StableTalk

The third day of Royal Ascot saw a significant improvement in the weather with the rain replaced with a dry if breezy afternoon. The course responded accordingly and although the ground was officially soft, good to soft in places at the start of the card, the times suggested the ground was nearer good to soft.

It was also a remarkable day for the Ascot riding legend that is Frankie Dettori. He once rode all seven winners on what was the Champions Day card before the event formally existed but he has always ridden Ascot well – indeed, perhaps the best since the immortal Lester Piggott.

Dettori won the first four races and the last of those was the Gold Cup, the feature of the day if not the whole week.

On paper, STRADIVARIUS, the 2018 winner, had it to do against the Melbourne Cup winner CROSS COUNTER and the new kid on the staying block, DEE EX BEE. They didn’t go hard from the gate and DEE EX BEE and MASTER OF REALITY took the field along with STRADIVARIUS and CAPRI next and CROSS COUNTER at the back.

Coming up the hill from Swinley Bottom, Sylvestre de Souza started to get busy on DEE EX BEE and engaged in a protracted duel with MASTER OF REALITY. Frankie Dettori looked to be short on space on the home turn but he was still traveling very strongly on STRADIVARIUS and managed to get out as CAPRI faded and led with 300m to go.

To be honest, Dettori always looked to have matters well in hand and STRADIVARIUS came home by a length. DEE EX BEE rallied to push MASTER OF REALITY out of second while CROSS COUNTER, who ran on without managing to get a blow in, was three quarters of a length back in third.

CROSS COUNTER ran a fine race – whether he’d have preferred a stronger pace in terms of his own stamina I’m not sure but he was left with a lot to do and I suspect they’ll ride him closer at Goodwood.

MASTER OF REALITY confounded his 66/1 price with a huge run. He won the Vintage Crop but disappointed at Leopardstown last time. I wonder if he’s an Irish Leger horse.

DEE EX BEE ran a huge race and saw out every inch of the 4000m – I think he’s an ideal type for the Cadran.

STRADIVARIUS followed up his win from 2018 – it was a tremendous performance on ground he probably didn’t find ideal but the lack of pace left him travelling into the race so well and played to his strengths and we didn’t see if an end to end gallop would break him. He heads to Goodwood for the next stage of the £1 million stayers’ challenge and if the ground is quicker there there’s no reason why he shouldn’t follow up though I suspect a 3-y-o getting s shed load of weight might yet prove his biggest opponent.

Needless to say, Dettori’s first four winners brought the house down and left the bookmakers crying into their satchels having done their money in style.

Frankie Dettori also dominated the undercard starting with the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes over 1000m for the juvenile colts where SUNDAY SOVEREIGN, who had once beaten Coventry winner ARIZONA by three lengths, was sent off the 13/8 favourite. The scratching of the Wesley Ward horse MAVEN before the race was due to the soft ground conditions.

SUNDAY SOVEREIGN came into the race strongly with 300m to go as pacemaker KOOL SPHERE weakened but this wasn’t to be the race for the favourite as Dettori produced A’ALI with a superb run to grab a clear lead. VENTURA REBEL went off in pursuit and closed A’ALI to a neck at the line but the first two were nicely ahead of DUBAI STATION and STRIVE FOR GLORY.

A’ALI was the first maiden to win the Norfolk since 1990. He was just beaten on debut by SPARTAN FIGHTER (they were nine lengths clear of the third) at Ripon so the next time SPARTAN FIGHTER runs will be interesting. A’ALI is by Society Rock out of a Motivator mare suggesting he’ll always prefer some juice in the ground.

The Ribblesdale over 2400m saw Oaks third FLEETING sent off favourite with QUEEN POWER just deposed as second favourite by an avalanche of money for Dettori on STAR CHECKER who was backed from 11s to 4s in the face of growing accumulator liabilities.

PEACH TREE set the pace and led into the straight. QUEEN POWER had pulled very hard going down the hill into Swinley Bottom but was still prominent while Ryan Moore had plenty to do sitting almost last on FLEETING. With 300m to go, Dettori went for home on STAR CHECKER but was challenged to his inside by QUEEN POWER and to the outside by SPARKLE ROCK. Moore had to thread his way through the field on FLEETING but she was fourth with 200m to go and second with 100m to go and had she had the pace there was plenty of time to grab Dettori but she couldn’t go on.

STAR CHECKER won a length and a half with FLEETING second, SPARKLE ROLL a length and a quarter back in third and QUEEN POWER, whose early exertions probably told in the final 200m, a further length and a quarter back in fourth.

