As Royal Ascot 2025 gets underway on Tuesday, June 17, several Dubai Racing Carnival and Dubai World Cup Day graduates are set to make their presence felt across five action-packed days of top-class racing. With eight Group 1 races scheduled through the week, familiar names from Meydan’s winter campaign are poised for fresh international challenges on the famed Ascot turf.
The prestigious Queen Anne Stakes will open the Group 1 action, where Cairo, second in the G2 Al Rashidiya at Meydan in December, takes his chance for trainer Alice Haynes. The colt faces a formidable lineup that includes race favorite Rosallion and the accomplished American performer Carl Spackler.
The spotlight will then shift to Tuesday’s King Charles III Stakes, where Dubai World Cup night form comes strongly into play. Believing, who captured the G1 Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan in April under a perfectly timed ride from William Buick, returns to the sprinting stage. Now in foal to the legendary Frankel, Believing arrives in excellent shape according to trainer George Boughey, who expressed confidence in her preparation and current form. Also in the field is Regional, who finished third behind Believing at Meydan, ensuring the Dubai formline remains well-represented. Another contender with Meydan credentials is Frost At Dawn, winner of this year’s G3 Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint, who carries the silks of UAE owner Abdulla Al Mansoori.
Tuesday’s feature for three-year-old colts, the St James’s Palace Stakes, will see Ruling Court attempt to extend his winning streak. After lifting the Listed Jumeirah 2000 Guineas at Meydan and following up with a commanding win in the G1 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, Charlie Appleby’s runner arrives as one of the headline acts. “We took Ruling Court out of the Derby due to ground conditions, but we expect no excuses at Ascot,” Appleby commented, adding that while a step up in trip may come later, his charge remains flawless over a mile so far.
Wednesday’s feature, the G1 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes over 2000 meters, will see Facteur Cheval, winner of the 2024 Dubai Turf, make his Royal Ascot debut under new rider Flavien Prat for trainer Jerome Reynier. Also lining up is Certain Lad, a previous Carnival winner, alongside Continuous, who previously contested the G2 Dubai Gold Cup.
Among Wednesday’s supporting races, Cinderella’s Dream, a dual winner at Meydan, arrives off a recent Newmarket win and heads the field in the G2 Duke Of Cambridge Stakes. In the Royal Hunt Cup, Carnival winner Arabian Light represents further Dubai form.
Thursday’s official highlight, the G1 Gold Cup, features Trawlerman, a three-time runner in Dubai Gold Cups, who returns after finishing fifth at Meydan in April. Trained by John and Thady Gosden, Trawlerman will attempt to better his runner-up finish behind Kyprios from last year’s renewal. Also on Thursday’s card, The Fingal Raven, runner-up to Ruling Court in Dubai, lines up for the Britannia Handicap under trainer Jamie Osborne.
As the festival builds to its Saturday finale, the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes will feature the emerging sprint star Symbol Of Honour, another graduate of Meydan’s Al Wasl Stakes and Dubai Trophy for Charlie Appleby. With two wins from three UK starts this season, he arrives as a major contender.
Rounding off the meeting is the Golden Gates Stakes, where Norwegian trainer Niels Petersen will saddle his first ever Royal Ascot runner. His representative, War Socks, placed third behind Ruling Court in the Jumeirah 2000 Guineas and now steps up to 2000 meters for the first time.
With Dubai Racing Carnival alumni competing across Royal Ascot’s biggest stages, the global form lines converge once again at one of flat racing’s most iconic festivals.
