Clive Cox enjoys Royal Ascot confidence boost with quickfire double

Clive Cox is expected to send a formidable squad to Royal Ascot next week and Sky Wizard and Dragon Leader boosted stable confidence with comfortable victories in the two divisions of the 6f novice stakes.

Cox said: "It’s always nice having winners before Ascot because it gives you a bit of confidence. We won’t have too many two-year-old runners this year but it’s a very special place and we’ve got some fond memories and have some nice horses to look forward to running."

Sky Wizard kick-started the double when landing odds of 5-6 in the opener under Richard Kingscote, before the Kennet Valley-owned Dragon Leader obliged at 6-1 under John Fahy in the second division.

Cox added: "Sky Wizard was obviously expected to step up from his first run as he ran really well and it was very pleasing. Having a winner for Kennet Valley was also really nice because they had a lot of supporters there and it was a good day."

The double gave Cox his first two winners from seven runners at the track this year and he added: "We’re pleased not to have to go too far home afterwards. Jeremy Martin looks after the ground really well here and even though we’ve had dry weather, he’s provided safe conditions."

Third time lucky

Following back-to-back runner-up finishes, the Roger Varian-trained Equatorial broke his maiden at the third attempt when justifying favouritism in the 7f novice stakes under David Egan.

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