IN some respects, it felt as though Royal Ascot 2025 was a meeting that showed the sport’s top heights can be scaled without spending a fortune.

Queen Anne Stakes stunner Docklands kicked off the meeting in some style and cost just £16,000 as a yearling. In the week of a lifetime for his trainer Harry Eustace, the capable young handler also cracked the Commonwealth Cup with a €35,000 yearling buy in the shape of Time For Sandals.