Royal Ascot 2020: Silvestre De Sousa and King Power looking for flying start on busy day one

Silvestre De Sousa is hoping to get off to a flyer on a busy day one of Royal Ascot, where he targets a poignant success on Fox Chairman in the Queen Anne Stakes.

The former champion jockey has six rides on the first afternoon of the behind-closed-doors royal meeting, five of them for owners King Power, the business and racing operation which was headed by former Leicester City chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha until his tragic death in a helicopter crash in 2018.

Fox Chairman is therefore a particularly important horse for connections, with Vichai’s son Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha having replaced him at the head of the company.

Many had expected the four-year-old, who finished second at the meeting last year, to step up in trip this season but he drops back to a mile for the first time since his racecourse debut to take in this afternoon’s first Group One of the meeting, where he is a general 7/1 third-favourite.

“We've got so many runners and we think this is the race that'll be more suitable for him.,” De Sousa told Standard Sport. “He’s a lovely horse but he's going into a hot race. We've got a lot of horses going there with King Power so it'd be nice to get a winner on the board on the first day. Obviously, he's not the favourite but he's got a shot.”

Brazilian-born De Sousa partners 33/1 outsider Well Done Fox is the afternoon’s other Group One, the King’s Stand Stakes, facing a tall-order against odds-on favourite Battaash, but has strong chances elsewhere on the card.

Queen Power was second behind Terebellum on her seasonal reappearance at Newmarket earlier this month, form that could already have been franked by the time she lines up in the Duke of Cambridge Stakes at 4:10pm.

“We went to Newmarket thinking she'd run well and she did,” De Sousa said. “I expect she'll improve from the race and she's a nice filly. Stepping up to a mile now I think will be the proper trip for her so we hope she'll run well.”

Perhaps the most intriguing of De Sousa’s rides is Papa Power in the King Edward VII Stakes. The three-year-old comes here on the back of successive all-weather wins and holds an entry for next month’s Derby at Epsom, so this afternoon will be a key fact-finding mission.

“He's a nice horse going forward,” De Sousa said. “We think a lot of him so I think he could run very well.

“He's got a Derby entry but the problem is he's never been on the turf. He's been on the all-weather and we know he goes well on there. It's in the deep end but we need to find out how good he is.”

Royal Ascot (16th – 20th June) features eight QIPCO British Champions Series races. For more information visit: britishchampionsseries.com/