Royal Ascot still on the cards for Waterhouse gun

Lady Of Camelot makes her long-awaited return on Saturday, resuming after a year-long break in the Group 2 Victory Stakes (1200m).

And the four-year-old could be in for a huge 2026.

The 2024 Golden Slipper winner has not won since that $5 million race in March of that year, but the Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained mare could still potentially be making an international trip to Royal Ascot this year.

“(Ascot is) still on the agenda,” Bott told SENTrack & RSN’s Giddy Up.

“I think Saturday’s pretty crucial for us, just to really get that line on her and get that confidence.

“We have been away from racing for over 12 months, and even though she was very consistent in those previous races, she still hasn't won for some time for us as well.

“So, we want to make sure that if we're going on the plane and going to the extent of that travel, we want to be exactly where we need to be.”

That European tilt will depend entirely on how Lady Of Camelot performs across her Queensland campaign.

The co-trainer is expecting the daughter of Written Tycoon to put up a good fight in her resuming run on Saturday, before racing in the Group 1 Doomben 10000 (1200m).

Hall: “What's your expectations with her there on Saturday?”

Bott: “We’ve been really pleased with her. She's had a nice build-up, so it hasn't been rushed. We've had plenty of time to get her to this point.”

“She's as fit as we can have her, having not raced in over 12 months.

“I'd like to think she's able to go close for us on Saturday.”

Hall: “Does she go to the Doomben 10000 after this?”

Bott: “Yeah, that's the plan at this stage.

“There's some improvement to come obviously off Saturday but that'd be a lovely next step for her.”

Regarding the reason as to why the bay was spelled for a year, Bott revealed it was because she had been overworked during her three-year-old season.

“She had a fairly busy time of it. You know, she rarely missed a carnival throughout her three-year-old season, she was in all the major races,” the co-trainer stated.

“She had a relatively short turnaround off the back of (her three-year-old spring), and we just thought she wasn't where we needed her to be when she came back into work.

“So, we tipped her back out and gave her a bit of an extended break (to) put on some good condition.”

Listen to the full interview with Adrian Bott below: