Royal Ascot 2022 opened with a bang when Shadwell Estate Co Ltd’s BAAEED (GB) lived up to his billing as the top-rated horse on turf in the world to extend his perfect record to eight in the Queen Anne Stakes (G1) and secured a guaranteed starting position in the US$2 million FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) through the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series: Win and You’re In.

Other major winners on day 1 of the prestigious meeting included Rod Lyons, Patrick Harrison, Peter Kean et al’s NATURE STRIP (AUS) who turned a clash of hemispheres into a heavily one-sided affair as he sprinted away with the King’s Stand Stakes (G1) at Royal Ascot to secure a guaranteed start in the US$1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1).
Lyons said the long-range plan for Nature Strip is to win the Everest for a second time in at Royal Randwick in Sydney, though in the immediate term, he is still entered in Saturday’s 6-furlong Platinum Jubilee Stakes (G1) at Royal Ascot.

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