UK News
Middle East crisis live: Iran’s foreign ministry condemns US seizure of Iranian-linked tankers as ‘piracy and armed robbery’ | US-Israel war on Iran
Iran condemns US seizure of Iranian-linked tankers as ‘piracy and armed robbery’
Iran’s foreign ministry has condemned the US seizure of Iran-linked tankers as the “outright legalization of piracy and armed robbery on the high seas”.
In a post on X, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said:
Welcome to the return of the pirates — only now, they operate with government-issued warrants, sail under official flags, and call their plunder ‘law enforcement.’
The United States must be held fully accountable for this brazenly lawless behavior, which strikes at the heart of international law & international free trade, and threatens the basic principles of maritime security.
Attached to his post was a screenshot of this post from US attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, detailing the US seizure of two tankers “laden with Iranian oil”.
Key events
The day so far
-
Donald Trump met with his national security team on Monday morning to discuss a new Iranian proposal for ending the war, the White House confirmed. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt did not offer an opinion of the proposal, in which the critical strait of Hormuz would be opened and Iran’s nuclear program discussed at a later date. But she said that Trump’s bottom line demands (that Tehran must never have nuclear weapons) “has been made very, very clear”.
-
Trump had earlier said Iran that can telephone if it wants to negotiate an end to the war and that it must agree never to have a nuclear weapon, while Pakistan’s leaders sought to revive the stalled peace talks between Washington and Tehran.
-
Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes on the country’s south killed four people including a woman and wounded 51 others, three of them children, despite the ceasefire, AFP reports. According to an AFP tally of health ministry figures, Israeli strikes have killed at least 40 people in Lebanon since the fragile truce there began on 17 April.
-
Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the US seizure of Iran-linked tankers as the “outright legalization of piracy and armed robbery on the high seas”. In a post on X, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said: “The United States must be held fully accountable for this brazenly lawless behavior, which strikes at the heart of international law & international free trade, and threatens the basic principles of maritime security.”
-
Russian president Vladimir Putin reportedly told Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, that Moscow would do everything it could to help secure peace in the Middle East, as the two met in Russia. “For our part, we will do everything that serves your interests, the interests of all the people of the region, so that peace can be achieved as soon as possible,” Russian state media quoted Putin as telling Araghchi during a meeting in Saint Petersburg on Monday.
-
The head of the UN’s maritime agency said there was “no legal basis” for imposing any fees for ships to pass through the strait of Hormuz. Shipping through the narrow strait has been strangled since the US and Israel attacked Iran in late February.
Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes on the country’s south killed four people including a woman and wounded 51 others, three of them children, despite a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, AFP reports.
According to an AFP tally of health ministry figures, Israeli strikes have killed at least 40 people in Lebanon since the fragile truce there began on April 17.
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent, speaking to the Wall Street Journal, said businesses working with Iranian airlines risk US sanctions.
Iran condemns US seizure of Iranian-linked tankers as ‘piracy and armed robbery’
Iran’s foreign ministry has condemned the US seizure of Iran-linked tankers as the “outright legalization of piracy and armed robbery on the high seas”.
In a post on X, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said:
Welcome to the return of the pirates — only now, they operate with government-issued warrants, sail under official flags, and call their plunder ‘law enforcement.’
The United States must be held fully accountable for this brazenly lawless behavior, which strikes at the heart of international law & international free trade, and threatens the basic principles of maritime security.
Attached to his post was a screenshot of this post from US attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, detailing the US seizure of two tankers “laden with Iranian oil”.
Earlier we brought you comments in which German chancellor Friedrich Merz said he cannot see what exit strategy the United States has in its war with Iran, and warned that “an entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, especially by these so-called Revolutionary Guards”. Here’s the clip.
After Donald Trump said last week that the US Navy was clearing Iranian mines from the strait of Hormuz, Karoline Leavitt was also asked for an update on how many mines had been cleared and for an estimate on how long the process would take.
The White House press secretary deferred twice to the Pentagon and would not be drawn to clarify whether the removal of mines was ongoing.
