ON a weekend when royalty will be the overriding theme whichever way you look, Naas will present perhaps a more exciting royal angle when it hosts a Royal Ascot trials-branded card.

Not all trials days do exactly what they say on the tin but with a Group 3 and three listed races, there are a number of Royal Ascot tickets up for grabs. Here are three horses who could earn that royal ticket, not to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding, but one of the hottest events on the flat racing calendar.

1. SERGEI PROKOFIEV

Race: Listed Coolmore War Command Rochestown Stakes

Possible Royal Ascot target: Coventry Stakes

Aidan O’Brien having the favourite for the Coventry Stakes at this time of year can go into the death and taxes category. Basically, Ascot is on the cards for any O’Brien juvenile maiden winner and as of now, the most impressive has been Sergei Prokofiev. A son of Scat Daddy, he left his debut second at Dundalk behind with a seven-length trouncing of previous Naas maiden winner Pride Of Pimlico at Navan last month. The bare form might be hard to weigh up but the time isn’t. He was just over a second slower than the older horses’ listed race won by Primo Uomo over the same course and distance on the same card. For a juvenile, that is impressive in anyone’s book and so he will likely be the one to beat if he lines up in Sunday’s Rochestown Stakes. Of course there are others to consider, like another O’Brien son of Scat Daddy, impressive second-time-out winner Van Beethoven. And you have recent Curragh winner Dandy Ocean. But Sergei Prokofiev will be a short price if he lines up and if he wins he’ll be shorter price, than he is currently, for the Coventry on the first day of the royal meeting next month.

2. FAIRYLAND

Race: Listed Coolmore Stud Irish EBF Fillies’ Sprint Stakes

Possible Royal Ascot target: Albany Stakes

Aidan O’Brien had 75 individual juvenile runners run in Ireland last year. Only seven of them won on their racecourse debut. The likes of Clemmie, Magical, Happily, Gustav Klimt, U S Navy Flag and Sioux Nation all failed to win on their first outing. For that reason, it’s very interesting that two of the three fillies O’Brien has entered in the Coolmore Stud Irish EBF Sprint Stakes would be taking their chance in the race after a debut win - Fairyland and So Perfect. Of the pair, Fairyland looks to hold stronger claims. She is a course and distance winner and in a direct form line through Jim Bolger’s Mater Matuta, should hold sway over her aforementioned stablemate. Alpha Centauri took this race last season on her way to finishing second in the Albany Stakes at Ascot, and Fairyland is likely to follow the same route.

3. SPEAK IN COLOURS

Race: Group 3 Goffs Lacken Stakes

Possible Royal Ascot target: Commonwealth Cup

With regard to the Lacken Stakes, the Committed Stakes, run at Navan last month, could hold the key form as the first four home in that listed event are set to reconvene. At Navan there were five lengths between the first and second, The Broghie Man and Speak In Colours, to the third and fourth, Fleet Review and Sioux Nation. Continuing the theme of assuming improvement from O’Brien runners on their second run, you can expect better from both Fleet Review and Sioux Nation, who both reached a high level last season. But can they bridge the five-length gap? I’m not so sure. Speak In Colours only failed by a short head to run down The Broghie Man but it was just his fourth ever run and his first for Joseph O’Brien. He has bundles of scope to improve now, compared to his Navan conqueror who ran seven times last season. Going forward, Speak In Colours, who was trained by Marco Botti last season, is already a winner at Ascot over the Commonwealth Cup distance. Win on Sunday and he’d be a very interesting contender for that race.

Full Naas entries can be viewed here

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