FLEETING ran another good race but she was a long way back and suggests ANNAPURNA would have been close in this race if she had run but it was her stable companion who prevailed for trainer John Gosden. STAR CHECKER is by Sea the Stars out of a South African mare but is clearly improving fast and reversed Newbury form over 2000m with QUEEN POWER.

It will be interesting to see if she takes her chance in the Irish Oaks alongside the first two from Epsom and perhaps FLEETING.

The Group 3 Hampton Court was the second Dettori winner of the day and this time it was for Sir Michael Stoute on SANGARIUS who had a good juvenile campaign before disappointing in the Dewhurst and then having a few niggly problems in the spring. This screams to me to be a Stoute slow burner and I think SANGARIUS is going to be a grand 4-y-o. His seasonal bow when third in the Heron was made to look a lot better after the winner of that race, KING OF COMEDY, ran so well in the St James’s Palace on Tuesday.

After the first four, Dettori’s mount in the 1600m Britannia Handicap, TURGENEV, was backed off the boards from 20/1 to 7/2 (mostly accumulator liabilities) and Dettori rode a hugely positive ride and with 400m to go, it looked for a moment as though TURGENEV would prevail but he was there to be shot at and Harry Bentley brought BIOMETRIC with a sustained run to spoil the party and save the bookmakers from a catastrophic pay-out.

The card concluded with a 2400m handicap for the 3-y-o known as the King George V Stakes. Aidan O’Brien has, in his time, won all the graded races (20 out of 30) at the meeting but he doesn’t have much of a record in the handicaps winning just two but now it’s three and he did it in style with the first three home. SOUTH PACIFIC won the race at 22/1 but the second, CONSTANTINOPLE, ran a huge race off top weight and time may tell he had an impossible task conceding 11 lbs to the winner who looks a nice improving sort.

CONSTANTINOPLE has always been highly rated at Ballydoyle and won the Gallinule at The Curragh last time but he seems to me to have a slightly awkward head carriage but that just may be a trait. Two runs ago SOUTH PACIFIC had beaten stable mate BARBADOS (placed in the Queen’s Vase) at Navan. Once again O’Brien has a huge and strong crop of staying 3-y-o colts, almost all of them by either Galileo or Sea The Stars and the Leger races and others down the season may well see his team continue to prosper.

However, it was Dettori's day and his four winners paid 449/1 and I suspect many had that accumulator and the bookies both on and off course would have had a terrible afternoon.

The fourth day of Royal Ascot took place with much improved weather conditions. A dry and bright afternoon left the ground on the straight course just on the slow side of good but as always a deal slower on the Round track.

Two Group 1 races dominated the afternoon. The first was the Commonwealth Cup over 1200m for the 3-y-o and though it’s only in its fifth running, it has already become an established part of the royal meeting and the pattern.

TEN SOVEREIGNS went off Evens favourite stepping back in trip having finished fifth in the 2000 Guineas. He had beaten JASH in the Middle Park last season. HELLO YOUMZAIN beat CALYX at Haydock but got warm in the preliminaries.

From the start, ROYAL INTERVENTION and FOREVER IN DREAMS went hard with TEN SOVEREIGNS tucked in and both JASH and ADVERTISE travelling well. 400m out and ADVERTISE moved up powerfully under Frankie Dettori and led on the far side while Ryan Moore got no response from Ten SOVEREIGNS. FOREVER IN DREAMS kept on strongly and even rallied in the final 100m but was still a length and a half down at the line.

HELLO YOUMZAIN was a length and a quarter back in third just in front of TEN SOVEREIGNS who in turn was six lengths clear of the remainder including the very disappointing JASH.
Ryan Moore commented it was TEN SOVEREIGN’s first run back in trip and it can be the case horses trained for 1600m don’t always relish the drop back in trip. He’s in the July Cup where he would meet some of the older sprinters.

HELLO YOUMZAIN ran a fine race despite getting a little restless in the stalls and missing the break. He runs as though 1400m wouldn’t be an issue.

FOREVER IN DREAMS was bought at Goffs London Sale on Monday evening for £430,000 to the Phoenix Ladies’ Syndicate. She had run seventh in the 2018 Queen Mary and had won a small race at Haydock on her previous outing but this was a huge step up from that.