“Again, I would refer you to the Pentagon on anything with respect to clearing mines in the strait of Hormuz,” she said.
Trump discussed new Iran proposal with national security aides on Monday, White House says
During the White House press briefing a short while ago, Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Donald Trump met with his national security team on Monday morning to discuss a new Iranian proposal for ending the war.
Leavitt did not offer an opinion of the proposal, in which the critical strait of Hormuz would be opened and Iran’s nuclear program discussed at a later date.
But she said that Trump’s bottom line demands (that Tehran must never have nuclear weapons) remain the same.
What I will reiterate is that the president’s red lines with respect to Iran have been made very, very clear, not just to the American public, but also to them as well.
I wouldn’t say they’re considering it. I would just say that there was a discussion this morning that I don’t want to get ahead of, and you’ll hear directly from the president, I’m sure, on this topic.
Stephen Doughty, the UK minister for Europe and North America, said earlier that while the UK is not in favour of the US blockade of Iranian ports, it supports working with the United States and others to reopen the strait of Hormuz.
Speaking ahead of a UN Security Council meeting, Doughty said that Iran is holding “the rest of the world to ransom”.
Maritime traffic must flow safely and unimpeded through the strait, he said in comments reported by the Associated Press , “and that includes no tolls, no security risk and, of course, adherence to the international laws on freedom of navigation”.
He later said in a statement to the council:
This crisis is not just affecting international shipping, it is driving up costs and sending shockwaves throughout energy markets and supply chains far beyond the region with impact for all of our citizens, our communities and their cost of living.
So, we must get the strait reopened fully and unconditionally.
Freedom of navigation must be restored, in line with international law. Shipping and seafarers must not be used as leverage, and there is no place for tolls or permissions in international straits.
Freedom of navigation means navigation must be free.
Throughout this crisis, the UK has been clear: Iran must not be able to hold the global economy hostage or indeed threaten regional and international security.
The day so far
-
Donald Trump has said Iran can telephone if it wants to negotiate an end to the war and that it must agree never to have a nuclear weapon, while Pakistan’s leaders have sought to revive the stalled peace talks between Washington and Tehran.
-
Iran is offering to end its chokehold on the strait of Hormuz without addressing its nuclear program, two regional officials with knowledge of the proposal said Monday. It comes as the country’s foreign minister made a visit to Russia he said was an opportunity to consult with Moscow regarding the war against Israel and the United States.
-
The head of the UN’s maritime agency said Monday there was “no legal basis” for imposing any fees for ships to pass through the strait of Hormuz. Shipping through the narrow strait has been strangled since the US and Israel attacked Iran in late February.
-
Lebanese president Joseph Aoun said Monday that direct negotiations with Israel were aimed at ending the conflict with Hezbollah, while accusing those who drew Lebanon into war of “treason” in an implicit rebuke to the Iran-backed armed group. “My goal is to reach an end to the state of war with Israel, similar to the armistice agreement” of 1949, Aoun said in a statement, adding that “I assure you that I will not accept reaching a humiliating agreement”.
-
Russian president Vladimir Putin has reportedly told Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, that Moscow would do everything it could to help secure peace in the Middle East, as the two met in Russia. “For our part, we will do everything that serves your interests, the interests of all the people of the region, so that peace can be achieved as soon as possible,” Russian state media quoted Putin as telling Araghchi during a meeting in Saint Petersburg on Monday.
-
Iran’s foreign minister said the Islamic republic was “stable, solid” during a meeting in Russia with president Vladimir Putin, according to Russian state TV. Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said due to the war with the United States and Israel, “the world has now realised Iran’s true power” and “it has become clear that the Islamic republic of Iran is a stable, solid and powerful system”, he said in the meeting in Saint Petersburg.
-
Iran’s armed forces would be the authority responsible for the strait of Hormuz under the country’s proposed law for managing the waterway, a top official said on Monday. Ebrahim Azizi, head of the national security commission in Iran’s parliament, told state television that the armed forces were already in control of the strait and were seeking to prohibit the passage of “hostile vessels”.
