Royal Ascot: Day 4 Review & Day 5 Preview

Frankie Dettori & John Gosden Photo: Racing Post

In normal times this would’ve been International Day, where countries of the world are celebrated on course. It technically still was, but the only thing in the atmosphere was the electricity left behind by Stradivarius from the day before.

With little significant rain overnight, the course was drying out by the hour. The track was good to soft on the straight course and soft on the round. It was still sticky and nowhere near firm so ability to handle the ground would be paramount again.

An intriguing days racing was in store...

Group 3 Albany Stakes

Even without the crowd, the 2yo’s were up to the old tricks before they jumped in this years 6f Albany. One injured a handler in the parade ring, one failed to load and just about all of them were on the toe. As a result, the race was eight minutes delayed.

Dandella (Dandy Man) was on more than his best behaviour however, who had more than adequate real estate between he and his rivals at the line. Pulled back from stall 14 to settle near the rear, he made steady progress through the field. After travelling well, pilot Ben Curtis committed early, got the gap and set this £22,000 yearling purchase alight at the two-furlong pole. From there, they just kept going further and further in front.

Whilst the conditions may have aided to bring about the six-length winning margin, this looked a horse who won despite the conditions rather than because they were perfectly suited. Coming off a equally impressive Newcastle debut on the all-weather, connections were worried about the soft ground today.

This provided jockey Ben Curtis with his maiden Royal Ascot success. He has become an all-weather specialist and broke the all-weather championship record this winter. After proving today he can more than foot it with his colleagues on the turf, he is a jockey to watch in up coming years. Oisin Murphy carved out an impressive record on all-weather before going on to huge success thereafter.

Trainer Karl Burke, most well known for training six time Group 1 winning filly Laurens (Siyouni), produced his second winner of the Royal meeting after Quiet Reflection (Showcasing) who took out the Commonwealth Cup in 2016. The way Dandella performed today, we could see her emulating that in 12 months’ time.

Group 3 Norfolk Stakes

The baby boys were next up in the 5f Norfolk, a race that has a proud tradition of producing stallions like No Nay Never.

All the hype in the parade ring was around a sensational looking Exceed and Excel colt in Eye of Heaven, who had beaten Tactical who was a winner earlier in the week. The real hallmark of the American 2yo’s that Wesley Ward brings to Ascot is the tremendous gate speed and front running nature they bring to the party. The trick is for them to hold on. Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) was quickly out of the machine and paving his own way in front. Regarded as the best 2yo prospect this year from across the Atlantic, it took all of the five furlongs for anything else to reel it in. Unfortunately for American interest, that happened in the last few strides.

The result here was one for the speculators. Purchased at the sales for £8,000, The Lih Jet (Prince Of Lih) broke the five furlong track record at Yarmouth on a rock hard surface on debut. After that performance, the powerhouse of Qatar Bloodstock came knocking and purchased this horse for considerably more than what he was bought for as a yearling.

Emulating his Dad who won this race in 2016, The Lih Jet showed great chasing power to draw in the tearaway leader. He now fashions tremendous versatility, having won his first on a rock hard surface and now prevailing on a sticky one here. Being by a sprinting stayer out of a Green Desert mare, he will be confined to the short trips. History says he could be very, very good.

Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes

There were eight colts and one filly in this contest for the stayers.

Among the boys was last years Derby winner, the winner of the race last year, and a horse with form from some of the strongest races of the last twelve months.

There was a 4yo filly who was untested at the distance and looked a touch vulnerable in comparison to some of her better credentialed rivals.

But the filly had two massive factors on her side – a master trainer and a genius jockey.

Fanny Logan (Sea The Stars) had to ditch Plan A which was to lead, in favour of sitting back off a frenetic pace to slingshot off the corner and power away. I signalled this horse out in my preview yesterday as one who I thought would win the race and she did that with relative ease. Coming off of a run at Newmarket two weeks prior in which she was deliberately looked after, her fourth place at Santa Anita in final 2019 in the Breeders Cup Fillies & Mares turf proved to be a great guide into this mare’s potential.