ADVERTISE had been a top juvenile chasing home CALYX in the Coventry and winning the Phoenix Stakes at The Curragh before ending up chasing home TOO DARN HOT in the Dewhurst. He had flopped badly in the 2000 Guineas but the Martyn Meade was under a cloud and Meade had shut down for a month fully disinfecting the yard. ADVERTISE sported first time blinkers but was back to his very best today and connections of TOO DARN HOT might have been wondering whether the foray to 1600m might have been the wrong move.

ADVERTISE could be a very nice sprinter in the making and with BLUE POINT’s retirement is now 3/1 favourite for the July Cup at Newmarket and it’s going to take a good one to stop him on this form.

The second Group 1 was the Coronation Stakes over 1600m for the 3-y-o fillies. Dual Guineas heroine HERMOSA was bidding to emulate WINTER who did the English 1000, Irish 1000 and Coronation treble in 2017.

She was a solid Evens favourite despite not looking the best in the preliminaries and drawn out wide but Ryan Moore got her away well and she was soon upsides PRETTY POLLYANNA who set the early fractions. In behind sat WATCH ME and JUBILOSO with Frankie Dettori only a half length or so further back on TWIST ‘N SHAKE.

Into the straight and HERMOSA moved up to PRETTY POLLYANNA but couldn’t quicken sharply past and through instead came WATCH ME under Pierre Charles Boudot to lead 300m and basically that was that. HERMOSA went off in pursuit but was never going to catch the winner and was a length and a half down at the post.

JUBILOSO kept on for third beaten a further length with TWIST ‘N SHAKE fourth and CASTLE LADY fifth.

JUBILOSO ran a perfectly good race given this was only her third outing and she’d come from novice company. The 1600m suits her well and it’ll be interesting to see where they go next with her.

HERMOSA looked poor in the preliminaries, edgy and a little warm and it just be this was too much too soon after two hard races in the Guineas at both Newmarket and The Curragh. I also wonder if a step up in trip might suit. She’s in the Eclipse but I wonder if the Nassau might be the better option.

WATCH ME sprang a huge 20/1 shock but it’s a race the French have now won 12 times and you could make a case of sorts albeit she was three lengths behind CASTLE LADY in the Pouliches. That was a rough old race and WATCH ME got no real run and perhaps, as I’ve often argued, like many French horses, she thrived on some decent ground.

It’s a real boost to her sire, Olympic Glory, who has struggled to make a mark as a stallion in Europe and a second Ascot win for the French champion Boudot and a first for trainer Francois Graffard who is very successful in France and won the Diane. There are plenty of options for the winner including the Rothschild, the Falmouth or perhaps even the Marois as the mile division, both for the colts and for the fillies lacks a clear leader at this time.

The undercard featured the King Edward VII Stakes, a Group 2 for the 3-y-o colts over 2400m, the colts’ equivalent of the Ribblesdale and known as the Ascot Derby. JAPAN had finished third to stable mate ANTONY VAN DYCK at Epsom and was sent off at 6/4 favourite with one punter having a bet of £200,000 at 6/4 (wins £300,000) with an on course bookmaker.

From the start, JACK YEATS went off as the pacemaker for JAPAN and set a strong gallop. Ryan Moore kept JAPAN out the back and the Gosden pair of HUMANITARIAN and PRIVATE SECRETARY along with PONDUS. BANGKOK sat at the rear with the favourite.

On the approach to the home straight Ryan Moore went really wide on JAPAN while Sylvestre de Sousa found a nice gap on the inside as JACK YEATS faded and the strong pace broke the filed up but Ryan Moore had every move covered and JAPAN powered ahead at the 400m mark careering away to win by four and a half lengths. BANGKOK just held from EAGLES BY DAY with a further gap to PRIVATE SECRETARY and the others.

With the first two at Epsom due to clash in the Irish Derby, JAPAN put down a powerful marker to show he is still improving and he’s put in at 5/1 for the King George back over the Ascot course and distance. You’d think if he continued on the upgrade the Arc might be on the agenda – he saw out the 2400m really well off a strong gallop.

The opening Group 3 Albany for the juvenile fillies saw a convincing win for DAAHYEH, a daughter of Bated Breath out of an Oasis Dream mare. She had beaten the Queen Mary winner RAFFLE PRIZE on debut and that Newmarket maiden in mid-May looks the best juvenile fillies maiden of the year so far by a long way.

