Sacred set for Royal Ascot return

Sacred, not seen since winning the Hungerford Stakes last August, will have her first start of the season in the Platinum Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot next week – ground permitting.

Second to Campanelle in the Queen Mary as a juvenile, she was trained in the early weeks of last season as a 1000 Guineas contender, having beaten Saffron Beach in the Nell Gwyn.

She failed to see out a mile in the Classic behind Mother Earth and on her only other outing at three won the Newbury Group Two in August.

Trainer William Haggas and owners Cheveley Park Stud had been considering a tilt at the Breeders’ Cup Mile, but ultimately decided against it and as there is no seven-furlong Group One for her at Ascot she will drop back down to six.

“The plan is to go for the Platinum Jubilee, but she is ground dependent,” said Haggas.

“She might be left in the Duke of Cambridge, but we’re looking at the Platinum Jubilee.

“It will be nice to see her again. They’re going to go hard so she will be finishing off well, but it’s whether they can draw the sting out of her by going so hard – we don’t know.

“There isn’t a seven-furlong Group One until October (Prix de la Foret). There are three seven-furlong Group Twos and they are all within a month, the Lennox (Goodwood), the Hungerford and the City of York, so it’s not very helpful.”