In registering his fifth success of the week and 54th at Royal Ascot in total, this kind of win demonstrates the absolute masterfulness that exists in trainer John Gosden. Sure he has the pleasure of an outstanding quality of thoroughbred at his disposal, but his method to prepare and produce horses for races that look very challenging is remarkable.

Likewise, jockey Frankie Dettori has just as much genius. At the age of 49, he is in the form of his career – and what a career that has been. Such is his charisma and profile, he would easily be the one racing name that any normal man or woman on the street could quote to you. He is such a fine ambassador for the sport. This was his 70th Royal Ascot victory, and when you look at his action on a horse you can see why.

The pace was hot and there were excuses for some runners, in particular Anthony Van Dyck (Galileo) who was held up for a run and Elaqarm (Frankel) who was not suited by the sizzling pace, those are high quality animals that will be back to fight another day.

Group 1 Commonwealth Cup

I mentioned yesterday how while this race is only five years old, it has thrown up some real 3yo sprinting talent. Today I think has unearthed another crack spiriting performer.

When I highlighted the first three home in 2017’s event, the very talented performer who was in second that day has strong ties with todays winner. Harry Angel (Dark Angel) was a high class sprinter who chalked up over £850,000 in prize money, including three Group 2’s and two Group 1’s. Now standing at stud for Darley, he was out of a mare named Attrition. Out of that same mare is a horse that in winning todays Group 1 Commonwealth, looks every bit as high class as his half- brother.

Golden Horde (Lethal Force) made all the running up the stand side over six furlongs today to take out a field that had a lot of depth. Not seen on a racetrack since the conclusion of his 2yo season 260 days ago, the form he showed in that campaign proved to be very good. In winning a Group 2 event at Goodwood and then running close up in behind the extremely impressive French colt Earthlight (Sharmadal) in Group 1 contests at Deauville and Newmarket respectively, it would prove to stand him in excellent stead.

His Dad Lethal Force was a Diamond Jubilee winner and like Harry Angel and now Golden Horde, he was also trained by Clive Cox. They have all called the same box home at Cox’s property, and according to him this newcomer could be the best of the lot. Big praise and if true then we have a special thoroughbred. He will look to match his older brothers feats of 2017 when the next target will be The Group 1 July Cup over six furlongs here next month.

Credit also must go to Wesley Ward’s Kimari (Nunnings) who after missing the kick made good ground to the line. Given what I said before about the Americans liking the pace, this horse will be one to look out for. It was revealed after the race that Ward will keep him on these shores and send him to the Group 1 Nunthorpe at York, where he’s likely to meet the likes of Battaash.

Group 2 Queens Vase

The 3yo stayers went to battle in the 1m 6f event that as described yesterday gives a unique opportunity for genuine 3yo long distance horses to compete for Group spoils.

Having been won in recent times by the likes of Estimate, Leading Light, Kew Gardens and Stradavarius, this is often a marker to extreme staying talent.

Like the Hardwicke Stakes 70 minutes prior, this was an endurance test on the round course at Ascot that was subject to a crazy tempo up front. In doing battle with Punctuation (Dansili), favourite Born With Pride (Born To Sea) ruined his chances by engaging in a speed dual to lead the field.

Authorized, a stallion with such well known staying credentials, produced the old war horse Hartnell to take out this contest in 2014 and he did it again today with his son Santiago. Aidan O’Brien knows exactly what sort of horse it takes to win a race like this, and this big chestnut colt was comprehensively the best stayer on the day.

