Scratched from last year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1), the brilliant Bradsell is on course to try again at Del Mar after landing Friday’s “Win and You’re In” Nunthorpe (G1) at York.

An action-packed opening Tuesday of racing at Royal Ascot yielded a mix of expected and surprising outcomes as the four group stakes churned out rousing finishes befitting the prestigious five-day meet.

Big Evs broke prominently and powered his way to a half-length victory in Friday’s $920,00 Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1), striking for the international contingent in the first of 14 Breeders’ Cup races at Santa Anita over two days.

International participation during Breeders’ Cup Friday has come up strong. Horses representing England, Ireland, France, and Japan are among the entries.

Live in the Dream was easy to overlook ahead of Friday’s Nunthorpe (G1) at York, having never won a black-type race, and representing connections who’d yet to have a Group winner. But the front-running longshot grabbed all the attention from the start.

The feature event on Day 2 of Royal Ascot produced a surprising upset as 12-1 longshot Mostahdaf beat a bevy of top-level winners in the Prince of Wales’s (G1).