LiveScore Racing Daily: Latest news, form and analysis for July 14, 2021

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Charlie Appleby feels Hurricane Lane is the one to beat in Paris

Trainer Charlie Appleby is confident stable star Hurricane Lane can repeat his Irish Derby heroics when he runs in the Grand Prix de Paris at ParisLongchamp on Wednesday.

The three-year-old beat Lone Eagle by a neck at the Curragh last month and he has now won four of his five races.

He will run in France for the first time this week, with Appleby making a late change to his season plans after his performance at the Curragh.

Speaking about his charge, Appleby told www.godolphin.com: "Hurricane Lane heads to Paris in good order. We expected him to need some time after what looked a hard race in the Irish Derby but he surprised us with how well he came out of it.

"He worked nicely over the weekend and we opted to take this route as there is plenty of time between now and the St Leger.

"This looks a good opportunity to hopefully win another Group One over a mile and a half. He looks the one to beat."

Al Aasy to miss King George

Fans of Al Aasy have been left disappointed after connections confirmed he will miss the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes and undergo a gelding operation.

The son of Sea The Stars looked set for a huge campaign after successive Group Three victories at Newbury.

But he failed to win the Coronation Cup at Epsom on his Group One debut before losing in Newmarket's Princess of Wales's Stakes.

Rather than return to action, connections have decided to take a different route.

Confirming their decision, racing manager Angus Gold said: "We're going to give him a bit of a break and we're probably going to geld him.

"We know he handles soft ground, so we'll give him a few weeks off and then bring him back in the autumn. The King George is definitely out.

"He's got plenty of talent — he's just a bit of a thug. Going out on the track, he makes it difficult for whoever is on board."

Ascot officials not getting carried away

Officials at Ascot say they are not expecting a dramatic increase in spectators as they prepare to host the King George And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes on July 24.

Racecourse attendances will no longer be capped from July 19, after the government revealed social distancing measures will be removed.

Crowds of 12,000 were allowed in for Royal Ascot but organisers do not expect to reach capacity later this month.

Ascot's director of racing and public affairs Nick Smith said: "We're looking forward to having a bigger crowd back.

"Obviously, there's very little sales time between now and the King George meeting, so we're not expecting a vast crowd, certainly not as big as we'd normally see.

"However, it will be bigger than what we had at Royal Ascot and that suits us well."