Damysus Tops the Market as Ten Declared for Lockinge Stakes at Newbury

With the Classic crop of milers getting an early chance to shine in the 1,000 and 2,000 Guineas, this weekend sees the focus switch to the older horses. The Berkshire track of Newbury sets the stage for the 2026 edition of the prestigious Lockinge Stakes on their Lockinge with Ladies Day.

The track’s only Group 1 contest offers £400,000 in total prize money and boasts an illustrious roll of honour. Focusing solely on the 21st century, Frankel, Baeed, Night Of Thunder and Hawk Wing have all scorched the Newbury turf en route to victory.

Always one of the big highlights in the gap between the Guineas and Derby meetings, the 2026 edition looks well up to scratch. With the runners and riders confirmed on Thursday morning, the final field includes high-profile challengers from Britain, Ireland, and France.

Lucky Number Seven for Gosden?

With five previous wins, John Gosden (now training in partnership with son Thady) is the most successful of the trainers on show this year. Claiming his first Lockinge Stakes with Emperor Jones in 1994 and most recent with Lead Artist in 2025, this year he relies on the Frankel colt Damysus.

Named after the fastest of the Greek giants, Damysus made an encouraging start when winning his sole juvenile outing. Initially, his Classic campaign didn’t go as well as may have been hoped. A third in the bet365 Classic Trial and second in the Dante were solid efforts, but he failed to take the step up when last of 18 in the Derby.

Given a couple of months to get over his Epsom exertions, he resumed his progress in the second half of the season. Making a winning return in the Listed Prix Nureyev at Deauville, he rounded off his campaign with a Group 3 success in the Darley Stakes at Newmarket. Kept in training as a four-year-old, the Wathnan Racing runner rewarded that decision with a career-best performance to win the Group 3 Earl Of Sefton Stakes in April. With the ability to stay further than a mile and an explosive turn of foot, he could go close to handing James Doyle a second Lockinge success.

Classic Winner Adds to Strong Home Team

Despite his extensive catalogue of Group 1 triumphs, Godolphin’s number one handler, Charlie Appleby, has won the Lockinge Stakes only once. Three years after that sole success with Modern Games, Appleby relies on the only Classic winner in the 2026 lineup.

Back in 2024, Notable Speech extended the unbeaten start to his career to four when causing a 16/1 shock in the 2,000 Guineas, before adding the Sussex Stakes to his Group 1 haul. He took a while to hit top stride last season, with a fourth-place effort in this race the first in a sequence of four defeats. However, he was flying by the end of the year and signed off with a Grade 1 double in the Woodbine Mile and Breeders’ Cup Mile. Fit and well from a most unlucky fourth in the Maker’s Mark Mile Stakes, his established class makes him a major threat to all.

Elsewhere among the home hopes, Karl Burke’s Zeus Olympios is vying for favouritism with many firms, despite losing his unbeaten record in the bet365 Mile last time out. Other British runners to note include Dancing Gemini, who lost out by just a neck in the 2025 edition of this race, and 100/1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes winner Cicero’s Gift.

Lion Roaring Back to Form for O’Brien

Aidan O’Brien hasn’t been as dominant in the Lockinge Stakes as in other Group 1s on the British calendar. Nevertheless, the Ballydoyle maestro has struck twice, with Hawk Wing (2003) and Rhododendron (2018). This year, O’Brien sends two into battle in the shape of Mississippi River and The Lion In Winter. Arriving with a rating of 99, Mississippi River looks booked for pace-making duties, but The Lion In Winter should not be dismissed lightly.

Heading into the 2025 season, this son of Sea The Stars was among the most talked-about horses in training. That hype disappeared following a well-beaten sixth in the Dante Stakes and a 14th-of-18 effort in the Derby. While those efforts represented quite a fall from grace following his electric juvenile season, The Lion In Winter bounced back to some sort of form to hit the frame in the Group 1 trio of the Prix du Moulin, Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, and Breeders’ Cup Mile. Back to winning ways in the Listed Heritage Stakes on his seasonal return, he has the services of the excellent Ryan Moore in the saddle.

Francis to Strike for France?

The French last won this contest when Keltos came home in front for Carlos Laffon-Parias in 2002. If there is a man likely to end that wait, it is surely Francis-Henri Graffard. No stranger to success on British shores, the Chantilly-based handler counts two wins in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes on his glittering CV. Hot on the heels of French 2,000 Guineas triumph with Rayif, he sends Sahlan to Newbury for this assignment.

Much like Notable Speech, this Wootton Bassett gelding only hit form at the tail end of the 2025 campaign. The pick of his efforts saw him master Rosallion, The Lion In Winter, and last year’s Lockinge 1-2, Lead Artist and Dancing Gemini, in the Prix du Moulin. Last sighted finishing a close fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, he may be a popular each-way option at a double-figure price.

Britain, Ireland, or France? The latest edition of Newbury’s flagship flat contest is due at 2:35pm on Saturday.