Frankie Dettori will ride Denis Hogan’s sprinting star Sceptical when he steps into Group 1 company for the first time in the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot next Tuesday.
Joey Sheridan, a 7lb claimer, partnered Sceptical – now rated 116 – to an impressive victory in the Woodlands Stakes at Naas on Monday,but is ineligible to ride in the King’s Stand.
Hogan, on the mark with Boughtinthedark in Navan yesterday, said: “It’s unfortunate Joey can’t ride the horse. But it was great that a lot of the top jockeys in England have been ringing. Frankie was first in and we’re delighted to have him on board.”
Skeptical, who cost just £2,800, has now won his last four starts.
Only 13 stood their ground for the King’s Stand at yesterday’s forfeit stage, with Aidan O’Brien’s Sergei Prokofiev, well beaten behind Sceptical in Naas, and the Darren Bunyantrained Hit The Bid the other Irish-trained entries hoping to get the better of Charlie Hills-trained Battaash, who has finished second in this race for the last two years and will be looking to go one further next week.
Elsewhere, O’Brien has left both Circus Maximus, winner of the St James’ Palace Stakes last year, and Lancaster House in the Group 1 Queen Anne.
Also on Tuesday, Ballydoyle’s leading Derby contender Mogul is expected to make his seasonal debut in the Group 2 King Edward VII Stakes, in which O’Brien can also chose from Arthur’s Kingdom, Derrinstown winner Cormorant, Nobel Prize, Santiago and Serpentine.