-
France’s top diplomat said Iran must be ready to make “major concessions” in talks to end a crisis triggered by the attack by the United States and Israel. “There can be no lasting solution to this crisis unless the Iranian regime agrees to major concessions and a radical shift in its stance,” foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot told a UN Security Council session.
-
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz warned Monday that Hezbollah’s defiance would bring catastrophic consequences for Lebanon, after the militant group’s leader rejected proposed direct talks between Israel and Lebanon. “Naim Qassem is playing with fire, and the fire will burn Hezbollah and all of Lebanon… If the Lebanese government continues to take cover under the wing of the Hezbollah terrorist organisation – fire will break out and engulf the cedars of Lebanon,” Katz told UN envoy to Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, according to a statement issued by his office.
-
The Israeli military on Monday said it had begun hitting Hezbollah positions in Lebanon’s Bekaa region, amid a ceasefire that began earlier this month. “The IDF has begun to strike Hezbollah infrastructure sites in the Bekaa valley and in additional areas across southern Lebanon,” it said in a brief statement on social media.
-
Lebanese president Joseph Aoun said Monday that direct negotiations with Israel were aimed at ending the conflict with Hezbollah, while accusing those who drew Lebanon into war of “treason” in an implicit rebuke to the Iran-backed armed group. “My goal is to reach an end to the state of war with Israel, similar to the armistice agreement” of 1949, Aoun said in a statement, adding that “I assure you that I will not accept reaching a humiliating agreement”.
France’s top diplomat said Iran must be ready to make “major concessions” in talks to end a crisis triggered by the attack by the United States and Israel.
“There can be no lasting solution to this crisis unless the Iranian regime agrees to major concessions and a radical shift in its stance,” foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot told a UN Security Council session.
UN maritime agency rejects Hormuz tolls
The head of the UN’s maritime agency said Monday there was “no legal basis” for imposing any fees for ships to pass through the strait of Hormuz.
Shipping through the narrow strait has been strangled since the US and Israel attacked Iran in late February.
Iran has sealed off the passage, sharply cutting oil and gas flows and sending prices soaring, while the US has blockaded Iranian ports. Tehran has also said it wants to impose transit fees as part of any lasting peace deal.
“There’s no legal basis for the introduction of any tax, any customs, or any fees for on straits for international navigation,” IMO secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez said at a press conference.
Iran’s armed forces would have authority over the key shipping lane under the country’s proposed law for managing the waterway, a top official said Monday.
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz warned Monday that Hezbollah’s defiance would bring catastrophic consequences for Lebanon, after the militant group’s leader rejected proposed direct talks between Israel and Lebanon.
“Naim Qassem is playing with fire, and the fire will burn Hezbollah and all of Lebanon… If the Lebanese government continues to take cover under the wing of the Hezbollah terrorist organisation – fire will break out and engulf the cedars of Lebanon,” Katz told UN envoy to Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, according to a statement issued by his office.
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said on Monday that Tehran was looking into US president Donald Trump’s request for negotiations, according to a post on the minister’s Telegram account.
He told reporters in Russia that Trump requested negotiations because the US has not achieved any of its objectives.
Trump scrapped a visit to Islamabad by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for talks on ending the conflict and said Iran could telephone if it wanted to negotiate.
Iran’s foreign minister said the Islamic republic was “stable, solid” during a meeting in Russia with president Vladimir Putin, according to Russian state TV.
Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said due to the war with the United States and Israel, “the world has now realised Iran’s true power” and “it has become clear that the Islamic republic of Iran is a stable, solid and powerful system”, he said in the meeting in Saint Petersburg.
He added that Russia had stood by Iran and the two countries would continue their “strategic partnership”.
We have some more comments from Vladimir Putin’s meeting in Russia with the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi (see post at 14.37 for more details).
“Last week I received a message from Iran’s supreme leader. I would like to ask you to convey my most sincere thanks for this and to confirm that Russia, like Iran, intends to continue our strategic relationship,” Putin told Araghchi, according to Russian state media.
Sitting across from Putin, Araghchi was quoted as having said: “We have proven to the whole world that Iran maintains good allies and friends like the Russian Federation.”
