Veteran Regal Encore bids for more Ascot glory Anthony Honeyball believes stable stalwart Regal Encore has a “fighting chance” of securing a third victory in the Howden Silver Cup at Ascot on Saturday. The son of King’s Theatre will officially turn 14 in a couple of weeks’ time — but his trainer is confident the fire still burns bright. Honeyball is also taking heart from the fact that from 13 visits to Ascot, Regal Encore has won four times — including in this race in 2016 and 2019 — and been placed on a further six occasions. Honeyball said: “He seems in good order. He’s done all his work now and we’re looking forward to running him. “I suppose there’s no pressure — he’s had a great career. “He keeps running well at Ascot and you’re always thinking he can’t keep doing it, but that is the one place he’s been ultra-consistent.” Regal Encore kicked off his season by finishing third in the London Gold Cup at Ascot in October before finishing down the field on his latest appearance at Warwick. “We ran him at Warwick to get him qualified for the veterans’ series. Warwick wouldn’t be his track and it was quite decent ground that day,” Honeyball added. “Obviously he’s vulnerable, but if we’ve got him on his A-game, it is a winnable race on Saturday. “He’s come down a few pounds. It’s great Cloth Cap runs as that keep the weights down — and if the race goes right for us, I think we’ve got a fighting chance.” Cloth Cap heads the weights for Jonjo O’Neill off the back of a sixth-placed finish when bidding for back-to-back wins in the Ladbrokes Trophy at Newbury three weeks ago. Other leading contenders include the Venetia Williams-trained Belami Des Pictons and Grand Sancy, trained by Paul Nicholls.
