Ascot Update: Inspiral Switched for Wednesday's Prince of Wales's Stakes

The five-year-old mare will compete over a longer distance of 1m2f, similar to her impressive victory in the Grade 1 Filly & Mare Turf at Santa Anita last November.

Inspiral is set to race in next Wednesday's Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot, instead of the Queen Anne Stakes on opening day, for which she was the long-time ante-post market leader. The five-year-old mare will compete over a longer distance of 1m2f, similar to her impressive victory in the Grade 1 Filly & Mare Turf at Santa Anita last November.

Following this decision, the odds for the John and Thady Gosden-trained daughter of Frankel were halved by most horse racing betting sites this morning for the second day's highlight of the royal meeting. Inspiral had a challenging draw and finished fourth to her stablemate Audience in the Group 1 Lockinge Stakes at Newbury last month, showing her best form at the finish.

She recently had a racecourse gallop on the Newmarket July course, impressing alongside previous Prince Of Wales's Stakes winner Lord North, who will race again.

Chris Richardson, racing manager for owners Cheveley Park Stud, said:

"We are going for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes with Inspiral. We learned last year in California that she needed every yard of the ten furlongs at Santa Anita. We've been eager to step her up in trip again after her mile race at Newbury in the Lockinge, where she was slow away and in need of the run, indicating she needs a bit further now. That's what John and Thady Gosden have been saying this spring."

The Gosdens have experience winning the Prince of Wales's Stakes, having secured victory last year with Mostahdaf. Inspiral will compete against the colts, but two fillies have won the race in the past decade, with Love being the most recent in 2021.

Talking of the 2024 Royal Ascot race, Richardson added:

"I know it’s a very exciting race in terms of quality, but she deserves to take her chance there. We'll learn more and hopefully open up more avenues for her going forward. She appreciates going around a bend, as we saw in America, where she was very impressive. If she could replicate that form, 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 another chance at the highest level. Some thought the Lockinge was a fluke, but Rab Havlin was very complimentary afterward. He should perform well, provided there isn't too much rain."

Prince of Wales's Stakes Odds

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