Rip Van Winkle is poised to clash with Goldikova and Paco Boy in the Queen Anne Stakes next Tuesday after an upbeat bulletin.
Ballydoyle colt poised for heavyweight clash in Queen Anne
Rip Van Winkle is poised to clash with Goldikova and Paco Boy in the Queen Anne Stakes next Tuesday after an upbeat bulletin from trainer Aidan O'Brien.
The Galileo colt found Sea The Stars too good on no fewer than three occasions last year but, kept to a mile, he landed the Sussex Stakes and the QEII at Ascot for Ballydoyle.
He ended the campaign on a low note when flopping in the Breeders' Cup Classic but connections have kept him in training for another Group One campaign.
And while his main opponents at Royal Ascot will have been in action already this term, O'Brien plans to give his fragile star his first outing of the campaign.
"It's a case of so far so good with him and the plan is to start him off in the Queen Anne," he told racingpost.com.
The mile feature, which opens the five-day spectacular, could prove to be the race of the week with French raider Goldikova virtually unbeatable over a mile and Paco Boy in top form following his cruise to victory in last month's Lockinge.
The trio are amongst 12 horses left in at the six-day conformation stage, with Godolphin represented by Saeed bin Suroor's Alexandros and the Mahmood Al Zarooni-trained Calming Influence.
Other interesting contenders includes Zacinto, Dalghar, Pipedreamer and Ouqba.