The sectionals during the race showed that through the middle part of the contest they were running at 12 second furlongs and Ryan Moore sat back off that speed content to drift back at his own pace, knowing what he would have up his sleeve come the business end. It was an astute ride from an outstanding jockey, in what bought up his fourth winner of the week and 62nd in total at the Royal meeting. In being Ballydoyle’s stable rider he gets to sit on some magnificent bloodstock, but you don’t get to be in that position if you aren’t very good and you don’t stay in that position unless you continue to produce the quality of ride that satisfies the powerhouse that is Coolmore. The most underwhelmed man to have ever won a Melbourne Cup, he lacks the fanfare of a Dettori but is every bit as good in the saddle. When you look at his International record, there is hardly a race he hasn’t won. He is the best jockey I have personally seen.

Similary with Aidan O’Brien who as Coolmore’s training maestro has horses enter his stable that most trainers can only dream of. But if you watch or read about this Irishman, you’ll find that he goes about his work with military precision and with nothing left to chance. This horse was having his first run as a 3yo, when the rest of the firld had all had a lead in, and his last win in Se[ptember 2019 was over a mile. To lift the trip of a galloper by some six furlongs and have him win a Group 2 at Royal Ascot after some nine months away from a racetrack takes some training.

Santiago is being mentioned as a Derby hope and whilst he’ll probably go there as a second stringer to the winner of earlier in the week Russian Emperor (Galileo), I’d fancy him later in the year as a St Leger horse. Like plenty who have walked the same path from the stable, from there it is not beyond all possibility he’ll be seen at Flemington in the first Tuesday in November. He certainly profiles up that way.

Tomorrow see’s Group racing aplenty, as some of the strongest fields of the week are assembled for races that have so much history....

Queen Mary Stakes (Group 2, 5f)

The Queen Mary is a race for the 2yo’s over the minimum distance and as you’d expect has historically suited well bred, precocious 2yo’s with plenty of speed in the pedigree. Normally held on Day Two of the meeting, as with the other 2yo events this week it has been pushed back to the last day in order to allow more preparation time.

Last years winner Raffle Prize (Slade Power), kicked on from this race to achieve a further Group 2 victory before running two Group 1 seconds in France, behind the very good unbeaten French filly Earthlight (Sharmadal).

In 2013, Rizeena (Iffraaj) was successful and the horse went on to score in the Group 1 Moyglare Stakes to be the third highest rated 2yo filly in Europe of that year. She would return the following year to Royal Ascot to be victorious in the Group 1 Coronation.

A year-on-year double was achieved by American Wesley Ward in 2015 and 2016 with two very smart individuals by Scat Daddy. In 2015 it was Acapulco (Scat Daddy), who went on to run a remarkable second in the Nunthorpe Stakes as the only 2yo in the field jam packed with much older sprinting talent. Better than her was 2016 victor Lady Aurelia (Scat Daddy), who went on to become a triple Group 1 winner, including a Kings Stand the following year, with a career high official rating of 135.

This is a race often won by the ‘sexy’ types and I think there is a lay down mesaire this year. More Beautiful (War Front) for Ballydoyle and Coolmore looks to be the very definition of the type of talented 2yo that gets sent out from that operation on a regular basis. Out of Galileo mare Maybe, this makes this filly a half sister to the outstanding Saxon Warrior (Deep Impact). Coming off her maiden victory at Naas, she has the best time figure of any 2yo filly this year, on a day where she ran a quicker sectional than 4yo Sceptical (Exceed and Excel) who is the favourite for the Diamond Jubilee later in the card. This horse just looks a carbon copy of so many we’ve seen before from these connections.

Coventry Stakes (Group 2, 6f)

The Coventry Stakes is another Group 2 fixture for the 2yo’s.

This race has a remarkable record as a stallion maker. Looking back to 1970 with Mill Reef , the honour roll features Royal Applause (1995), Fasilyev (1999), Landseer (2001), Red Clubs (2005), Henrythenavigator (2007), Art Connoisseur (2008), Canford Cliffs (2009), Dawn Approach (2012), War Command (2013) and Carravaggio (2016).

