Royal Ascot attracts top American sprinters

British racegoers could get the chance to watch the cream of American sprinting without crossing the Atlantic after it emerged today that four US-trained speed machines have been entered for next month's prestigious Royal Ascot meeting.

Caller One - dual winner of the Dubai Golden Shaheen at Nad Al Sheba and beaten under a length in third in last year's Breeders' Cup Sprint - is the most high-profile of the quartet engaged in the Golden Jubilee Stakes.

The six-furlong event, formerly known as the Cork & Orrery, has been elevated to Group One status in 2002. The £250,000 contest has been renamed in honour of the Queen's celebrations.

Morluc, Gone Fishin and Investor's Dream complete America's raiding party. Top US jockey Gary Stevens - briefly attached to Sir Michael Stoute's yard and three times a winner at Royal Ascot - has already been booked by trainer Randy Morse for Morluc, narrow runner-up in last December's Hong Kong Sprint.

American entries in British racing are infrequent and actual runners rarer still. Their racing policy has been isolationist, mainly because other countries could not match their prize money. But with the advent of top-class racing in Dubai, Japan and Hong Kong, among others, they have become more adventurous.

If lining up, these four sprinters will be broaching unfamiliar territory as their Royal Ascot assignment is staged on turf, rather than the international sprinting currency of dirt.