Keane seeking perfect Ascot start for Juddmonte

is looking to start Royal with a headline double when the big meeting gets under way on Tuesday.

Newly-appointed to the role of retained rider for the Juddmonte operation, the six-time Irish champion jockey can expect to be busy all week, not only in the famous colours of the late Khalid Abdullah but also in demand with many other owners and trainers.

And the opening afternoon could prove a huge one, with John and Thady Gosden’s Lockinge winner Lead Artist in action in the curtain-raising Queen Anne Stakes and stablemate Field Of Gold odds-on for what promises to be an epic renewal of the St James’s Palace Stakes.

Keane will be riding Lead Artist in a race for the first time, after Oisin Murphy did the steering at Newbury.

He said: “He was very good in the Lockinge. He feels like a very straightforward horse, a good mover who feels fit and well.

“It was the first time I had seen Lead Artist when I rode him last Wednesday and he looks a very straightforward type. He seems in great nick and I’ll be looking forward to getting on him in the Queen Anne.”

Field Of Gold had to settle for the runner-up spot behind Ruling Court in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, but made no mistake in the Irish equivalent. He meets the Charlie Appleby-trained Ruling Court once more, with Aidan O’Brien’s Irish Guineas winner Henri Matisse adding further spice.

Keane said: “Field Of Gold was very good at the Curragh. A stiff mile will suit him well and he’s growing up in his races and feels very relaxed and straightforward. I couldn’t have been more happy with what he did.”

Like Keane, Juddmonte’s European racing manager Barry Mahon is hoping to see Lead Artist open the batting for the team in style.

“Our week gets off to a big start and he’s in good form and has come out of the Lockinge well,” he said.

“He’s reopposing a lot of the same horses and albeit some of them were having their first run at Newbury and could improve, we’re hoping the track and ground will suit Lead Artist.

“He’s a beautiful colt and a magnificent specimen and we’re hopeful he will give a good account of himself.”