On Saturday’s Irish Champions Festival kickoff, classic-winning sophomores Auguste Rodin and Tahiyra raced into the Breeders’ Cup picture by defeating older horses in a pair of “Win and You’re In” contests.

Sprinting six furlongs doesn’t leave much time to recover from a poor start, but Shaquille made it work in the Commonwealth Cup (G1) at Royal Ascot.

Going into Friday’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1), Meditate ranked as the class of the field and accordingly the 2.04-1 favorite. But the Aidan O’Brien filly had to defy a couple of historical trends.

A tactical race in a small field proved a trap for odds-on favorite Flying Honours, but Saturday’s Royal Lodge (G2) at Newmarket suited King Power Racing’s The Foxes.

Highfield Princess collected another Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” in Sunday’s Flying Five at the Curragh on an action-packed day two of Irish Champions Weekend.

The Curragh’s banner Sunday program includes a pair of “Win and You’re In” races, the Flying Five for a spot in the Turf Sprint and the Moyglare Stud for the Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Another sensational Royal Ascot is in the books. With sunny skies making for good-to-firm going, the tricky soft-ground variable was eliminated, and the results were generally logical.

Day 4 of Royal Ascot brought many fine performances, but arguably none as impressive as the Coronation S. (G1) victory posted by Inspiral.