We have been here before… The Wathnan team has a soft spot for the Buckingham Palace Stakes. It was in this race two years ago that English Oak swept past the frontrunning Make Me King, also in our colours, on the way to a commanding victory.

Group races beckoned for English Oak, but the slightly more stately way they tend to be run simply didn’t suit his style. He was beaten, then beaten again. His form dropped.

Then, a miraculous recovery.

Two years on – and English Oak is back. He joined trainer Hamad Al-Jehani at the end of 2025 and won two races at Meydan in Dubai earlier this year. Higher in the handicap for his return to the stage of his greatest achievement, a repeat performance would put him bang in the mix.

He’ll be lining up in this afternoon’s race alongside three stablemates: Defense Minister, already a three-time winner, including at Kempton Park this spring; Colombier, a doggedly determined winner in the rain-softened ground at Epsom on Oaks day, which marked a strong return to form for him, too; and Blue Brother (who stumbled and finished mid-div here last year in the Royal Hunt Cup, albeit beating two G1 winners, Silawi and Qirat in the process).