James Leavy is hoping to follow in the footsteps of more illustrious members of the Irish training fraternity when he saddles a runner at Royal Ascot for the first time next week.
Hardly a household name to British race fans more used to sorties from the likes of Aidan O'Brien and Dermot Weld, Leavy, nevertheless, believes he has the ammunition to cause damage.
The horse he is looking to is Akimbo, whose early education was provided by the doyen of modern-day Royal Ascot practitioners, Henry Cecil. Akimbo ran better than his placing suggested when he hung badly right in the straight before finishing fifth behind Valixir in last season's Queen Anne Stakes, and the Group One contest is again the intended target.
Since that York run, Akimbo has left Warren Place and Leavy reckons his preparation for next Tuesday's mile race has been spot-on. The five-year-old son of Kingmambo has had his setbacks in a career that has promised more than it has delivered so far, but the trainer is confident he is now at his best. He said: "Akimbo won at Yarmouth last June and he's a horse with a lot of ability. Last week he had a run over 10 furlongs at the Curragh, where he was fifth, and Willie Supple was really pleased and said it was the ideal preparation."
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