Goldie relishing American Affair’s Royal Ascot return Jim Goldie is excited for American Affair’s return to Royal Ascot as he prepares to defend his King Charles III crown. The six-year-old stable star provided Goldie with the first Group One success of his long training career last summer before a leg issue ruled him out for the rest of the 2025 season and derailed any autumn ambitions and a return to Ascot on British Champions Day. He finished down the field on his reappearance over six furlongs in the Minster Stakes at York, but the son of Washington DC returned to form in the Temple Stakes at Haydock last month with only Karl Burke’s Night Raider proving a length too good. “We were delighted with the way he ran. Possibly the ground didn’t suit him on the day, but he liked Ascot last year and if we get similar ground I think he won’t be far off,” the Uplawmoor handler said ahead of a likely rematch with his Haydock conqueror. “You’d like to think he may improve a bit for that (Haydock) and better ground would suit him as well, providing that’s what we get. “We know he likes it there at Ascot and we can make a plan thereafter, like York for the Nunthorpe. If you win the King Charles III, the world kind of opens up for you and you get invited to wherever. “We thought we were going to America (Breeders’ Cup) last year and then we got a problem. He’s a nice problem to have so watch this space.”
