Australian runners at Royal Ascot

Australian horses have developed a great affinity with Royal Ascot since the start of the new millennium, with the pioneering Choisir becoming the first winner from that country when he triumphed in the 2003 King's Stand Stakes.

Choisir followed that success up with a victory in the Golden Jubilee Stakes four days later, and since then there have been a whole host of top performers that have made the long journey from Australia to the UK, including the unbeaten Black Caviar, who triumphed in the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Stakes.

Asfoora was the most recent Aussie scorer at Royal Ascot, landing the King Charles III Stakes in 2024, and she is back to headline a select but high-quality Australian contingent heading to the prestigious meeting this year.

Asfoora

Asfoora became the sixth Australian winner of the King Charles III Stakes, formerly known as the King’s Stand Stakes, 12 months ago, joining Choisir (2003), Takeover Target (2006), Miss Andretti (2007), Scenic Blast (2009) and Nature Strip (2022) on the exclusive list for trainer Henry Dwyer.

Under the guidance of jockey Oisin Murphy and going off at odds of 5/1, Asfoora raced into the lead inside the final furlong and held off the challenge of Regional and favourite Big Evs to claim the victory.

Now Asfoora, with Murphy once again in the saddle, is back to defend her title and she will make history if she achieves that feat, as no non-European horse has ever won the same race at Royal Ascot more than once.

The Noor Elaine Farm Pty Ltd mare is the 4/1 favourite to defend her crown in the prestigious 5f sprint, with the 9/2 Believing and the reopposing Regional (7/1) expected to be among her chief rivals.

Preparations for Royal Ascot have not exactly gone smoothly for Asfoora, whose complex journey to the UK included stop-offs in Hong Kong, Qatar and finally Stansted.

Asfoora's season as a whole has contained ups and downs, with a Group 3 win at Morphettville in April being swiftly followed by an underwhelming Group 1 showing at the same venue.

Connections will be hoping the six-year-old will be primed and ready for Tuesday's race, one of three Group 1s scheduled on the opening day, as victory will cement her place in Australian racing folklore.

Carl Spackler 

Carl Spackler is a horse that has made a name for himself as the top miler in the United States, as he has claimed three Grade 1 victories stateside, following up his success in last year’s Fourstardave Handicap at Saratoga with wins in the Coolmore Turf Mile Stakes at Keeneland and the Maker's Mark Mile Stakes at the same venue.

The latter of those victories came in April and all were achieved under trainer Chad Brown, however, Carl Spackler was recently acquired by Yulong Investments and is now being trained in Australia by Ciaron Maher.

His new connections have paid the £53,000 supplementary fee to enter Carl Spackler in the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes - the opening race of the entire Royal meeting on Tuesday - and he is priced at 18/1 to see off his rivals, including the 5/2 race favourite Rosallion.

Maher has said he feels "privileged and honoured" to be taking a horse of Carl Spackler's talent to Royal Ascot and a victory in the Queen Anne could set up a potential double success for Australian runners on Tuesday, should Asfoora follow suit in the King Charles III Stakes.

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.