“We thank you for your firm and unshaken position in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Bahrain has revoked the citizenship of 69 people and their families for “expressing support for Iranian attacks”, according to the Gulf country’s interior ministry.
Iran’s foreign minister meets Vladimir Putin in Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly told Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, that Moscow would do everything it could to help secure peace in the Middle East, as the two met in Russia.
“For our part, we will do everything that serves your interests, the interests of all the people of the region, so that peace can be achieved as soon as possible,” Russian state media quoted Putin as telling Araghchi during a meeting in Saint Petersburg on Monday.
Russia and Iran, both subject to tough western sanctions, have become increasingly close in recent years. Moscow has provided diplomatic cover for Iran at the UN, as well as intelligence, according to reports.
Araghchi’s diplomatic visit to Russia follows recent stops in Pakistan and Oman, which have acted as mediators between Iran and the US. The Iranian foreign minister earlier said the US’s excessive demands caused negotiations to fail in Islamabad.
The Mehr news agency is reporting that a wave of intense Israeli attacks have hit southern and eastern Lebanon despite the ceasefire.
Israel, which claims it is striking Hezbollah operatives and sites even though it is killing many civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure, was given extremely wide scope by the wording of the agreement that permits it the “right to take all necessary measures in self-defence, at any time, against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks”.
The ceasefire deal, which took effect on 16 April and was extended by three weeks last Thursday, was agreed between Israel and the Lebanese state, not Hezbollah, the Iranian backed Lebanese militant group and political party.
In its latest update, the Lebanese health ministry said since 2 March Israeli attacks have killed at least 2,509 people, including many women and children.
The renewed Israeli war on Lebanon started when Hezbollah launched missiles at Israel on 2 March after the US-Israeli bombing of Iran, triggering an Israeli aerial assault, invasion and continuing occupation of Israeli troops in some of Lebanon’s territory.
Iran’s armed forces would be the authority responsible for the strait of Hormuz under the country’s proposed law for managing the waterway, a top official said on Monday.
Ebrahim Azizi, head of the national security commission in Iran’s parliament, told state television that the armed forces were already in control of the strait and were seeking to prohibit the passage of “hostile vessels”.
Azizi also said the proposed law states that financial gains from the strait should be paid in the local rial currency.
Forwarder, a Russian-flagged ship which left port in Primorsk last week, entered the Channel on Wednesday evening.
Source link
Key events
Greg Wood
Gosden and O’Brien rivalry crackles in Gold Cup
The rivalry between top trainers John Gosden and Aidan O’Brien is a long way short of a feud – “Aidan and I are big rivals”, Gosden said on Wednesday, “but we get on and we tease each other a lot. There’s no harm in that and it’s a little bit of banter.”
But it still makes for an interesting undercurrent as Gosden’s Trawlerman, bidding to become only the second eight-year-old winner since 1900, takes on the up-and-coming Scandinavia, last year’s St Leger winner, in the feature event of the week.
Gosden’s “teasing” has included frequent references to the big teams of runners that Ballydoyle sends to many Group Ones, and when O’Brien suggested last autumn that he would love to see Ombudsman, the winner of Wednesday’s Prince of Wales’s Stakes, line up for the Irish Champion Stakes, Gosden responded that his stable star would not “appreciate running against multiple entries from one stable on a track with a short straight.”
The possibility that Ballydoyle was employing “team tactics” with its runners was also highlighted after Tuesday’s St James’s Palace Stakes, when Christophe Soumillon, on the O’Brien second-string, Puerto Rico, picked up an eight-day ban for riding “in a manner to benefit” his stable companion and second-favourite, Gstaad.
There is little chance of a dust-up over tactics in the Gold Cup, however, as Scandinavia is O’Brien’s only runner in the race and Trawlerman is likely to make his own running. The regular to-and-fro between the two trainers, though, will add extra spice to the closing stages if Trawlerman and Scandinavia are duking it out in the final furlong.
