James Doyle ‘pretty pleased' with imposing Royal Ascot hand
Having ridden for some of the biggest names in the sport throughout his glittering career in the saddle, the Wathnan Racing number one is no stranger to the pressure the Flat season's premier meeting brings.
And after excelling in his first season donning the old gold and peacock blue silks of the Wathnan operation who cherish Royal Ascot success above all else, Doyle is relishing this year's action at the Berkshire track with some talented youngsters and high-class acquisitions to look forward to.
'We look like we've got a nice team and there has been a few welcome additions,' said Doyle.
'Last year was great and I wouldn't say there is more pressure this year, as there is always great pressure to perform and get winners at Royal Ascot and every year it is huge pressure.
'We've had a couple of two-year-olds step up to the plate and obviously Zelaina won nicely at Nottingham and there's Postmodern for Hamad (Al Jehani) and Underwriter for Archie (Watson), so we've a decent group of youngsters.
'We're all well aware how difficult it is to win at Royal Ascot, everyone knows how tough it can be, but we're looking forward to it, quietly hopeful and would be pretty pleased with the team we have going there.'
Last year's Ascot quadruple for the 37-year-old took his Royal meeting tally to 22, with Karl Burke proving the right man to have on side in the juvenile contests in 2024.
The Spigot Lodge handler gave Doyle the leg-up on both Shareholder (Norfolk Stakes) and Leovanni (Queen Mary Stakes) and the duo could be poised to repeat the dose with the aforementioned Zelaina, who is the shortest-priced of all the owner's candidates in Berkshire.
The daughter of Mehmas has already followed in the footsteps of Leovanni by winning the same Nottingham maiden in impressive fashion and if Doyle's smile upon returning to the Colwick Park paddock was not a big enough clue, Zelaina's Queen Mary odds of 7-4 suggest the filly – whose name has Greek origins and means the moon or brightness – could shine for Doyle on the grandest stage.
Doyle said: 'Leovanni won the exact same race before going on to win the Queen Mary and I think this filly clocked a marginally quicker time on what I felt was slower ground than what Leovanni won on at Nottingham, so that has to give you a bit of confidence.
'She's quite hot so we have a bit of work to do with her in the prelims just to keep the lid on her but if she can turn up there nice and relaxed, you would be hopeful she could run a big race. It's always difficult to compare yours to what you might be up against but I don't think I would be swapping this filly, that's for sure.'
Away from the juveniles, Doyle has plenty of big names to enjoy, with the likes of last year's Jersey Stakes winner Haatem back for more in the Wolferton Stakes and Irish 1,000 Guineas heroine Fallen Angel a short price for Duke of Cambridge glory.
However, it could be the French contingent which provides Doyle with a couple of aces in his pack, as the rider is eagerly anticipating the chance to partner Map Of Stars (Francis-Henri Graffard, Prince of Wales's Stakes) and new Wathnan recruit Lazzat (Jerome Reynier, Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes) in their respective Ascot assignments.
'Lazzat is a hell of an addition to the squad and we're lucky to get our hands on him,' said Doyle.
'He looks pretty good doesn't he? He hasn't done much wrong in his career and was just touched off in Australia and then bolted up in his prep run for Ascot.
'Then Map Of Stars, he is a horse I really like and I know his wins in the first two runs of the season weren't particularly strong races, but his last run in the Ganay he was unfortunate not to beat Sosie and he is obviously a very good horse who has since come out and won the Prix d'Ispahan.
'That was a nice form boost for him and I think Map Of Stars is a really exciting horse, who I think will keep progressing and whose best days are still to come.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
37 minutes ago
- Times
Tax changes ‘threaten future of horse racing'
The future of British horse racing is at risk unless the government urgently rethinks new gambling policies, according to a cross-party parliamentary group. In a report released on Sunday night, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Racing and Bloodstock warned that a combination of tax changes, strict affordability checks designed to stop problem gambling and a failure to reform racing's main funding system could cause lasting damage to one of the UK's most popular sports. The APPG, made up of MPs and peers, is not a parliamentary select committee. All funding comes from within the racing industry, with the British Horseracing Authority leading on organisation as the secretariat. Racegoers at Aintree during Grand National week this year MICHAEL STEELE/GETTY IMAGES Horse racing supports more than 85,000 jobs and contributes in excess of £4 billion a year to the economy, according to a House of Commons Library report. It is Britain's second largest spectator sport after football, with high-profile events such as Royal Ascot this week. In April, the Treasury launched a consultation process calling for stakeholders in the sport betting sector to submit their views on how best to consolidate the current three-tier system for remote gambling to create a single tax, called the Remote Betting and Gaming Duty. Betting companies currently pay different tax rates: the Remote Gaming Duty, set at 21 per cent of operator gross profits; the General Betting Duty, which is set at 15 per cent; and the Pool Betting Duty at 15 per cent of net stake receipts. The consultation process runs for 12 weeks until July 21. The APPG claims this could raise the cost of betting on racing, pushing gambling firms toward more profitable, but riskier, online games such as slots and roulette, potentially meaning less investment in racing and a push away from a relatively low-risk form of gambling. Racing gets a chunk of funding from a special tax called the Horserace Betting Levy so some betting profits are reinvested in the sport, but the APPG says the government has not updated it, so it is not keeping up with what other countries give their racing industries. Dan Carden, Labour MP for Liverpool Walton and co-chair of the APPG, said: 'The message from this report is clear: British racing needs this Labour government to be on its side. Racing is part of our national story and its enjoyment and support extends all the way from rural to urban working-class communities.' Brant Dunshea, chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority, said: 'The cultural, social and economic value of racing is huge for towns and rural areas across Britain. It is those communities that will suffer the job losses, the decline in community pride and the loss of identity that will come if racing is allowed to fail.' A government spokesman said: 'We recognise the huge importance of horse racing to the British sporting calendar and the significant contribution it makes to the economy every year. 'We have recently launched a consultation on the tax treatment of remote gambling and are actively engaging with the sector, so are grateful to the APPG for their contributions and will consider the report fully.'
