King's Lynn (5-1) won the Cazoo Temple Stakes for The Queen at Haydock Park and will now bid for Group One glory at Royal Ascot.
The Andrew Balding-trained five-year-old was second at Chester on his seasonal return but he went one better on Merseyside to upset 7-2 favourite Winter Power in the Group Two feature. With victory King's Lynn has booked his ticket to the King’s Stand Stakes and will bid to give Her Majesty a Royal Ascot winner in her Platinum Jubilee year next month.
King’s Lynn, who won the Listed Achilles Stakes over course and distance last year, went one better than his recent second to Flaming Rib in the Boodles Secret Garden Conditions Stakes on the Roodee to land a first success at Group Two level.
Under David Probert, the five-year-old, was close up off the pace set by Nunthorpe Stakes heroine Winter Power. But as she faded King’s Lynn, who was also third in last year’s Wokingham Handicap at Royal Ascot, came through to hold off the challengers and land a a neck success over Twilight Calls (5-1) with Arecibo (28-1) a length-and-three-quarters back in third with Mondammej fourth.
Profitable, in 2016, was the last horse to win the Temple Stakes and also land the King's Stand in the same season. The brilliant Battaash won the Haydock Group Two twice in 2018 and 2019 and also scored at Royal Ascot in 2020, when the Temple Stakes wasn't run due to the coronavirus pandemic.
King's Lynn is a general 14-1 chance behind American raider and 5-2 market leader Golden Pal for the Group One King's Stand Stakes at Ascot. But there is plenty of hope he could be a Royal winner at the meeting.
Winning jockey Probert, who was landing a treble after earlier wins on Valley Forge and Whoputfiftyinyou, said: "He is a great little horse. He has taken a real good step forward from this Chester run, finding things a little bit sharp. We didn't go overly fast around there and turned into a sharp sprint from the furlong marker.
"But he has won here before and he was able to get a real strong gallop. He got a nice toe into it behind Winter Power and once she fell away I was able to pick up the pieces. He took his neck out to the line and all roads lead to Ascot now."
He added: "He's actually won well in the King's Stand before prior to this behind Oxted only beaten no more than two-and-a-half lengths so he has always shown he can compete at the high level.
"He is another year wiser, he is stronger, he is fit this year and having this under his belt will stand him in good stead so I can see him being very competitive.
"It would be great if we could get the job done at Ascot with it being Platinum Jubilee year. He is a massive asset to the yard and he has always been consistent at a high level, so he deserves it."
Tim Easterby's 7-2 favourite Winter Power faded to be eighth on her seasonal reappearance but she will also head for Ascot and the King's Stand.
Easterby thinks his charge will come on for the run, with Ascot also on the agenda.
He said: "She slipped a little bit coming out of the stalls but (jockey) David (Allan) was happy. She travelled into the race really well but he said he thought the race might have just put her right.
"She is getting ready for Ascot. You can't naturally get her ready early. She will go to Ascot but we may run her somewhere else in between. She is fine but I think she just got a little bit tired."
