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History will be against Society Rock on Saturday when he bids to become only the second horse in more than 50 years to win Royal Ascot’s Diamond Jubilee Stakes.
Photo by Racing and Sports
The last horse to win the straight six sprint twice was Right Boy in 1958-59 when it was known as the Cork and Orrery Stakes.
The six-year-old Society Rock won the race for the Jubilee for the first time in 2011 when starting in the race for the second time.
He was second to Starspangledbanner in 2010 and was back again last year when he finished fifth behind Black Caviar.
He has since finished third in the July Cup at Newmarket and has won the G1 Haydock Sprint in 2012 and G2 Duke Of York Stakes at York at his most recent start on May 15 beating Lethal Force and Gordon Lord Byron.
He has twice beaten Gordon Lord Byron, who rebounded from a defeat in the Haydock Psrint last year to win the G1 Prix de la Foret at Longchamp.
Gordon Lord Byron and G2 winner Lethal Force will be among the 17-strong field on Saturday.
Fastnet Rock’s triple G1 winner Sea Siren flies the flag for Australia in a bid to become the fourth winner from Down Under since 2003 when Choisir started the Aussie invasion of Royal Ascot followed by Starspangledbanner and Black Caviar.
.Sea Siren, recently acquired by Coolmore Stud, last raced on May 25 in Brisbane when she finished second in the G1 Doomben Ten Thousand.
Other contenders include the US sprinter Havelock, a multiple stakes winner who won the G3 Shakertown Stakes at Keeneland before his last start fifth in the G3 Twin Spires Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs on May 4, the 2012 Dubai Golden Shaheen winner Krypton Factor and Maarek, winner of the 2012 British Champions Sprint Stakes.
