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Don’t miss Tim Dellor’s Royals Column Page 63

Lockinge joy for Palace Pier PALACE Pier exceeded expecta- tions by landing the Group 1 Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes in sen- sational style at Newbury.

The top-class miler, ridden by Frankie Dettori, pulled clear of Lady Bowthorpe in second to re- cord a seventh win from eight ca- reer appearances. Trained by the duo of John and Thady Gosden, the four-year-old finished one-and-a-half lengths clear of Lady Bowthorpe , while Top Rank finished third. Speaking after the race, Gosden said: “He is a lovely horse, he re- laxed well in the race even though he got a little bit squeezed leaving the gate. “He has come through nicely and he [Frankie] said it was won two out and I also thought the filly [ Lady Bowthorpe ] ran a great race to be second.” Gosden also discussed the next potential route for his top miler, with the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 15 the most likely destination. He said: “He relaxes so well and I think it’s pretty obvious that we’ll go to the Queen Anne and then we’ll decide after that if we want to change the trip.” Meanwhile, Dettori was full

Frankie Dettori

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of praise for Palace Pier and ex- plained what the future holds. He said: “He is very good, he has only run eight times and although he doesn’t show a lot in the morn- ings, he has everything. “He is a wonderful athlete; he has a great temperament and he has everything that you want and it can only get better so I am very excited. He is a serious horse and I said to John that he is so blessed to have a horse like him in the yard. “He is a great horse to be around and he loves his racing and is one of the best milers I have ever rid- den.”

Frankie Dettori and Palace Pier win the Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes at Newbury on Saturday

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Kingfishers face new challenges Thatcham affected by National League re-structure

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“From some messages to Jamie [Leacock], he is excited by it and for once we’re talk- ing about football rather than the proposed return of foot- ball. “It is great from that per- spective and Jamie wants to get out there and everyone is excited by it all because there are teams outside of London as well as some Berkshire der- bies too.” It has not yet been con- firmed when Thatcham will begin their league campaign, but it is believed to be around August 14. Melin said: “We have out- lined a pre-season plan and we might have to change it as some teams we were due to play are now league oppo- nents, but I think we’re all just excited to be talking about football.” It’s not only Thatcham who have been affected by the changes.

By LIAM HEADD liam.headd@newburynews.co.uk @liamh_nwn

THATCHAM Town chair- man Dave Melin is relishing the new challenges his club will face after they moved leagues due to a National League System re-structure by the Football Association. The Kingfishers have been involved in the Southern League for a number of years now, but from the 2021-22 cam- paign, they will be competing in the Isthmian League South Central. Although it will throw up new opponents, chairman Me- lin believes it’s a new opportu- nity for the club to progress up the football pyramid. He said: “It is interesting and it’s sad we’re moving out of the Southern League, but it creates new challenges and the general consensus from

Thatcham will switch leagues

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our fans was positive.” Thatcham will come up against familiar sides in Bin- field, Basingstoke Town and Bracknell Town, but they’ll also play teams closer to London as well a trip to play Guernsey. “We will get to see some new grounds and we are play- ing further east,” he said. “We don’t have the long journeys down to Devon, but we have an interesting one when we play Guernsey so let’s hope it’s a Saturday and not a Tuesday night.

Tadley Calleva will move from the Wessex League to the Combined Counties Premier North Division, while AFC Al- dermaston – who have agreed a groundshare with Thatcham – will play in Division 1 of the Combined Counties League instead of the Hellenic League. n More football on page 58 Published by Newbury News and Media Limited. Printed by Iliffe Print Cambridge Ltd - www.iliffeprint.co.uk

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