“IT has to be Brave for Royal Ascot” was my rather bold statement after Comanche Brave (Wootton Bassett) won the Weatherbys-sponsored (for the 32nd time), six-furlong Group 2 Greenlands Stakes at the Curragh on Guineas weekend. He was heading for the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes where he finished seventh of the 18 runners, less than three lengths behind the winner, Almeraq.

Comanche Brave had been to Ascot a year before, and in 2025 was third in the seven-furlong Group 3 Jersey Stakes, a race that was won by his dam Ishvana (Holy Roman Emperor) more than a decade earlier. That Curragh win was the only blacktype victory for the four-year-old colt, until last Saturday, He is a Group 1 winner following his defeat of Venetian Sun in the July Cup, and is likely to tackle some of the world’s premier sprints.