William Haggas tips Green to fulfil Destiny at York

The unexposed four-year-old was the hot ante-post favourite for the Royal Hunt Cup after consecutive wins at Haydock, Leicester and Newmarket.

However, Haggas decided to skip the annual cavalry charge over a mile to take in the Wolferton Handicap over ten furlongs at Royal Ascot.

The plan did not work out as Green Destiny never got competitive, finishing seventh behind Beachfire, leaving Yorkshire exile Haggas hoping for better luck this weekend.

"It's a very valuable race so we are hoping to run Green Destiny whatever the ground is," said the Newmarket-based handler.

"I've always thought he would be a better horse over ten furlongs - it wasn't the trip that got him beat at Ascot, he just got behind and never got into it."

Tom Tate trains just down the road from York at Tadcaster, and could launch a three-pronged attack with Distant Memories, Kings Gambit and Prince Of Johanne.

Distant Memories incurred a 5lb penalty for winning a Listed race at Pontefract, which means he will have to carry top weight, while Kings Gambit was narrowly touched off by Wigmore Hall 12 months ago.

Prince Of Johanne has won two of his three starts this season, most recently finishing second in the Zetland Gold Cup.

Tate said: "They would all be likely runners at this stage, but we will make our mind up for definite on Thursday morning.

"It is a possibility (we'll use a claimer on Distant Memories], but at this stage everything is a possibility as the weather is forecast to change."

Forty-three horses were left in at the five-day stage, with the likes of Nanton, Modun, Pekan Star and Slumber still in the mix.

Victor Chandler have Pekan Star as their 6-1 favourite, closely followed by Slumber at 7-1 and Beachfire at 8s.

Meanwhile, Delegator and Star Witness are the headline names among the 19 possibles for Newmarket's Darley July Cup at the five-day stage.

Godolphin's Delegator looked good when winning the Duke Of York earlier in the season but missed Ascot on account of the soft ground. Australian raider Star Witness, on the other hand, was second in the King's Stand and third in the Golden Jubilee at the big meeting.