Greg Wood
6.10 BUCKINGHAM PALACE STAKES HANDICAP preview
The money is all for runners in high-numbered stalls in the finale, and that’s hardly surprising given the way that races on the straight course have been unfolding this week. Jack Channon’s Mezcala, in stall 30, is currently a narrow favourite and remains feasibly handicapped dropping back to seven furlongs from a mile, while Cosi Bello (26) was a bit better than his narrow winning margin might imply at Haydock last time and also has form in a big field on this course. Elerak, highest of all in 31, is also attracting support to give Billy Loughnane another winner at the meeting, while Blue Brother, unraced since suffering all manner of bad luck when fancied for the Hunt Cup here last summer, is another fascinating contender from stall 28.
Timeform top-rated: Dance In The Storm
SELECTION: BLUE BROTHER
Greg Wood
5.35 HAMPTON COURT STAKES preview
Not the loftiest event on the Royal Ascot schedule by any means, but still an interesting contest for three-year-olds that are just below the top rung, for the moment at least, and it occasionally highlights a colt on the way to better things. Endorsement, the Aidan O’Brien-trained favourite, was still engaged in the Derby until quite late in the day, and drops back to 10 furlongs having skated up in a Listed race over a mile-and-a-half just a fortnight ago. Maho Bay too was seen as a possible for a run in the Derby until blotting his copy book by finishing fourth behind Maltese Cross in the Lingfield Derby Trial, but the winner there went on to finish second at Epsom and so the form may well be better than it seems. The list of Derby trial disappointments also includes Morshdi, fifth in the Dante, while Oxagon, the Craven Stakes winner in April, has failed to build on that in two runs since, though the latest was admittedly a Classic as he finished 12th of 16 in the French Derby at Chantilly. Generic, meanwhile, was seven lengths behind Constitution River – surely the best three-year-old colt seen out this year – in the Dee Stakes at Chester, having only started his racing career in March, and will also be bang there on that form with only marginal improvement.
Timeform top-rated: Endorsement.
SELECTION: GENERIC
Greg Wood
4.50 BRITANNIA STAKES preview
This straight-mile handicap for three-year-olds is, for me at least, the toughest Royal Ascot test of them all from a betting point of view – looking down the list of previous winners, I’m fairly sure that Perotto, in 2021, is the only winner I’ve had this century – and this year’s renewal looks as competitive as always. It looks as though I’ve managed to find the favourite, though, as David Marnane’s Jamestown has attracted plenty of support this morning, and has both the high draw and the run style that you need to be looking for on the straight course this week. A list of dangerous opponents is effectively everything else – even the 80-1 shot Winding Stream is within 7lb of the top-rated horse on Timeform’s numbers and was racing in Group company last time – but We’re Goosers is sure to be popular as a result of his nine-and-a-half length win last time, and so too Organise, from the John & Thady Gosden yard, who was touched off in a well-run race last time and sports first-time cheekpieces today. Moonfall, an eye-catcher at Chester in May, and Exclusive Code, the winner of a big-field maiden at Newbury, are also on the short-list, but frankly, your guess is as good as mine.
Timeform top-rated: We’re Goosers.
SELECTION: JAMESTOWN
An inaugural “Royal Ascot colour of the year” has been introduced this year, and on Gold Cup day guests were encouraged to wear their best “bright tomato” shade as part of the dress code. This chap got the memo.
Oddschecker market movers
Greg Wood
4.15 GOLD CUP preview
The staying division is currently missing a truly “public” horse like the three-time winner, Stradivarius, but Trawlerman, last year’s winner, will be a stern test for the posse of four-year-olds in this year’s Gold Cup field that could conceivably run up a sequence over the next few years if all goes well. The list is headed by Aidan O’Brien’s Scandinavia, last year’s St Leger winner, who arrives in Berkshire looking for a sixth straight success, while Rahiebb and Carmers, second and fifth at Doncaster, are also looking to establish themselves as Cup horses with a win in the most prestigious staying event of them all. Other live runners include Al Riffa, last season’s Irish St Leger winner, for the Joseph O’Brien stable, and George Scott’s Caballo De Mar, a Group One winner over two miles in France last time out. My idea of the best bet in the race, though, is Carmers, on the basis that Trawlerman missed his intended prep race in May and may be slightly short of his best, while Paddy Twomey’s runner – who beat both Scandinavia and Rahiebb in the Queen’s Vase here last summer – has as much chance as either of his fellow four-year-olds of finding the necessary improvement stepping up to two-and-a-half miles.
