him and wanted to be out on the track with him, but James was saying ‘hi’ to the crowd and was not paying attention maybe to what he was going to do.

“He’s a funny character, that is why he is Lazzat and he is our champion.”

While Deauville, Haydock and a return to Ascot look like being on Lazzat’s short-to-medium term agenda, the trainer also has one eye on what would be a mouthwatering clash with Hong Kong’s superstar sprinter Ka Ying Rising before the end of 2025.

He added: “I would love to take him on one day. Let him fight in The Everest and all the big challenges he’s got this year and maybe at the end of the year we can take him on in his home town at Sha Tin in the Hong Kong Sprint, why not?

“If he can win two or three more Group Ones this year he’ll definitely be the best sprinter in Europe and that would be a good thing.”

James Doyle with the trophy following Lazzat's victory
James Doyle with the trophy following Lazzat’s victory (John Walton/PA)

Doyle, riding his fourth winner of the week, said: “He just spooked at the winner’s sheet and got loose for 15 minutes or so – not ideal, is it, but it shows he had a fair bit left! He’s a quality horse.

“What a horse race with the Japanese horse coming to join me near the line, and he really pinned his ears back and attacked the line, so he’s got some talent and he wasn’t going to get beaten today.

“That was a first for me (being unseated like that), and it was a shame because it would have been nice to be able to come in with the horse, not by myself, but there we go. I did apologise to the King and Queen when I went to collect my prize and said I should have stayed in Pony Club a bit longer than I did, and we had a good laugh about that.

“This was the one we wanted – it’s a proper race and we’ve got a proper horse on our hands.”

Inisherin and Lazzat crossing swords with Satono Reve on Saturday

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Inisherin and Lazzat feature among a quality field of 16 runners declared for the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes on the final day of Royal Ascot.

Kevin Ryan’s Inisherin was a brilliant winner of the Commonwealth Cup over the course and distance 12 months ago and while he subsequently failed to run up to expectations in either the July Cup or the Sprint Cup, he got the show back on the road with a comeback win at York last month.

French raider Lazzat won his first six starts for Jerome Reynier before suffering a narrow defeat at the hands of the William Haggas-trained Lake Forest in Australia. He disappointed in the Hong Kong Mile and over the longer trip on his Saint-Cloud return, but having bolted up back over six furlongs at Chantilly he has since been snapped up by the powerful Wathnan Racing operation.

Christopher Head’s Topgear is another improving sprinter from across the Channel, while further international spice is added by the presence of Japanese raider Satono Reve, who caught the eye of work-watchers in a recent gallop in Newmarket.

Aidan O’Brien’s Australian recruit Storm Boy runs, with the only two not declared from the confirmation stage being George Boughey’s Believing, who ran in the King Charles III Stakes on Tuesday, and James Fanshawe’s Champions Day winner Kind Of Blue.

Nine juveniles are set to go to post for the opening Chesham Stakes, with Charlie Appleby’s impressive Newmarket winner Treanmor the likely favourite ahead of O’Brien’s Leopardstown scorer Moments Of Joy.

Al Aasy heads a 12-runner field for the Group Two Hardwicke Stakes, with Rebel’s Romance and Al Riffa two of his rivals, but ante-post favourite Kalpana is a notable absentee.

Remmooz will put his unbeaten record on the line for Owen Burrows in the Group Three Jersey Stakes, which has attracted 15 participants in total, while the two handicaps on the card – the Wokingham and the Golden Gates – have maximum fields of 28 and 16 runners respectively.

The two-mile-five-furlong Queen Alexandra Stakes traditionally brings the Royal meeting to a close and plenty will be putting their faith in Sober, who represents the formidable combination of Willie Mullins and Ryan Moore. The six-year-old, who was a multiple winner in France for Andre Fabre before scoring over hurdles on his first start for Mullins, heads a field of 11 in the finale.