The card concluded with a pair of competitive handicaps. The Sandringham Handicap is run over the straight mile for the 3-y-o fillies and many hoped the top weight MAGNETIC CHARM would provide the Queen with her 24th Royal Ascot winner but there was a different kind of history made as MAGNETIC CHARM was narrowly beaten by THANKS BE, the bottom weight, receiving 21 lbs and ridden by Hayley Turner who became only the second female jockey to ride a winner at the Royal meeting. The first was Gay Kellaway on Sprowston Boy way back in 1987 in the Queen Alexandra Stakes. Hayley Turner is Britain’s most successful female jockey so far also rides in France, does a bit of media work but is in turn being challenged by a new crop of female jockeys such as Hollie Doyle, Nicola Currie and Jane Elliott who are all coming forward.

The concluding handicap was the Duke of Edinburgh Handicap for the older horses over 2400m, their equivalent of the King George V Handicap and speaking of that race, the 2018 winner, BAGHDAD, was backed in to 7/2 favourite to win the older horse equivalent and duly obliged.

Ryan Moore doesn’t often ride for top northern trainer Mark Johnston but when they do team up it’s often a very positive sign. BAGHDAD fractured a cannon bone winning the King George V on firm ground last year so this easier surface really helped and I wonder if he could be an Ebor type.

The horse to take from the race might be the second, BEN VRACKIE, representing the Gosden/Dettori combination and for a horse making its seasonal debut after a 250 day absence, he ran a screamer – the murderous gallop played to his strengths as he had solid form up to 3200m – and again the Ebor looks the logical choice. Both winner and second were rated 104 and will go up for this but they’ll need to – the Ebor has been given a huge cash boost and now carries £1 million in prize money so it’s going to be a serious race and the nearest thing Britain will have to a Melbourne Cup.
After four days, Dettori has a good lead in the jockeys’ title at Ascot with seven winners to five for Ryan Moore but there’s still a day to go.

The final day of the 2019 Royal Ascot meeting saw the decent weather continue and the course continued to dry quickly in the warm sunshine. It was officially Good, Good to Firm in places by the start of racing.

The feature on the final day was the 1200m Diamond Jubilee Stakes. BLUE POINT was bidding to become the first horse since Choisir to win the King’s Stand/Diamond Jubilee double though the King’s Stand wasn’t a Group 1 back then. He was backed in to 13/8 favourite to do so.

From the start, as usual, KACHY went like a scalded cat but James Doyle was always going well on BLUE POINT in behind. Unfortunately for KACHY, there are no 800m races – if there were, he would be a champion but he managed to hold on until the 200m pole when he began to falter and BLUE POINT went on but he couldn’t move away from the field and indeed it all started to get a bity anxious as DREAM OF DREAMS flew home and was only a head down at the line.

KACHY ran a huge race and enjoyed the fast ground but was two and a half lengths down in third. In truth, very few got into this race at all. SPEAK IN COLOURS ran fourth at a big price followed by LE BRIVIDO who was fifth in the King’s Stand and fifth in this as well so sets the form mark. THE TIN MAN couldn’t go the pace but ran home in sixth while INVINCIBLE ARMY finished seventh but the ground had gone against him and I’ll always prefer him on softer ground.

The French raider CITY LIGHT also disappointed on the ground as did BOUND FOR NOWHERE while ENZO’S LAD only beat a couple home.

KACHY ran a career best over 1200m and you’d fancy him in the Nunthorpe if it came up fast – he’s probably the fastest horse around and on a flat track like York he can jump and run. DREAM OF DREAMS has been brought along slowly by Sir Michael Stoute as is his way but this was a career best and we know from last year not only does this horse get 1400m but he’s effective on all ground. Whether the July Cup will be ideal I’m not sure and I think the Foret will be ideal.

BLUE POINT has been retired to stud and will presumably stand at Darley alongside Shamardal and obviously we await his progeny with interest.

The card opened with a Listed race over 1400m for the juvenile, the Chesham Stakes. The strongly supported favourite was the Ballydoyle runner LOPE Y FERNANDEZ, a son of Lope De Vega who won impressively on slow ground at The Curragh. He travelled into the race well but was decisively outpointed by the Godolphin runner PINATUBO who won by three and a quarter lengths smashing the juvenile track record for the distance (though not many races are run over the 1400m).

PINATUBO is a son of Shamardal and got a 10/1 quote for the 2020 2000 Guineas and I think the second, as seems to be the case with many from his sire, will always prefer a little juice in the ground. I quite liked HIGHLAND CHIEF, a son of Gleneagles, who came home third but a real eyecatcher was HEAVEN FORFEND, a son of Frankel out of Heaven Sent, who ran on well for sixth on only his second outing and he’s gone straight into the Stodge notebook.

