JOSEPH O’Brien first sent runners to Royal Ascot in 2016 and was made to wait until 2022 for his breakthrough at the world-famous fixture, but he is now seeking a fourth straight year of success at the Royal Meeting.

After State Of Rest got the Owning Hill trainer off the mark in the 2022 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes, he followed up with a 2023 double courtesy of Okita Soushi in the Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes and Dawn Rising in the Queen Alexandra.

Last year’s fixture would have been a frustrating watch until the very final race of the week for the top dual-purpose team. The stable’s runners had been 0-20 for the meeting, including a close second for Neski Sherelski in the King George V Stakes, until Uxmal got O’Brien back on the scoresheet in the Queen Alexandra.

Hopes will be high that connections can strike earlier in proceedings this time around, though one of his best chances probably comes on day four of the 2025 meeting when Green Sense sets her sights on the Group 3 Albany Stakes (2.30pm).

Simon Munir and Isaac Souede’s Starman filly created a significant impression when winning on debut at the Curragh in April and lost little in defeat when second to the unbeaten Lady Iman in Group 3 company at Naas when last seen.

“She’s an exciting filly,” O’Brien told The Irish Field.

“She won well at the Curragh on her first start earlier in the year. I thought she had a good run at Naas last time and hopefully it looks like she’s going to Ascot in good shape.”

All four of O’Brien’s Royal Ascot winners have come over middle distances or further, and one who fits that criteria for next week is Al Riffa, set to be aimed at the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes (3.05pm) on day five.

A five-length winner of the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Berlin at Hoppegarten last season, the five-year-old started 2025 with a fine third to Shin Emperor in the valuable Neom Turf Cup at Riyadh in February (though a post-race veterinary examination revealed that the horse had tied up). He now steps up to just shy of a mile and a half after finishing fourth (beaten three lengths) in the Prix Ganay last time behind Sosie - the subsequent Prix d’Ispahan winner.

Stamina assured

O’Brien said: “The Hardwicke is the plan for Al Riffa. I think close to the mile and a half is fine for him but I’d imagine he’s going to stay further than this too, even though he’s yet to run beyond that so far. We’re looking forward to seeing what he can do at Ascot.”

Long-range odds of 100/1 about The Liffey in Wednesday’s Royal Hunt Cup (5.00pm) from a fortnight or so ago have long since evaporated. O’Brien plundered the Irish Cambridgeshire with an unexposed, four-year-old Coolmore stable switcher in Wigmore Street last year, and this ex-Aidan O’Brien-trained gelding has a similar lightly-raced profile.

Bookmakers are now unwilling to lay any bigger than 8/1 about the recent Listed Owenstown Stud Stakes fourth. He could be well treated off a mark of 98, given he beat the now 110-rated My Mate Alfie in a Curragh maiden, and shrugged aside subsequent Group 3 winner Without Words (now rated 102) at Listowel last summer.

O’Brien said: “I think The Liffey is a progressive horse who looks to be unexposed. He does lack a bit of experience for a race like that but he is quite unexposed.”

Leinster, a decisive handicap winner of a Curragh handicap two starts ago for Al Shira’aa Racing, has been priced up as one of the leading players for the Copper Horse Handicap (6.10pm) on Tuesday, but O’Brien remains on tenterhooks as to whether the recent Chester Cup fourth will sneak in at the foot of the weights.

As for another of the staying handicaps, Bronsan Racing’s Nurburgring looks a fascinating contender in the Ascot Stakes (5.00pm). Clondaw Warrior won this race in 2015 before landing the following year’s Galway Hurdle, and O’Brien’s smart dual-purpose performer is bidding to do the same in reverse, having struck at Ballybrit last summer.

O’Brien said: “The Copper Horse is the plan for Leinster but I’m not sure if he’ll get in as it stands, we’ll have to see closer to the time. I thought Nurburgring ran well in the Irish Cesarewitch last year [when fourth to The Euphrates]. He’s had a National Hunt campaign since then, before a run on the flat at the Curragh on Guineas weekend, and he’ll head for the Ascot Stakes now.”

Versatile squad

It promises to be a busy week for O’Brien, and his first runner of the Royal Meeting is likely to come in Tuesday’s Group 2 Coventry Stakes (3.05).

“We’ll let Andab take his chance in the Coventry,” he said.

“You’d have to be happy with what he did on debut at the Curragh and I thought he ran very well in the Marble Hill [when third to Albert Einstein and Power Blue].”

On some of his other leading hopes for the week, O’Brien added: “I think one of the obvious ones for us heading to Ascot is Saracen in the Jersey Stakes [at 4.20pm on Saturday]. He won on his only start last season at the Curragh and ran very well in the Greenham when third on his first run of the year.

“We’re looking at running Emit in the Group 3 Hampton Court Stakes (5.35pm) on Thursday. It was a mess of a race for him last time in the Gallinule Stakes at the Curragh when the first past the post caused interference for plenty of the others in there.

“Lady With The Lamp has been progressive throughout her recent runs and she goes for the Commonwealth Cup (3.05pm) on Friday. She’s a fast filly and I think she’ll like the ground. She’s a contender in the race. We had Mr Percy entered for the Ascot Stakes but he’ll be trained for the Ebor now after winning [an Ebor trial] at the Curragh last week.”