Lion in the Running for Duke of Cambridge defence

Last year’s winner Running Lion will face a maximum of 10 rivals when she bids for back-to-back victories in the Duke of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot on Wednesday.
John and Thady Gosden’s mare was an emphatic winner of the Group Two contest 12 months ago and rounded off her campaign by finishing second to stablemate Friendly Soul in the Prix de l’Opera.
She has not quite reached those heights so far this term, but a runner-up finish in Listed company at Haydock last time was a step in the right direction.
The Gosdens could also be represented by Crimson Advocate and Rainbows Edge, who won a handicap at the track last month in the royal colours and interestingly looks set to be ridden by Ryan Moore.
Cinderella’s Dream, who was an emphatic winner of the Dahlia Stakes at Newmarket in the spring for Charlie Appleby, and George Boughey’s high-class filly Soprano, who won the Sandringham at Royal Ascot last year and returns on the back of Listed success, are also in the mix.
Hot favourite Zelaina is one of 29 juvenile fillies in contention for the opening Queen Mary Stakes.
A £650,000 breeze-up purchase, the daughter of Mehmas made a huge impression on her competitive debut at Nottingham earlier in the month and is a warm order to follow up at Group Two level in the Wathnan Racing silks.
Other once-raced winners in contention for the five-furlong contest include Patrick Biancone’s American challenger Lennilu, Ralph Beckett’s course-and-distance winner Society Kiss and George Scott’s impressive Yarmouth scorer Staya.
The Beckett-trained Amiloc heads 20 entries for the Group Two Queen’s Vase.
The three-year-old is unbeaten in four starts to date, most recently landing the Listed Cocked Hat Stakes at Goodwood, and now looks set to step up to a mile and three-quarters for the first time.
Roger Varian’s My Cloud is one of the leading fancies for the Royal Hunt Cup and is one of 72 to stand their ground for the fiercely-competitive handicap at the confirmation stage.
There are 31 and 50 entries for the Kensington Palace and Windsor Castle Stakes respectively.