CONTENDERS FROM AUSTRALIA
HENRY DWYER
BALLARAT, VIC & ST LEONARDS, NSW
BACKGROUND:
Worked as a stable hand at Flemington while studying commerce at university, and attended Marcus Oldham College, which specialises in agricultural, equine and farm management; four years as a foreman and then assistant to Robert Smerdon at Caulfield; a spell under Robert Hickmott at Macedon Lodge in 2012 was followed by an around-the-world tour, including stints with John Oxx and Criquette Head; sent out his first winner in March 2013, having started out with four boxes at Caulfield.
ENTRY:
Asfoora – King Charles III Stakes
Dual G1 runner-up in Australia, most notably behind Imperatriz in the 2023 G1 Moir Stakes; biggest victory came in the G2 Schillaci Stakes at Caulfield in October; finished fourth on her European debut in the G2 Temple Stakes at Haydock Park.
PREVIOUS ROYAL ASCOT RUNNERS:
None
MICK PRICE & MICHAEL KENT jnr
CRANBOURNE, VIC
BACKGROUND:
Training partnership founded in 2019; Price had held a licence in his own name since 1991, during which time he established himself as one of Australia’s leading trainers; flagship horses include star sprinter Lankan Rupee; Kent is the son of G1-winning trainer Michael Kent; Kent jnr rode as a jockey and briefly trained in his own right before gaining further experience in Europe, including as pupil assistant to William Haggas in Newmarket.
ENTRY:
Kitty Rose – Sandringham Handicap
Won two of her three starts as a juvenile for Irish trainer Natalia Lupini, including the Listed Ingabelle Stakes at Leopardstown; purchased by owner Tim Porter after finishing second in a G3 at the same track in April.
PREVIOUS ROYAL ASCOT RUNNERS:
None
RECORD OF AUSTRALIAN-TRAINED RUNNERS AT ROYAL ASCOT
7 WINS
FROM 45
RUNNERS
CONTENDERS FROM THE UNITED STATES
EDDIE KENNEALLY
LEXINGTON, KY
BACKGROUND:
Nephew of jockey John Kenneally, who finished second on Purple Silk in the 1964 Grand National; first job with horses came at the renowned Camas Park Stud in Tipperary; moved to the US in 1987, later working as assistant trainer to Tom Skiffington and Niall O’Callaghan; after a spell as private trainer for Jack Kent Cooke, he opened Kenneally Racing as a public stable in 1997; has saddled 8 G1 wins including 2007 Dubai Golden Shaheen with Kelly’s Landing.
ENTRY:
Cheval de Guerre – Windsor Castle Stakes or Norfolk Stakes
$450,000 son of Caravaggio who was just touched off on debut in a five-and-a-half furlong turf maiden at Keeneland’s Spring meet.
PREVIOUS ROYAL ASCOT RUNNERS:
None
JOSE D’ANGELO
BOYNTON BEACH, FL
BACKGROUND:
Son of Francisco d’Angelo, a leading trainer in Venezuela; curtailed his university education to pursue a training career and sent out his first winner in 2012; champion trainer in Venezuela in 2018; moved to Florida in 2019 and has gone from strength to strength, accruing 138 winners and $4.3m in prize money last year. His best horse to date has been Jesus’ Team, who was second 2nd in both G1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and G1 Pegasus World Cup.
ENTRY:
Gabaldon – Windsor Castle Stakes or Norfolk Stakes
$9,000 yearling who made a successful debut in a Royal Ascot qualifier at Gulfstream Park on May 11.
PREVIOUS ROYAL ASCOT RUNNERS:
None
WESLEY WARD
LEXINGTON, KY & OCALA, FL
BACKGROUND:
Son of former trainer Dennis Ward; started race riding when he was 15 and enjoyed a sensational first year in 1984, partnering 335 winners and receiving the Eclipse Award for leading apprentice; weight problems led him to quit the saddle in 1989 and started training two years later; became the first US-based trainer to saddle a Royal Ascot winner with Strike The Tiger in the 2009 Windsor Castle Stakes; domestically, he has trained over 2,250 winners, including six Breeders’ Cup races.
ENTRIES:
Ultima Grace – Queen Mary Stakes
Won Keeneland dirt maiden on only start (April 18).
Saturday Flirt – Norfolk Stakes
Mendelssohn filly who won a turf maiden at Keeneland (April 26).
Burning Pine – Albany Stakes
Made all when easily winning a Keeneland dirt maiden (April 26).
