Heading into his final Royal Ascot, Frankie Dettori has landed the plum ride on last year's Derby winner Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) in the G1 Prince of Wales's S.
Richard Kingscote has ridden the Sir Michael Stoute-trained colt in all four of his starts to date, including his seasonal resumption when second to Hukum (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in the G3 Brigadier Gerard S. Kingscote is unlikely to be without a big-name partner in the race, however, as he is the intended rider for Bay Bridge (GB) on whom he won the G1 QIPCO Champion S.
Breaking the news on the Nick Luck Daily podcast, Bruce Raymond, racing manager to Desert Crown's owner Saeed Suhail, said, “For [the owner], Desert Crown winning this race is all important and while Frankie is around, because he's not going to be around next year, he wants to give the horse every chance. He believes that Frankie is unbeatable around Ascot. It's no disgrace for Richard at all. It happens, it's not the end of the world, and obviously Richard is hoping he can beat him on the other horse.”
Asked by Nick Luck is Kingscote will regain the ride if Dettori is unavailable for future targets, Raymond added, “I'm sure he'll be riding him. Obviously Ryan Moore is Michael Stoute's number one jockey, but it is hard to get him for these big races, and it's better to have the jockey that you know riding the horse than anybody else. I'm sure he'll be back on the horse should Frankie not be able to ride.”
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