Harry Eustace will be eyeing further Group 1 targets this season with his stable star Docklands following his remarkable success in the opening Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot last week.
A winner of the Britannia Stakes at the Royal meeting two seasons' ago, Docklands returned to his favoured venue with two good efforts under his belt this year, having finished second to Sardinian Warrior on Ascot trials day before a somewhat unlucky third place finish in the Diomed Stakes at Epsom.
Despite two solid runs in the bag, he was sent off a relatively unfancied 14/1 chance for this year's Royal Ascot curtain raiser, which featured the first four home in Newbury's Lockinge Stakes and looked set to be a mouthwatering affair with former Guineas heroes Rosallion and Notable Speech ready to do battle once more.
However, Docklands was in no mood to relinquish his already stellar Ascot record, battling on bravely towards the far side under Australian-based rider Mark Zahra to deny Richard Hannon's St James's Palace Stakes winner Rosallion by a nose.
"He really does bring a different level of form to Ascot," said Harry Eustace on Sky Sports Racing. "That gave us a level of confidence and his two runs this year have been some of his best, especially his first run where he bumped into a very good horse called Sardinian Warrior, who nearly backed that form up by winning the Prix d'Ispahan,"
"We were confident that we could be competitive, and I think a lot of people took the Lockinge form as the very best form on offer."
Owned by the Australian-based syndicate OTI Racing, Docklands enjoyed a mid-season campaign Down Under last year with creditable runs in Cox Plate and TAB Champion Stakes before a trip to Hong Kong for the Longines Hong Kong Mile.
However, the five-year-old son of Massaat looks set to remain on home soil this season, with the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes back over the same course and distance an "obvious" target according to Eustace.
He added: "That's got to be the obvious plan. He obviously went to Australia last year but this year he must run on Champions Day in the mile race. We'd be idiots not to target it.
"Where he goes in between, we'll have to see. He'll either run in the Prix Jacques le Marois or the Sussex Stakes.
"I imagine a lot of the milers will avoid Field Of Gold, so it will be a small field in the Sussex Stakes, and I'd guess it will be quite a big field in the Prix Jacques le Marois.
"We'll keep both options open and see how he trains, but he seems super and he does take his racing well, so I wouldn't be afraid to campaign him quite aggressively this year."