BBC News
4 hours ago
- BBC News
Retiring Mentor upbeat about future of netball
Netball legend Geva Mentor says she is positive about the future of the sport after playing the final game of her career on 40-year-old retired after Leeds Rhinos' last game of the Netball Super League season - an 80-61 defeat by Nottingham Forest."I'm excited to see where netball goes over the next few years," the former England international told BBC Sport."We are looking at the improvement of the game and making it a real product that everyone can get behind." Mentor, who is now based in France, has been a trailblazer of the sport - playing more than 310 games at club level and twice being named the World's Best spent 16 seasons playing in New Zealand and Australia and played 175 times for her country, competing at six World Cups and six Commonwealth Games, winning gold in 2018 thanks to the famous win over joined the Rhinos for the 2024 season and, although she was unable to end on a winning note, received a warm reception at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham - which included being given a guard of honour after the game."We probably haven't had the results or performances we wanted this season," she added. "But there is a brilliant culture here and it's pushing and building."I wish them all the best for the future and I will be in the crowd cheering them on."This is all a bit surreal but it is so nice to be playing in a big arena and good to be up against Forest, who have had a stellar first season and have grown into it."
South Wales Guardian
4 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
James Doyle ‘pretty pleased' with imposing Royal Ascot hand
Having ridden for some of the biggest names in the sport throughout his glittering career in the saddle, the Wathnan Racing number one is no stranger to the pressure the Flat season's premier meeting brings. And after excelling in his first season donning the old gold and peacock blue silks of the Wathnan operation who cherish Royal Ascot success above all else, Doyle is relishing this year's action at the Berkshire track with some talented youngsters and high-class acquisitions to look forward to. 'We look like we've got a nice team and there has been a few welcome additions,' said Doyle. 'Last year was great and I wouldn't say there is more pressure this year, as there is always great pressure to perform and get winners at Royal Ascot and every year it is huge pressure. 'We've had a couple of two-year-olds step up to the plate and obviously Zelaina won nicely at Nottingham and there's Postmodern for Hamad (Al Jehani) and Underwriter for Archie (Watson), so we've a decent group of youngsters. 'We're all well aware how difficult it is to win at Royal Ascot, everyone knows how tough it can be, but we're looking forward to it, quietly hopeful and would be pretty pleased with the team we have going there.' Last year's Ascot quadruple for the 37-year-old took his Royal meeting tally to 22, with Karl Burke proving the right man to have on side in the juvenile contests in 2024. The Spigot Lodge handler gave Doyle the leg-up on both Shareholder (Norfolk Stakes) and Leovanni (Queen Mary Stakes) and the duo could be poised to repeat the dose with the aforementioned Zelaina, who is the shortest-priced of all the owner's candidates in Berkshire. The daughter of Mehmas has already followed in the footsteps of Leovanni by winning the same Nottingham maiden in impressive fashion and if Doyle's smile upon returning to the Colwick Park paddock was not a big enough clue, Zelaina's Queen Mary odds of 7-4 suggest the filly – whose name has Greek origins and means the moon or brightness – could shine for Doyle on the grandest stage. Doyle said: 'Leovanni won the exact same race before going on to win the Queen Mary and I think this filly clocked a marginally quicker time on what I felt was slower ground than what Leovanni won on at Nottingham, so that has to give you a bit of confidence. 'She's quite hot so we have a bit of work to do with her in the prelims just to keep the lid on her but if she can turn up there nice and relaxed, you would be hopeful she could run a big race. It's always difficult to compare yours to what you might be up against but I don't think I would be swapping this filly, that's for sure.' Away from the juveniles, Doyle has plenty of big names to enjoy, with the likes of last year's Jersey Stakes winner Haatem back for more in the Wolferton Stakes and Irish 1,000 Guineas heroine Fallen Angel a short price for Duke of Cambridge glory. However, it could be the French contingent which provides Doyle with a couple of aces in his pack, as the rider is eagerly anticipating the chance to partner Map Of Stars (Francis-Henri Graffard, Prince of Wales's Stakes) and new Wathnan recruit Lazzat (Jerome Reynier, Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes) in their respective Ascot assignments. 'Lazzat is a hell of an addition to the squad and we're lucky to get our hands on him,' said Doyle. 'He looks pretty good doesn't he? He hasn't done much wrong in his career and was just touched off in Australia and then bolted up in his prep run for Ascot. 'Then Map Of Stars, he is a horse I really like and I know his wins in the first two runs of the season weren't particularly strong races, but his last run in the Ganay he was unfortunate not to beat Sosie and he is obviously a very good horse who has since come out and won the Prix d'Ispahan. 'That was a nice form boost for him and I think Map Of Stars is a really exciting horse, who I think will keep progressing and whose best days are still to come.'
