Following in a rich tradition of leading Australian sprinters at the royal meeting, Joliestar (Zoustar) and Overpass (Vancouver) undertook a dress rehearsal on the Ascot turf on Friday morning for their respective targets next week. The Bjorn Baker-trained Overpass heads to Tuesday's G1 King Charles III Stakes and Joliestar runs in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes on Saturday for Chris Waller. The latter's assistant Charlie Duckworth said, “Joliestar had a gallop this morning over 800 metres, 15 seconds per furlong for the first two furlongs before quickening up under a nice hold for the last two furlongs. We are racing a week tomorrow, which gives us time for another gallop next week. Today was more about having a look at the track, pre-parade ring and parade ring, just to familiarise her with the surroundings. It was a confidence-boosting piece of work rather than a gut-buster as she has only been in the country eight days.”The five-year-old mare Joliestar is owned by Sir Brendan and Lady Jo Lindsay, who have already been involved with a Royal Ascot Group 1 winner having co-owned Hello Youmzain with Haras d'Etreham. The owners of New Zealand's Cambridge Stud, the Lindsays were on hand at Ascot on Friday to watch their latest contender in action.Joliestar has five Group 1 contests to her name in Australia, including the Thousand Guineas over a mile and two of Australia's premier six-furlong sprints – the 2025 Newmarket Handicap and 2026 TJ Smith Stakes. The 'Newmarket' has previously been won by Takeover Target, Miss Andretti, Scenic Blast and Black Caviar prior to their victories at Royal Ascot.Duckworth continued, “Her form in Australia is rock solid. She has won her last three starts, including the TJ Smith Stakes against a really good field. She put them to bed quite well that day on a track that was probably softer than she likes, so I don't think she has been in as good a form. We are unsure how to marry that up against the opposition for next Saturday, but we are going off the fact that Nature Strip won the TJ Smith Stakes and was good enough to come here and do us all proud.”Sydney's dominant trainer Chris Waller has already tasted Royal Ascot success, having sent over Nature Strip to win the King Charles III Stakes in 2022. Lady Jo Lindsay said, “Chris had the idea of bringing Joliestar to Royal Ascot last year, but she wasn't quite ready. She has matured since then and comes here having won three Group 1 races over the course of our season. Being favourite brings a bit more expectation, which is not nice because we are already nervous. “When Hello Youmzain won, we couldn't be here because of Covid, so we watched on the sofa at three o'clock in the morning. We had a quick glass of champagne and then went back to bed. We alternated the colours with Haras d'Etreham and it worked out that he carried our colours that day, which made it extra special. Royal Ascot is one of the great carnivals, so we are delighted to be here this time and take in the whole experience.” Her husband added, “We have invested a fair bit of money into Cambridge Stud and the broodmare band. We have Charyn coming down to stand with us this year, which is a real coup, and we also have a Guineas winner in Chaldean as well. What happens with Joliestar after this race has not been decided, but hopefully we will be back here again in the future.” Overpass and Josh Parr | Bronwen Healy Overpass, who has won back-to-back renewals of the G1 Winterbottom Stakes and was fourth to Joliestar in the TJ Smith Stakes, will be the first runner at Royal Ascot for Bjorn Baker. He said, “We wanted Overpass to get two things out of today. Firstly, a little bit of fitness with a good hit-out ahead of the race on Tuesday. Then we wanted to give him the raceday experience, coming around the mounting yard and paddock. Hopefully, that will help him relax better come raceday, which is an important part of what we do. “Overpass has been a remarkable horse. He is very much best fresh, which means we space out his runs. He ran very well in the TJ Smith Stakes, albeit on a track that was probably too wet for him. The options were Brisbane or here, so given that we want to sell the dream worldwide, we decided to come here. Royal Ascot is one of the great carnivals, while the King Charles III Stakes is a very prestigious race. Added to the fact Australian sprinters have run very well here in the past, that gives us a bit of confidence.“I guess the stiff, straight five furlongs here is a little bit of a question mark. Overpass has raced three times down the straight at Flemington, including winning a sales race comfortably enough as a three-year-old. It is hard to know if he is a worthy favourite.”Overpass was ridden by his regular jockey Josh Parr, who added, “I was really happy with him. I am glad he came here this morning to have a look around. He seemed to take everything in while handling the rise in the straight really well. He had a nice blow pulling up, which gives me confidence that it was enough work to have him ready for Tuesday.“If moments like this do not get you excited, you are probably in the wrong business. I was very eager to come this morning, just to get that final feel for him. In the past, his final gallop before a race has proved a true guide of how he will perform in the race. To see him stretching out so well and reaching a significant speed suggests that he is in good shape for Tuesday.” The post ‘Her Form in Australia is Rock Solid’: Joliestar and Overpass Take to the Ascot Turf appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.