Timeform top-rated: Trawlerman
SELECTION: CARMERS
Royal Ascot Procession List
1st Carriage
The King
The Queen
The Earl of Snowdon
Ms Isabelle de la Bruyère
2nd Carriage
The Princess Royal
Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence
The Duke of Edinburgh
The Duchess of Edinburgh
3rd Carriage
Princess Zahra Aga Khan
HH Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah al-Thani
Mrs Zara Tindall
Mr Willie Mullins
4th Carriage
Lord Cavendish
Lady Cavendish
Mr Stanley Tucci
Ms Felicity Blunt
Stanley Tucci is in the carriages today. An acclaimed actor, of course, he’s also well known for his cooking so perhaps he helped with luncheon at Windsor Castle to which the carriage guests are invited before their trip down the track. Now you know why the racing doesn’t start till 2.30pm!
Andrew is innocent!
I know you would miss the regular royal spot ahead of the Royal Procession list announcement at noon if we didn’t share some and today’s concerns Lady Victoria Hervey who has arrived at the races today. For those unawarer she’s a British socialite and former model who dated Prince Andrew (now Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor) briefly in 1999. Throughout the fallout from his associations with Jeffrey Epstein, she has remained one of the prince’s most vocal defenders. In an interview with LBC in February, not only did she admit to being named in the Epstein files herself, but branded anyone who wasn’t as a “loser”. With friends like this …
Greg Wood
3.40 RIBBLESDALE STAKES preview
Sound the stat klaxon, it’s time for the one about Oaks runners in the Ribblesdale as Legacy Link attempts to win Ascot’s Group Two for three-year-old fillies having run in the Epsom Classic last time out. A total of 33 fillies have lined up for this race after running in the Oaks since 2010 and just two have won, with the list of beaten runners including three favourites and seven more that set off at 5-1 or shorter. It is a big ask, in other words, and Legacy Link, the Epsom runner-up behind impressive winner Thundering On, will deserve huge credit if she can pull it off on what will be her third start in just over a month. Earth Shot and French challenger Gilded Prize are the likeliest opponents to give her something to think about, and while neither managed to win last time out, both look sure to blossom over this trip. And there is a royal runner to look out for too, although Golden Orbit, a home-bred daughter of Sea The Stars who was a beaten favourite last time, is friendless in the market at 33-1 and the first-time blinkers will need to spark serious improvement.
Timeform top-rated: Legacy Link
SELECTION: EARTH SHOT
Greg Wood
3.05 KING GEORGE V STAKES HANDICAP preview
Plenty of future Group-race winners have won this handicap for three-year-olds in the past, and plenty have been beaten in it too, as it is a race that generally throws up a hard luck story or three. All but a handful of the 19 runners have shown enough promise already to be credible winners if they continue to progress, with Charlie Appleby’s Into the Light,Heyzoom (Owen Burrows) and Tierra Del Toro (Ralph Beckett) probably the most obvious names to note, alongside Joseph O’Brien’s Enceladus, with Ryan Moore booked to ride in the absence of a runner from the trainer’s dad’s stable. O’Brien jnr is having a stormer of a meeting so far, and was tied with O’Brien snr on three winners at the top of the trainers’ table after day two, and Enceladus is one of four from the stable in this race, including Cannes, the favourite, who got off the mark at the third attempt at Leopardstown in May. Heyzoom posted an excellent winning time when successful over 10 furlongs at Newbury last time, while Into The Light has been narrowly beaten on his last two starts but was given a lot to do by William Buick over a two-furlong shorter trip last time.
Timeform top-rated: Heyzoom.
