Dorcas Lane at the Ascot double as Candleford lights up Duke of Edinburgh

Candleford’s six-length romp in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes at Ascot on Friday brought about a notable royal meeting double for his dam, Dorcas Lane, who had previously been responsible for King George V Stakes victor Atty Persse.

The son of Kingman is a homebred of Barnane Stud and was making his seasonal reappearance after a three-length strike over this week’s Ascot Stakes winner Coltrane at Kempton in November. Having shelved his maiden tag at the third attempt last August, the gelding was building on the potential his pedigree suggested he possessed.

His dam, a daughter of Norse Dancer, had won at Listed level and had finished third in the Lancashire Oaks for David Lanigan and Bjorn Nielsen. Out of a Shadwell-bred Riverman half-sister to 1,000 Guineas winner Harayir, Dorcas Lane sold to Barnane Stud for 320,000gns from Kiltinan Castle Stud at the Tattersalls December Mare Sale in 2017, having sold to Jeremy Brummitt for 475,000gns at the same sale six years previously.

Candleford wins the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes

He is one of three foals, the others being the aforementioned Atty Persse, who struck for Godolphin at the royal meeting in 2017 and provided his sire Frankel with his first Royal Ascot victor. Atty Persse was sold to Spain, where he has won and been Listed-placed for Enrique Leon Penate.

Inspiral: Frankel filly was an impressive winner of the Coronation StakesCredit: Edward Whitaker

Champion sire Frankel belatedly got off the mark for this week when last year’s champion juvenile filly and Fillies’ Mile heroine Inspiral routed her rivals by nearly five lengths in the Coronation Stakes.

The Cheveley Park Stud homebred, who was making her seasonal debut in the mile contest, is the fourth foal out of the Selkirk mare Starscope, who had finished second in the Coronation Stakes for John Gosden ten years previously.

Starscope, who was also runner-up in the 1,000 Guineas, is out of a half-sister to Cheveley Park Stud's Queen Anne Stakes winner and sire Medicean, and their dam, Mystic Goddess, was second in the Queen Mary.

Watch Inspiral saunter to Coronation Stakes success

It was also notable that from No Nay Never’s first six-figure crop he has produced two Royal Ascot juvenile winners in Wednesday’s Windsor Castle Stakes winner Little Big Bear and Friday’s eyecatching Albany Stakes victress Meditate.

The latter was bred by Lynch-Bages and Rhinestone Bloodstock and sold to Jamie McCalmont for €360,000 from Arqana’s August Yearling Sale last year.

Interestingly, both of No Nay Never's juvenile winners at this year's royal meeting are graduates of last summer's Arqana Deauville August Yearling Sale.

A Royal Ascot winner at two himself, when successful in the Norfolk Stakes for Wesley Ward, he is now the sire of four individual Royal Ascot winners headed by last year's Coronation Stakes heroine Alcohol Free, who will bid for a second Group 1 victory at the meeting in Saturday's Platinum Jubilee Stakes.

It will be the first time she has raced over six furlongs since her victory in the Cheveley Park Stakes at the end of her two-year-old season.

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