The second race was the Group 3 Jersey Stakes over 1400m for the 3-y-o. This is often a race which attracts an also-ran from the Guineas – a horse that didn’t quite get home over the 1600m at Newmarket. This year’s renewal looked pretty weak and it went to the 25/1 shot SPACE TRAVELLER who swooped late to defeat the Godolphin runner SPACE BLUES. The winner had run second in the Free Handicap earlier in the season but had disappointed twice since. Back to 1400m on quicker ground, this son of Bated breath was Danny Tudhope’s fourth winner of the week.

The feature supporting race was the Group 2 Hardwicke for the older horses over 2400m. There was drama at the start – a shoe flew off which turned out to belong to COMMUNIQUE but MASAR stumbled on leaving the stalls nearing pitching jockey James Doyle out the side door and hampering NAGANO GOLD in the process.

As expected. SALOUEN set the gallop attended by MIRAGE DANCER with COMMUNIQUE and MORANDO tracking followed further back by DEFOE and SOUTHERN FRANCE with MASAR and NAGANO GOLD at the rear and that was basically the order until they turned for home.

MIRAGE DANCER went on travelling well and James Doyle brought MASAR to challenge but Andrea Atzeni produced DEFOE with a smart turn of foot to lead but had to withstand a late and unexpected challenge from NAGANO GOLD but prevailed by half a length with MIRAGE DANCER a further length back in third.

MORANDO was three lengths further back in fourth followed by MASAR and a further gap to SOUTHERN FRANCE, who weakened tamely in the final 300m.

MASAR had a rough race but acquitted himself well tiring in the final 300m and this was a decent return. He’s in the Eclipse but I suspect they’ll wait for the King George even if he has to take on JAPAN though an alternative may be the Princess of Wales, a Group 2 at Newmarket in mid-July.

MORANDO ran well on ground that had gone against him while MIRAGE DANCER looked the winner 400m out but I just wonder if he’s more a 2000m horse at this level. Though trained in the Czech Republic, NAGANO GOLD has been doing his racing in France but at Group 3 level. This was a huge run by the horse at 25/1 and a fine ride from Christophe Soumillon. He’s in the Eclipse but I suspect the aim will be the Arc.

DEFOE won the Coronation Cup and followed up here – the gelding operation has been the making of him as a racehorse and while that will close some doors (the Arc), he’s shown himself to be a serious force at Group 1 level. He’s in the King George and I’m sure he will give a good account but I’m unsure whether he can run down JAPAN giving the weight for age which is 11 lbs at this stage of the season.

The penultimate race was the Wokingham Handicap over 1200m which is Ascot’s version of races like the Stewards Cup and the Ayr Gold Cup. They do say the bigger the field the bigger the certainty and in a 27 runner field CAPE BYRON was backed to a skinny looking 7/2 (from 9/1) but the horse doesn’t know what price he is and he won very well. He had previously won a 1400m handicap but this was his first run back at 1200m and he saw it out really well under a big weight. He’s rated 107 and will be aimed, you’d think, at some serious races. He’s in the 1400m Bunbury Cup handicap at Newmarket next month and on this evidence he’ll go very close.

The final race of the meeting was the Queen Alexandra over 4400m, the longest race run in Britain and it’s frankly a bit of a novelty race. That said, it produced a fair winner in CLEONTE who was third in both last year’s Cesarewitch and this year’s Sagaro and for whom the drying ground was a huge help. He beat PALLASATOR who is now ten years old but can still run well with MAX DYNAMITE a decent third rewarding one brave soul who had £150,000 each way at 9/2 and got his money back (with a small profit). Arguably, MAX DYNAMITE could have done with the ground staying slow.

Just to round off the Royal Ascot meeting:

Top jockey was Frankie Dettori with seven winners (four on Thursday) chased home by Ryan Moore on five winners (with seven seconds).

In terms of attendances, down from 2018 which broke the 300,000 barrier for the first time. Saturday is the most popular day with 75,316 turning up in contrast to Wednesday with 39,386 which, I suppose, was largely down to the poor weather forecast but reflects the one day where the meeting seems to be struggling.

A tremendous week with something for everyone - Godolphin via BLUE POINT, Coolmore via JAPAN and ARIZONA and of course the amazing Dettori four timer on Thursday.

Roll on 2020.