Cambridge Stud’s very own Power was successful in the 2011 edition for Coolmore and Ballydoyle.

2020’s favourite is Admiral Nelson (Kingman) for Ballydoyle and I am prepared to say that based on the slow time produced in his maiden victory at The Curragh, that the reason he is favourite is due to the stable he arrives from.

Having a look at some of the times coming out of the one start preparations all of these have had, I can make a case for three down in the betting. These are Dark Lion (Dark Angel), Talbot (Gleneagles) and Saeiqa (Shalaa). All of these arrive from debut outings where the times have been very good.

Again, an extremely open 2yo contest, will this year’s winner go on to a successful stud career like so many before?

Coronation Stakes (Group 1, 1m)

A race that is the creator of an extremely valuable broodmare, this contest for 3yo fillies over a mile is a natural follow on from the 1,000 Guineas and leads to a culmination later on in the year in the British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes on Champions day at this course in October.

A honour roll that includes many mares who would subsequently go on to produce very good offspring, this event has been ever-present since 1840.

2018 saw witness to one of the most dominant performances ever seen in the race. The high class Alpha Centuari (Mastercraftsman) would destroy a field with a lot of depth by six-lengths. She would go on to become the worlds highest rated 3yo filly in that year.

The Ballydoyle trifecta of 2017 was exceptionally strong. In first place was dual British and Irish 1,000 Guineas winner Winter (Galileo), in second was Roly Poly (War Front) and in third was Hydrangea (Galileo). Those three mares between them notched up nine Group 1 successes before being retired to Coolmore’s broodmare band.

There are seven runners in this years renewal, and it looks a strong one.

Last years top rated 2yo filly Quadrilateral (Frankel) was unbeaten as a juvenile, culminating in Group 1 success in the Fillies Mile at Newmarket. Resuming in the 1,000 Guineas a fortnight ago, Love (Galileo) turned the fortunes on her from the year before and she finished in 3 rd . I commented at the time that the run looked one in which the horse was looking for further and I am surprised trainer Roger Charlton has elected for this instead of going straight to the Oaks. She wasn’t helped by the rock hard surface that day and the easing of the ground with a good pace to lead her in tomorrow should ensure she is competitive.

I’d be with Run Wild (Amaron) for John Gosden who took out the Listed Pretty Polly Stakes at Newmarket on Guineas weekend. A talented filly, she is proven to stay beyond a mile and will set the pace in an attempt to draw the stamina out of those in behind.

Alpine Star (Sea The Moon) comes in fresh up as a 3yo off the back of some strong Irish 2yo form, Cloak Of Spirits (Invincible Spirit) was a good second in the 1,000 Guineas and although still a maiden after nine starts the strongest Ballydoyle contender So Wonderful (War Front) brings exceptional Black Type place getting form.

A really strong encounter which will see the winner deserved of its spoils.

St James’s Palace Stakes (Group 1, 1m)

Another historically strong fixture for the 3yo colts, the St James’s Palace Stakes produces winners of the highest quality.

Normally run on the Day One of the carnival, this is another race that was pushed back to give as much time between it and the 2000 Guineas as possible.

Taken out last year by Circus Maximus (Galileo), the honour roll reads like a who’s who of the racing and stallion ranks. Since the turn of the century winners have included Giant’s Causeway (2000), Black Minnaloushe (2001), Rock Of Gibraltar (2002), Azamour (2004), Sharmadal (2006), Excellent Art (2007), Henrythenavigator (2008), Mastercraftsman (2009), Canford Cliffs (2010), Frankel (2011), Dawn Approach (2013), Kingman (2014), Gleneagles (2015), Galilieo Gold (2016), Barney Roy (2017) and Without Parole (2018).