Honorary American – Windsor Castle Stakes or Norfolk Stakes
Third on only start in Aqueduct turf maiden (April 24).
PREVIOUS ROYAL ASCOT RUNNERS:
12 wins from 85 runners
RECORD OF US-TRAINED RUNNERS AT ROYAL ASCOT
14 WINS
FROM 129 RUNNERS
CONTENDERS FROM FRANCE
MARIO BARATTI
CHANTILLY
BACKGROUND:
Italian who spent almost five years in Newmarket with Marco Botti; had a short stint in Ireland with Jim Bolger; assistant trainer to Pascal Bary before sending out his first runners in 2020; clinched maiden G1 victory with Metropolitan in the 2024 Poule d’Essai des Poulains.
ENTRIES:
Metropolitan – St James’s Palace Stakes
Sea Of Thieves – Duke Of Cambridge Stakes
PREVIOUS ROYAL ASCOT RUNNERS:
None
MAURIZIO GUARNIERI
CHANTILLY
BACKGROUND:
Trained in Italy for 30 years; enjoyed first G1 success with Shibuni’s Falcon in the 2001 Premio Roma; relocated to France in the summer of 2016, initially at La Teste de Buch in the South West; moved to Chantilly in 2022 and became the principal trainer for Leopoldo Fernandez Pujals’ Yeguada Centurion operation earlier this year.
ENTRIES:
Big Rock – Queen Anne Stakes
Blue Rose Cen – Prince Of Wales’s Stakes
Snobbish – Prince Of Wales’s Stakes
PREVIOUS ROYAL ASCOT RUNNERS:
None
CHRISTOPHER HEAD
CHANTILLY
BACKGROUND:
Son of former jockey and trainer Freddy Head; worked for his father, aunt Criquette and Guillaume Macaire among others before setting up on his own in 2018; enjoyed breakthrough G1 success with Blue Rose Cen in the 2022 Prix Marcel Boussac; sent out Big Rock to win the 2023 G1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot.
ENTRIES:
Ramatuelle – Coronation Stakes
Sea The Lady – Duke Of Cambridge Stakes
PREVIOUS ROYAL ASCOT RUNNERS:
None
FRANCIS-HENRI GRAFFARD
CHANTILLY
BACKGROUND:
Godolphin Flying Start graduate who worked for Darley in the UK and France; spent three years as assistant trainer to Alain de Royer-Dupre; opened his own stable in Chantilly in 2011; now a multiple G1 and Classic-winning trainer, latterly with Rouhiya in the 2024 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches.
ENTRIES:
Calandagan – King Edward VII Stakes
Dolayli – Queen Anne Stakes
Elamaz – Royal Hunt Cup
Goliath – Hardwicke Stakes
Rouhiya – Coronation Stakes
Siyandra – Ribblesdale Stakes
Zarir – Prince Of Wales’s Stakes
PREVIOUS ROYAL ASCOT RUNNERS :
2013 Pearl Flute – 6th Jersey Stakes
2014 Graceful Grit – 4th Sandringham Handicap
2016 Bolting – 14th Jersey Stakes
2017 Summer Shamal – 19th Albany Stakes
2019 Watch Me – 1st Coronation Stakes
2020 Wasmya – 6th Duke Of Cambridge Stakes
2020 Plumatic – 14th Queen Anne Stakes
2022 Pervade – 5th Golden Gates Handicap
2023 The Fixer – 10th Norfolk Stakes
JEROME REYNIER
CHANTILLY
BACKGROUND:
After stud roles in France and the UK, spent a breeding season at Coolmore in 2005; subsequently completed the Godolphin Flying Start and a course at the Irish National Stud; started training in Marseille in 2013 and is now established as one of France’s leading trainers; first G1 success came with Skalleti in the 2021 Prix d’Ispahan.
ENTRIES:
Darlinghurst – St James’s Palace Stakes
Facteur Cheval – Queen Anne Stakes
Zarakem – Prince Of Wales’s Stakes
PREVIOUS ROYAL ASCOT RUNNERS:
2018 Royal Julius – 6th 2018 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes
RECENT RECORD OF FRENCH-TRAINED RUNNERS AT ROYAL ASCOT
77 FRENCH-TRAINED WINNERS AT ROYAL ASCOT SINCE 1946
MOST SUCCESSFUL YEARS:
5 WINS – 1948
4 WINS – 1946, 1956, 1960
3 WINS – 1947, 1953, 1993, 2005, 2015 & 2017
