Ascot races today turned to the closing run of Royal Ascot 2026 with the 5.35 Golden Gates Stakes Handicap and a last historic handicap that had 27 runners due to go to post. Daniel Lismore also arrived at the races, adding a public-facing edge to a card built around big fields and close betting calls.
The Golden Gates brought a straight choice between Lost Boys and Sahara King. Lost Boys was the market favourite, but James Doyle said Sahara King was his preferred runner, and that horse also had a 1lb pull and first-time cheekpieces.
Royal Ascot 2026 card
The final historic handicap was the other focal point on Saturday. Royal Ascot traditionally opens with three Group Ones in the first four races, then ends with the Queen Alex, the longest race in the Flat racing calendar, so the closing handicaps sit at the far end of a card that usually begins with top-level speed and finishes with stamina.
Several runners carried form that already marked them out. Royal Zabeel was about 25-1 and the shortest-priced runner from a single-figure berth. Binhareer had finished second at York on his seasonal debut despite racing away from the main action, while Double Rush brought two wins already this season and had been an initial entry for the Group One Jubilee Stakes earlier on the card.
James Doyle and Sahara King
The Doyle call gave the race its clearest tension. Lost Boys and Sahara King had finished first and second in the London Gold Cup at Newbury last month before both were later bought by Wathnan Racing, but Doyle still leaned to Sahara King. The added 1lb and the first-time cheekpieces were the sort of small changes that can matter in a large-field handicap, where position and timing often matter as much as reputation.
Other names in the frame added more depth to the meeting’s closing stages. Spy Chief had posted an impressive timefigure when second in a well-run race at Salisbury in May, and William Buick was booked to ride him. Far Above Dream had been raised just 4lb for a new career-best performance at Newbury last month.
Joseph O’Brien and A Piece Of Heaven
Joseph O’Brien had another live player in A Piece Of Heaven, the winner of last month’s Chester Cup. He has won two of the last three in the jumping division at Royal Ascot, and that record kept his runners in the conversation whenever the meeting moved into its late handicaps.
Willie Mullins also remained a major presence at the meeting, having saddled five winners at Royal Ascot since 2012, while Le Destrier came in after a Listed win in Poland before races in France and later joining the Mullins operation. French Master added another angle after winning last year’s Copper Horse Handicap at Royal Ascot, and Endorsement entered the day after finishing runner-up in the Hampton Court Stakes earlier in the week.
The live question from the closing card was simple: which horse would handle the 27-runner finish when the race finally went on the turf. For punters, the answer sat in whether they backed the market leader in Lost Boys or took the Doyle side with Sahara King and the 1lb edge.