SELECTION: HEYZOOM
2.30 CHESHAM STAKES preview
Aidan O’Brien’s first chance of the afternoon to get the one winner he needs to be the first trainer to a century at Royal Ascot comes via his colts Aix La Chapelle and second-string South Dakota, in a race that he has won five times in the last decade. Aix La Chapelle looked very rough around the edges on his debut at the Curragh just a fortnight ago but still ran out an easy winner and should find plenty for the experience. He is drawn in stall five, though, which is less than ideal on the evidence from the straight course over the first two days. Another leading Irish-trained runner, Fozzy Stack’s Nola Soul, also overcame greenness to win on debut and could give the favourite plenty to think about, while George Scott’s Sea Venture found all the trouble going on her first start over six furlongs before showing a smart turn of foot to win with plenty to spare. As a daughter of the Derby winner, Sea The Stars, she looks certain to improve for the extra furlong today.
Timeform top-rated: Aix La Chapelle
SELECTION: SEA VENTURE
Going to start putting up some previews of the day’s action from our racing correspondent and tipster Greg Wood, who is currently leading the national press challenge in the Racing Post.
Good morning. It was overcast this morning but no precipitation so the going for day three of Royal Ascot is: Good to Firm and there’s very little between the different sides of the track.
GoingStick readings at 8.30am:
Stands’ side: 8.8
Centre: 8.7
Far side: 8.7
Round course: 7.5
We have one non-runners so far so cross this off your list of possible wagers …
4.50pm Britannia Stakes: 16 Bobby McGee (vet’s certificate – temperature)
Preamble
Good morning from Ascot on the third morning of the Royal meeting 2026 – Gold Cup day – where Aidan O’Brien is poised to become the first trainer to saddle a century of winners at Flat racing’s showpiece event, having moved to 99 with a winner in the first race on Wednesday.
There are more races to aim at these days than there were in the era when the late Sir Henry Cecil racked up what was, at the time, a record 75 winners, and while the Sir Michael Stoute was active well into the five-day Ascot era and had saddled 82 by the time of his recent retirement, O’Brien’s record is still an astonishing achievement, even by the standards of the pre-eminent trainer of the last 25 years.
He has a total of seven runners on today’s card as he looks to reach three figures, including Scandinavia, the somewhat uneasy favourite, in the Gold Cup at 4.15 and opening up with Aix La Chapelle in the Chesham Stakes at 2.30.
Scandinavia’s main Gold Cup rival, according to the betting at least, is last year’s winner, Trawlerman, and there is now less than a point between them in the betting. Elsewhere on the day three card, the Oaks form gets an early test as Legacy Link, the Epsom runner-up, lines up for the Ribblesdale Stakes (3.40) just two weeks on from her big run in the Classic, while the Britannia Handicap at 4.50 could well turn out to be the most competitive event of the entire meeting – just two of the 30 runners are currently on offer at single-figure odds.
Another 5mm of water was applied overnight to maintain the going at good-to-firm, thoughts on possible winners are here, and the action is underway at 2.30 on what could be a historic day at Royal Ascot. One hundred is only a number, but it’s an impressive number all the same.
The Bank last cut interest rates in December but upheaval in the Middle East has stalled any further reductions.
Source link
-
UK News4 weeks agoEx-minister Shapps quits aerospace firm over rule concerns
-
Crime & Safety4 weeks agoRyan Bridge speaks of London arrest after Oxford incident
-
Oxford News3 weeks agoOxfordshire families invited to free day of fun in Bicester
-
UK News4 weeks agoRussian threats against Baltics ‘unacceptable’ and danger to ‘our entire union’, EU’s von der Leyen says – Europe live | Europe
-
Oxford Events4 weeks agoSalon Privé 2026 unveils first concours entries led by one-off 1952 Ferrari once owned by Juan Perón
-
Crime & Safety3 weeks agoPhotos as 1979 Pontiac Firebird ‘bursts in flames’ at Tesco
-
Business & Technology3 weeks agoNew ‘high-quality’ mushroom business launched in Oxford
-
Crime & Safety4 weeks agoNew video call system to help domestic abuse victims