Ascot Introduces Trials Day For Season Opener

[Wandering Eyes]

Ascot racecourse has announced that its first meeting of the year, to be run on May 1 and formerly known as Sagaro Stakes Raceday, will be rebranded as Royal Ascot Trials Day.

The first race on the card, a five-furlong contest for 2-year-olds, will be free to enter and will be known as The Royal Ascot Two-Year-Old Conditions Stakes with a prize fund of £14,000. The winner of the race will also be given free entry to any of the six juvenile races at the Royal meeting.

The six-furlong G3 Pavilion S., worth £80,000 and won two years ago by Blue Point (Ire) (Shamardal), has also had a makeover and will become known as the Merriebelle Stable Commonwealth Cup Trial Stakes, recognising its importance as a trial for the G1 Commonwealth Cup, which was introduced to the Royal Ascot programme in 2015. Blue Point was third in the Commonwealth Cup in 2017 before winning last year’s G1 King’s Stand S.

The two-mile G3 Longines Sagaro S., which is also a qualifying race for the Weatherbys Hamilton Stayers’ Million, is now officially identified as a Gold Cup trial, while the listed Paradise S. over a mile is considered a trial for the G1 Queen Anne S. on the opening day of Royal Ascot. In total, there will be £227,600 in prize-money on offer for the seven races on the day.

“We’re really excited about developing our first Flat meeting of the season into a Royal Ascot Trials Day,” said Nick Smith, Ascot’s Director of Racing and Communications.

“It is a high-quality day of racing which regularly attracts some of the current and future stars of the Flat season and framing it as a genuine Trials Day will help to promote and enhance the day for horsemen, racegoers, sponsors and partners.

“There is huge potential for the day to grow and we especially hope that the Royal Ascot Two-Year-Old Trial will prove popular, offering connections clear incentives to run their horses here and gain valuable experience at the track ahead of Royal Ascot in June.”

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