Andrew Nelis racing

Andrew Balding is pinning hopes on the QEII at Ascot to provide another crowning moment after a season he senses could have worked out very differently for his 2000 Guineas hero Kameko. Since his Classic victory at Newmarket, Kameko has run in the Derby over a mile and a half, the Sussex Stakes over a mile and the 10-furlong Juddmonte International..                    Andrew Nelis Racing 

Tactical remains on course to test his powers at Group One level in the Prix Morny at Deauville on Sunday week. Since finishing a promising third on his racecourse debut in early June, the Andrew Balding-trained juvenile has carried the colours of the Queen to big-race success in both the Windsor Castle at Royal Ascot and the July Stakes at Newmarket. Having pleased connections in a gallop on Wednesday morning, the Toronado colt is all set to head to France in a bid to provide Her Majesty with a first top-level success since Estimate's memorable triumph in the 2013 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot....                      Andrew Nelis  racing 

Classic-winning three-year-olds Kameko and Siskin square up in a field of seven for the race of the season in the Qatar Sussex Stakes at Goodwood. They were victorious in the English and Irish 2000 Guineas respectively and now take on the older horses in Wednesday’s Group One over a mile. Siskin, trained by Ger Lyons, has not raced since scoring in impressive fashion at the Curragh. His rider Colin Keane has made the decision to come over for the ride despite having to face 14 days’ quarantine on his return to Ireland. The Andrew Balding-trained Kameko drops back to this trip after finding a mile and a half too far when fourth in the Investec Derby. The two other three-year-olds in the line-up are the Aidan O’Brien-trained duo of Wichita and Vatican City. The former was second to Kameko at Newmarket, with Vatican City occupying the same spot behind Siskin at the Curragh. O’Brien also again sends over four-year-old Circus Maximus, winner of the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Asco...

Blue Mist put his luckless run at Royal Ascot behind him with a dominant victory in the Moet & Chandon International Stakes. Roger Charlton's charge was a well-supported favourite for the Silver Wokingham at the Berkshire circuit last month - but a tardy start put him on the back foot, and he encountered trouble in running on his way to finish a never-nearer ninth. There were no such problems on his return to Ascot this time, however, as the 9-2 market leader travelled strongly for much of the seven-furlong journey under Ryan Moore before displaying a sharp turn of foot to leave his rivals trailing in his wake..

Kameko is on course for a mouthwatering clash with Irish 2000 Guineas winner Siskin in the Qatar Sussex Stakes at Goodwood on July 29. Andrew Balding's 2000 Guineas hero, who subsequently had his stamina limitations exposed in the Investec Derby when fourth, will return to a mile at the meeting sponsored by his owner, Sheikh Fahad. Balding is still keen on a crack at the Juddmonte International over 10 furlongs at York next month and feels this race is in the ideal spot in the calendar to prepare for that.                 Andrew Nelis Racing 

Andrew Balding will consider the possibility of running Kameko in the Sussex Stakes before his 2000 Guineas winner heads to the Juddmonte International. Connections felt Kameko failed to see out the trip when fourth behind Serpentine in the Investec Derby on Saturday, and he will now drop in distance. While the York race is his big aim, if it is thought the son of Kitten's Joy needs another race before August 19, he will head to Goodwood and revert to a mile. Kameko may be joined in Goodwood action by Balding's Derby runner-up Khalifa Sat, who defied his 50-1 odds at Epsom to finish closest to the all-the-way winner and advertised his St Leger prospects in the process. "Both are sound this morning," said the Kingsclere trainer on Sunday.                           Andrew Nelis Racing 

Should Kameko add the Investec Derby to his 2000 Guineas success at Epsom on Saturday, then Andrew Balding's colt will join an elite list. Equine giants such as Nijinsky, Nashwan and Sea The Stars completed the double and the last one to achieve it was Camelot in 2012. Kameko's efforts at Newmarket provided champion jockey Oisin Murphy with a first British Classic, while it was a second for Balding, coming some 17 years after Casual Look won the Oaks. His family is intrinsically linked to the Derby given his father, Ian, trained the brilliant 1971 winner, Mill Reef.

Silvestre De Sousa  believes  Morando  can make his presence felt at the highest level, granted the right conditions. The seven-year-old won the Ormonde Stakes on soft ground at Chester last year, but struggled to replicate that form on quicker ground through the summer months before a return to easier ground in the autumn saw him hit the target again in the Cumberland Lodge. De Sousa ranks Andrew Balding’s inmate highly, but thinks easy going is essential for him to show his best. He told Sky Sports Racing: “He’s a brilliant horse. He loves soft going and it’s been a shame we didn’t have the start of the season and what he’s looking for with the coronavirus. “It’s frustrating, but he’s a nice horse – I think a lot of him and Andrew thinks a lot of him as well. I think there will be a big day in him in those Group One races at some point. “He’s a top horse. We have so many good horses but he’s one at the top of the list. I think (he needs soft ground to sho...