ROSALLION SET FOR SUSSEX STAKES JOY

Paul Ferguson looks at way ahead for Royal Ascot's star turns

Three-year-olds have won 10 of the past 16 runnings of the Group 1 Sussex Stakes and the feature on day two of Glorious Goodwood can go the way of Richard Hannon's Rosallion.

Hannon's father - Richard (snr) won the Sussex with similar types in recent years, with Canford Cliffs (2010) and Toronado (2013) both speedy milers. The former actually boasts a similar profile to Rosallion as he had finished third in the Guineas at Newmarket before winning the Irish equivalent and the St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot. Rosallion finished runner-up at Newmarket before winning at the Curragh and showed a fine turn of foot to rundown Henry Longfellow at Ascot.

Although he was a winner on good-to-soft as a juvenile, the Blue Point colt looked even more potent on a quicker surface and the track at Goodwood should be right up his street, as it tends to suit a hold-up performer with a turn of foot. Provided that the ground isn't too bad (who knows in that regard, given the so-called 'summer' which we are enduring at present) it will be a shock if he can't confirm the form and strike another blow for the Classic generation.

One horse who was less lucky at Royal Ascot was King's Gambit, who was the subject of strong support ahead of the Group 3 Hampton Court Stakes. An impressive winner of the London Gold Cup (handicap) at Newbury the time before, he proved himself as being up to pattern-class level despite going down by less than a length. Quite slowly into stride, he found himself at the back of the field from an early stage and was still just about last as the field turned for home.