Royal Ascot ‘humdinger’ whets John Gosden’s appetite – with Lead Artist declared for the Queen Anne Stakes

• John Gosden has declared Lead Artist for the Queen Anne Stakes
• Gosden will also saddle Field Of Gold in the St James’s Palace Stakes
• Five blistering days of Royal Ascot action will begin on Tuesday

By DOMINIC KING

John Gosden is expecting Royal Ascot to begin with a bang on Tuesday as the tone for five blistering days of action will be set by the race of the season.

The six-time champion, who now trains with his son, Thady, has declared Lead Artist for the Queen Anne Stakes and while he has always held the four-year-old in the highest regard, he knows the colt could run a career best and still not finish in the top three.

Lead Artist was a brilliant winner of Newbury’s Lockinge Stakes last month, where he beat the reopposing Dancing Gemini, Rosallion and Notable Speech but Gosden knows the tables could easily be turned over Ascot’s straight mile in the race that opens the meeting.

‘It’s a wonderful race,’ said Gosden, who applied the finishing touches to Lead Artist’s preparations last week with a gallop at Newmarket. ‘From the line-up in the Lockinge, you’ve got the first four all turning up. Will they finish in the same order? That’s the exciting thing — they’re all fabulous horses.

‘They’re going to come on, aren’t they? Both of them, Rosallion and Notable Speech. I think it’s as good a Queen Anne as I’ve seen for a long time. We said that about the Lockinge, but now that they’ve got a race under their belt, it’s quite a humdinger to start the meeting.’

Gosden, who will also saddle hot favourite Field Of Gold in the St James’s Palace Stakes later in the afternoon, is not overselling the situation.

Trainer John Gosden is looking forward to five blistering days of Royal Ascot action

Gosden has declared Lead Artist, pictured (left) at Newbury, for the Queen Anne Stakes

Connections of Rosallion, who is trained by Richard Hannon, and Godolphin’s Notable Speech are both adamant they will be closer to Lead Artist.

‘It’s exciting, isn’t it?’ said Gosden. ‘It’s what Ascot is all about. Lead Artist is improving. I like his enthusiasm and he’s matured a lot, mentally — some of us do when we get older! There will be a fabulous line-up in a lot of races.’

Intrigue is added to this plot line as Kieran Shoemark, who lost his job as one of the frontline riders for the Gosden team, will be riding Roger Teal’s improving colt Dancing Gemini.

Shoemark was out of luck in France on Sunday, when he finished unplaced on Shes Perfect in the Prix De Diane at Chantilly, but he cannot wait to get back on board Dancing Gemini after the pair were successful at Doncaster in March.

‘He ran a huge race in the Lockinge,’ Shoemark said. ‘I know the horse very well and it’s very exciting.’

Tuesday until Saturday, all races will be LIVE on ITV from 1.30pm.

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Royal Ascot ‘humdinger’ whets John Gosden’s appetite – with Lead Artist declared for the Queen Anne Stakes

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