This year's Hampton Court Stakes (1m2f) is another strong renewal with Drumroll heading the market for the Aiden O'Brien team.
The Group 3 Hampton Court Stakes (1m2f) is always a classy three-year-old contest, and this year looks no different. It was Claymore who took the spoils last year for the Jane Chapple-Hyam team, narrowly holding on to beat the late efforts of Reach For The Moon racing in the Royal colours of His Majesty the King and Queen.
This year Drumroll heads the market for Aiden O'Brien, who is the leading trainer in the race with four previous victories. This son of Deep Impact was unraced at two and made his racecourse debut in March winning a competitive maiden at Navan. He reappeared in Listed company at the beginning of May and finished second behind stablemate Paddington, the impressive winner of the St James's Palace Stakes on Tuesday.
Torito is one of three runners in the races for the John and Thady Gosden team, who also saddle Epictetus and Tony Montana. This son of Kingman was most recently seen at Epsom on Derby Day, when winning the Lester Piggott Handicap in fine style. Benoit De La Sayette took the ride for the first time that day, and has been booked again.
The second of three Gosden runners is Epictetus, the mount of Frankie Dettori. He finished fifth in the Dante Stakes in May, before taking the trip over to Chantilly to run in the Prix Du Jockey Club, where he was a far from disgraced fifth. Whilst he will have to improve on that performance to be successful here, he is far from out of the equation.
Further down the field, Caernarfon for the Jack Channon stable is an interesting inclusion. She made her seasonal reappearance in the 1000 Guineas finishing fourth and then targeted at the Epsom Oaks where once again she outran her odds to finish third. She is a shorter price for this contest and can go close again given she presents some of the strongest form in the field.
Bold Act, the Godolphin runner for Charlie Appleby, is also worth noting. Having won four of his first five starts, he ran in the Listed Fielden Stakes in April finishing fifth. He was gelded following this race and placed second in the London Gold Cup at Newbury on his only subsequent start. He should improve from that run and could be a big danger to the favourite.
The unexposed and unbeaten Bolster is worth consideration. This son of Invincible Spirit made just one start as a two-year-old, which was a comfortable novice stakes win. He made his reappearance earlier this month at Windsor winning by a wide margin to earn his place in this field. Whilst it is a substantial step up in grade, it is one merited by his previous performances.
Wherever you look in this 16-runner field, it is filled with class and it looks set to be a high-class renewal of the Hampton Court Stakes once again.
