Lead Artist, Trawlerman, Sweet William and Field of Gold Head Gosden’s Royal Ascot Team

Trainer arrives at the most prestigious meeting in British racing with a razor-sharp team, leaving nothing to chance in pursuit of Royal Ascot glory

John Gosden and Lead Artist pictured at Newmarket’s July Course / ROYAL ASCOT

BERKSHIRE, INGLATERRA (Special for Turf Diario).- John and Thady Gosden sent out a quartet of key Royal Ascot hopefuls on the gallops Thursday morning, led by G1 Lockinge S. winner Lead Artist (Dubawi), who prepped for the G1 Queen Anne S. at Newmarket’s July Course under new Juddmonte retained rider Colin Keane. The team also featured Sweet William (Sea the Stars), Torito(Kingman) and Devil’s Advocate (Too Darn Hot), all working towards key summer targets.

The Clarehaven team is expected to saddle six runners across the Group 1 features during the Royal meeting, including Field of Gold (Kingman), winner of the Irish 2000 Guineas, who is slated to re-oppose Ruling Court (Justify) in the G1 St James’s Palace S., having finished behind that rival at Newmarket earlier in the season.

With Kyprios (Galileo) sidelined, Gosden will turn to proven stayers Trawlerman (Golden Horn) and Sweet Williamin the G1 Gold Cup, hoping to improve upon their second and third-place finishes from last year.

“Lead Artist has held his form well,” said John Gosden. “He’s a powerfully made horse—very typical of the Dubawis—and he moved beautifully this morning. He’s in great shape for Tuesday.

“A stiffer mile like Ascot’s should suit him better than a speedier one. It’s going to be a fascinating race with the first four home from the Lockinge all lining up again. Will they finish in the same order? That’s the intrigue—these are four very classy horses.

“Sardinian Warrior (Saxon Warrior) is another in good form and will join him in the Queen Anne. He was outstayed in France last time by Sosie, who just had a little more left at the finish.”

Gosden noted that Field of Gold did not work this morning due to the proximity of his Irish Classic victory, while the others have been freshened since their last starts.

“Facing Ruling Court again is what Royal Ascot is all about,” he added. “These are proper races, and draws can make a big difference—sometimes a horse drawn on the inside can find himself in traffic and that changes everything.”

“Sweet William went nicely. He’s an honest type who does everything in his stride. I thought his run in the Yorkshire Cup was strong, considering it was over 1m6f on a flat track. He’ll appreciate the rising ground and extended trip of the Gold Cup. Two miles and a quarter is more his game—two and a half is starting to stretch him.

“Trawlerman, coming off a win in the Henry II S., also heads to the Gold Cup. They’re very different types—Trawlerman likes to bowl along, Sweet William comes late—so they complement each other nicely. Even without Kyprios, it’s still a deep field, with horses like Illinois in the mix.”

Looking ahead to the G1 Prince of Wales’s S., Gosden mentioned Ombudsman (Night of Thunder), who ran fourth in the Brigadier Gerard S. behind Almaqam (Lope de Vega).

“Ombudsman got tired that day, but we gave away three pounds and they got the run of the race. He came from the back and Ryan [Moore] was pleased with him. We’ll decide between the Prince of Wales’s and the Wolferton, though I suspect Godolphin may lean toward the Group 1,” he said, as the Gosden team sets its sights firmly on Royal Ascot glory.