Kyprios seeking Saval Beg hat-trick
Kyprios is the star of the show at Leopardstown on Friday night as he takes his usual route to Royal Ascot in the Saval Beg Levmoss Stakes, while later on the card Willie Mullins will saddle his first runner for the King and Queen.
Aidan O'Brien's champion stayer has twice won this Group Three event en route to the Gold Cup and will be a very warm order to secure a hat-trick after his winning seasonal return at Navan in the Vintage Crop Stakes.
However, racegoers at the Dublin track will have to wait until the very last race for a sight of the King and Queen's silks as Reaching High makes his debut for the Mullins team in the Leopardstown Lady Riders Handicap.
The four-year-old is another who could be bound for Ascot next month and will be partnered by Jody Townend as connections get a feel for their new recruit.
'I'm delighted to train for Their Majesties and it's something we talked about at previous Ascots. It's an honour to have such owners in the yard,' said Mullins.
'The horse arrived after Cheltenham this year and this is a nice opportunity to get a run into him. It's probably going to be a little short of his best trip and he's had a small wind procedure since his last run, which could bring about some improvement in the future.
'Friday evening will tell us where we are with him and it's perhaps a little quick, but I need to get a run into him to make a plan from there. We would hope he's an Ascot Stakes horse in an ideal world and this will give us all an opportunity to see how he is.
'Jody is delighted to ride him and I'm delighted to put up the five-time champion female amateur – nowadays we say Paul Townend is Jody's brother rather than the other way round.'
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