Inspiral set to make surprise switch to Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot

Inspiral is to be rerouted to next Wednesday's Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot instead of the Queen Anne Stakes on the opening day for which she had been long time ante-post market leader.

The five-year-old is to revert to the longer trip of 1m2f similar to that over which she was so impressive over when landing the Grade 1 Filly & Mare Turf at Santa Anita last November. 

As a result, the John and Thady Gosden-trained daughter of Frankel was cut from 8-1 into half those odds with most bookmakers this morning for the highlight of the second day of the royal meeting.

Inspiral was drawn badly when finishing fourth to her stablemate and supposed owner's second string Audience on her reappearance in the Group 1 Lockinge Stakes at Newbury last month when she was doing all her best work at the finish.

The five-year-old has since had a racecourse gallop on the Newmarket July course when she impressed with previous Prince Of Wales's Stakes winner Lord North who is set to do duty again.

Inspiral and Kieran Shoemark at the July Course on Saturday morning

Chris Richardson, racing manager to owners Cheveley Park Stud, said: "We are going for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes with Inspiral. We learnt last year in California where she ran over ten furlongs at Santa Anita that she needed every yard that day.

"We’ve been looking forward to stepping her up in trip again after her comeback race over a mile at Newbury in the Lockinge. She was slow away that day and was in need of the run that day and shaped as if she needs a bit further these days. That’s what John and Thady Gosden have been saying this spring."

The Gosdens know what it takes to win the Prince of Wales's Stakes having won it last year with Mostahdaf. Inspiral will be taking on the colts but two fillies have won the race in the past decade, most recently Love in 2021.

Richardson added: "I know it’s a very exciting race in terms of quality but she deserves to take her chance there and we’ll learn a bit more and hopefully this will open up many more avenues going forward. She appreciates going around a bend as we saw in America when she was very impressive and if she could come back to that it would be fantastic."

"We still have Audience in the Queen Anne and hopefully he can show he has improved from four to five. The times at Newbury were very good and he deserves to take his chance at the highest level again. Some people thought the Lockinge was a fluke but Rab Havlin was very complimentary afterwards. He should give another good account providing there is not too much rain."

Read more . . .

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