Time Test to tackle A Shin Hikari at Royal Ascot

Time Test was an impressive winner at Royal Ascot last year. Picture courtesy of Racingfotos.com

Time Test is on collision course with Japanese wonder A Shin Hikari in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 15.

The Roger Charlton-trained four-year-old has a choice of QIPCO British Champions Series races at the royal meeting after coming from last to first to beat Western Hymn, who was receiving 5lb, by a neck on his reappearance in the BetVictor Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown on Thursday night.

He is entered in the Queen Anne Stakes, over a mile on June 14, plus the Prince of Wales’s Stakes, over an extra quarter of a mile, 24 hours later. The Group 1 contests carry prize money of £600,000 and £750,000 respectively.

Charlton believes the latter race is a better fit for his stable star, who was a brilliant winner of the Tercentenary Stakes over the same distance at the royal meeting last year.

He will need all cylinders firing because A Shin Hikari looked imperious when winning the Group 1 Prix d’Ispahan by ten lengths at Chantilly on Tuesday on his European debut.

“The disappointing thing was seeing how wonderful the Japanese horse was the other day, he could be a superstar,” Charlton said. “Otherwise you would fancy yourself in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes.

“He’s more relaxed than he was last year and he’s done really well. He’s a year older and he’s a lightly-raced Dubawi, let’s hope there’s still improvement in him. It’s not impossible to think he might stay a bit further.”

Other possibles for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes include The Grey Gatsby, runner-up in last year’s renewal and placed in three other QIPCO British Champions Series races, and Tryster, third in the Dubai Turf at Meydan on his latest start.

Bookmakers generally make A Shin Hikari 2-1 favourite, with Time Test’s odds varying between 4-1 and 6-1.