Lazzat ruled out of Royal Ascot title defense after setback

Royal Ascot’s most prestigious sprint has lost its defending champion, and the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes market suddenly looks far more open. Lazzat, who powered to a half-length win over Satono Reve in last year’s six-furlong Group 1, will miss his title defense after coming out of Thursday’s Prix du Palais Royal at ParisLongchamp sore.

That matters well beyond one scratched name. Lazzat was not a fringe contender or a one-race flash. Wathnan Racing’s gelding arrived at last year’s Royal meeting as a rising international force, then confirmed the level when James Doyle delivered Jerome Reynier’s first Royal Ascot winner. The victory was Lazzat’s eighth in 11 starts and, with a £1 million prize on offer at the 2025 meeting, it was the sort of performance that anchors a sprint division and shapes ante-post thinking for months.

The setback lands especially hard because it came after another victory, not a fade or a regression. Lazzat had already stacked up a serious résumé with runner-up efforts in the Prix Maurice de Gheest and British Champions Sprint Stakes, plus runs in Saudi Arabia, the 1351 Turf Sprint and the Al Quoz Sprint before landing the Group 3 at Longchamp. He also earned a career-best Racing Post Rating of 125 for a Listed win at Chantilly in May 2025, a figure that reinforced just how high the ceiling remained.

Richard Brown said the horse had returned sore but stressed that the outlook remained encouraging. “We were thrilled with Lazzat’s win at Longchamp, but unfortunately he’s returned sore... the prognosis is positive for the future.” Reynier added that Lazzat pulled out lame after the race and said the gelding’s temperament would help him through the rehabilitation process. IrishRacing.com reported the same upbeat tone from the yard, noting that Lazzat looked “amazing” and was in top form before the setback.

For Royal Ascot, the immediate consequence is competitive and commercial. The Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes, first run in 1868 and renamed after Queen Elizabeth II’s death, is the meeting’s headline sprint, and losing a proven Group 1 defender changes the shape of the race. Rivals who had been preparing to chase Lazzat now inherit the opening, while bettors must rework a division that looked to be centered on a horse with proven class at Ascot and abroad. Brown expects Lazzat back later in the season, which leaves the door open for another run at the top sprint prizes once the Royal meeting has passed him by.