This year, champion 2yo from last season Pinatubo (Sharmadal) is looking to bounce back from his 3 rd placing in the 2000 Guineas and emulate his father by taking out this contest. The question will be answered as to whether last week was a blip on the radar or whether he has come back to the field as so often happens to a horse after it turns three. It wasn’t a bad run by any stretch and on watching the replay again William Buick may have got him to the lead too soon. The winner Kameko (Kittens Joy) came from back off the speed to score. I raised the point that a worrying aspect for him is that in stature it appears his rivals have not only caught up, but have overtaken him. Of course, there are plenty of examples of horses belying their size and performing with distinction on the race track and his strengths as a 2yo haven’t gone away, but tomorrow will prove very interesting for him. He doesn’t mind soft ground at all and that will be in his favour. He was absolutely devastating last year and I hope he recaptures that form tomorrow, there’s nothing like a champion!

The main danger will certainly come in the form of Wichita (No Nay Never). He finished one place ahead of Pinatubo in the Guineas, he was prominent throughout and it was a fantastic performance from an exposed position. The soft gorund may play against him, but his form has been franked by the victory of Molhather yesterday. This Coolmore owned, O’Brien trained, and Ryan Moore ridden colt will pose a big danger tomorrow.

Palace Pier (Kingman) for Gosden and Dettori ran a storming Derby Trial two weeks ago at Newcastle where over a mile he didn’t get cracking until a furlong out where he motored clear to score by over three lengths. He may find the top two too hot, but I like him for the Derby and he’ll be finishing on.

Diamond Jubilee Stakes (Group 1, 6f)

The 2012 edition of the Diamond Jubilee held special significance for Southern Hemisphere racing fans, when an unbeaten mare by Bel Esprit in the orange and black spots lined up to take on the best the North could offer. In a performance that saw her sustain injury, she crossed the line in first position. That was without first giving her trainer a big fright when jockey Luke Nolen briefly stopped riding short of the line. Black Caviar was nowhere near her best that day, but she won all the same. That confirmed her as undeniably the best sprinter in the world and one of the greatest racehorses to be seen on a racetrack anywhere at any time and under any circumstance.

Last year Blue Point (Sharmadal) achieved a remarkable double when he turned up only five days after winning his second Kings Stand to waltz to victory. That confirmed him as a sprinter so far above any other in this part of the world that it wasn’t funny, it also was his last race before the stallion barn.

A performance that will always stick out in my mind was not so much for the horse, but for the training performance and sheer brilliance of a plan coming off, was when Merchant Navy (Fastnet Rock) took the race out in 2018. After performing with distinction in Australia, in the spring of 2018 he was part-purchased by Coolmore and sent to Ireland in an attempt to gain a Northern Hemisphere Group 1. Only two months after racing in Australia he was winning a Group 2 at The Curragh before his Group 1 at Ascot. He was then sent to stud, plan achieved.

Chris Waller sent top class sprinter Brazen Beau (I Am Invincible) up to take on the Northern sprinting fraternity in 2015. After going off a warm favourite, he was denied half a length an American in Undrafted (Purim) for Wesley Ward.

It is a fact that out and out sprinters are not where the strength lies in British racing. Partly because the Classics are so prestigious and it’s just not what is breed for here and then because any very good young sprinters are sent to stud abruptly and never get the chance to carve out a lengthy career. As we know a sprinter often gets better over time, the best ones leave the race track behind young.

This years affair is solid, without being spectacular. There is a lot of hype around Sceptical, a son of Exceed And Excel out of a Royal Ascot winner in Jealous. Again, the 4yo has made rapid progress since finishing third on his Dundalk debut last October. After rattling off a hat-trick of wins at Ireland’s sole all-weather venue, he made a smooth transition to the grass when running out a hugely impressive winner of the Listed Woodlands Stakes at Naas earlier in the month – booking his ticket for Saturday’s final Group One of the Royal meeting. I’m not entirely sure how that form will stack up, but he looks a promising type.

I’m with One Master (Fastnet Rock), I think he comes into this race really well.