Leading jumps trainer Willie Mullins every season always takes a decent team of runners to Royal Ascot to see how they will fare on the flat, with some of his recruits going on to win at the Royal Meeting in the past.
Back in 2017 Thomas Hobson landed the Ascot Stakes and over the last few years Mullins has gone on to train three of the last four winners of the race which is a remarkable achievement let alone for a handler that very rarely has flat horses primed at his yard.
The Cheltenham festival hall of fame trainer released on Tuesday that he would be sending Thomas Hobson back to the Berkshire track for the Royal meeting after trying his hand over in Germany already this season.
He is being aimed at the Gold Cup which looks one of the most competitive renewals for some years but after his smart second in the Long Distance Cup behind the superstar Stradivarius.
(Credit Racing Post) Mullins said: He said: "We’ll probably run Thomas Hobson in the Gold Cup and, hopefully, he might run in the first four. Max Dynamite might go for the Queen Alexandra Stakes and we'll probably have something for the Ascot Stakes too."
Another possible runner for the Mullins camp is the six year old True Self who made a great return to racing on her seasonal reappearance back at the start of May winning a Listed contest over a mile at Gowran Park.
She is a three time Listed winner in her career and will have her final prep run before Royal Ascot this weekend at Haydock as she has an entry in the Group 3 Pinnacle Stakes that should tell Mullins if she will be ready to head to the Berkshire track.
He added: "True Self is in good form and the plan is to run her in Saturday’s race," said Mullins. "She's done well in Listed company and deserves to step up in grade."
She has previously won twice in England with apart from the Listed win at Gowran the other two of her Listed Success came at Newmarket and Bath but this Group 3 contest will see how good she really is.