Tag Archive for: Royal Ascot

American Rascal following in his mother’s illustrious hoofprints

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Wesley Ward’s American Rascal will aim to emulate the success of his dam as he heads for the meeting at which she thrived – Royal Ascot.

The colt is out of Ward’s fantastic sprint mare Lady Aurelia, a Royal Ascot favourite who made the journey from Keeneland to Berkshire three times throughout her career.

As a juvenile she lined up in the Queen Mary Stakes and routed the field to come home seven lengths of her nearest rival under Frankie Dettori.

The following season she returned to take on older horses in the King’s Stand and again she was a decisive winner when crossing the line three lengths ahead of the runner-up.

Her third trip to Ascot may have ended in defeat when she contested the King’s Stand again in 2018, but she retired to stud with a superb reputation and the arrival of the first of her progeny on the track was much anticipated.

American Rascal, a bay colt by Curlin, was the first of her offspring to run and he did not disappoint when triumphing in a Keeneland event over four and a half furlongs in April.

The youngster won by 10 and a half lengths in an effort reminiscent of his mother’s Keeneland debut almost seven years to the day.

Just like his dam, American Rascal is now headed for the Royal meeting and will be aimed at the Group Two Norfolk Stakes over five furlongs on the Thursday of the showpiece fixture.

“He’s doing great, we’re just getting ready for our workout here on the grass at Keeneland,” said Ward.

“We’re moving forward, everything’s great. I sure was delighted with his debut, that was exciting.”

American Rascal will set sail for England in early June and settle in with a few pieces of work on turf before his date with the Ascot track looms.

Ward said: “He’s pulled up dead sound, no issues at all. We’re looking forward to getting his breeze workouts in and then we’re coming for you!

“We’ll probably get there a little early, just after the first week in June.

“We’ll have a workout or two on English soil, everybody over here is all smiles and very, very excited for this.”

Queen Anne the target for reappearance of Inspiral

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Inspiral will head straight to Royal Ascot after bypassing the Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes at Newbury.

The Group One-winning filly, trained by John and Thady Gosden, had topped the ante-post market for the Group One mile contest at the Berkshire track.

However, she was a surprise omission for the feature event at the confirmation stage on Monday.

Owned by Cheveley Park Stud, the daughter of Frankel won the Coronation Stakes and the Prix Jacques le Marois in her three-year-old campaign, adding to her success in the Fillies’ Mile as a juvenile.

While the Gosdens will instead be represented by Laurel, who is one of 16 possibles for the race won by the brilliant Baaeed last season, Inspiral will make a belated four-year-old debut.

Cheveley Park Stud’s managing director Chris Richardson explained: “There is no issue with her. Mrs Thompson was adamant that she wanted the filly to go straight to Royal Ascot, as we did last year.

“She looks great, but she is not quite there, is the general feeling. It is like last year, so rather than rush her, we decided to wait.

“It has been cold and miserable and it has just taken time for these fillies to come to themselves.

“We just felt she blossomed in June last year and we didn’t really want to rush her, so the Queen Anne will be her likely target.”

Platinum Jubilee Stakes to be run in honour of the late Queen

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The Platinum Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot has been renamed in honour of the late Queen and will now be known as The Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes.

The late Queen’s love of racing and passion for breeding was rewarded with Classic success in all of the major British races except the Derby, but it is the Royal meeting in June which she became synonymous with.

She entered with winner’s enclosure 24 times throughout her reign with her first winner Choir Boy in the 1953 Royal Hunt Cup and Tactical her final triumph in the Windsor Castle three years ago. However, the Berkshire venue was also the place of one of her finest hours as an owner when Estimate lifted the 2013 Gold Cup.

To honour the late Queen’s patronage and with the blessing of the King, Ascot have decided to change the name of Saturday’s six-furlong feature once again.

Sir Francis Brooke Bt., the King’s Representative at Ascot, said: “The late Queen’s close association with Ascot Racecourse was well known throughout the world, but no race at the Royal Meeting previously carried the name of Queen Elizabeth II.

“His Majesty the King has approved the renaming of the Platinum Jubilee Stakes to The Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes. This will both honour Her Late Majesty in perpetuity and maintain the connection with the three Jubilees celebrated since the inception of the race as the Golden Jubilee Stakes in 2002.”

Modesty set for low-key return at Newmarket

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Exciting prospect Modesty looks set to miss the Betfred Derby after connections delayed his return to action following a setback.

Owned in partnership by Aquis Farm and Manton Park, the Dubawi colt showed plenty of dash when taking a mile maiden on good to soft ground at York in October.

A Dante and Derby entry, co-trainers Martyn and Freddie Meade have decided Modesty – who is a general 50-1 shot for the Derby – will not head to York or Epsom. Instead, he will make a belated three-year-old debut at Newmarket on Friday week.

Freddie (left) and Martyn Meade (right) have ruled out a Derby bid
Freddie (left) and Martyn Meade (right) have ruled out a Derby bid (Mike Egerton/PA)

“It has been frustrating. He has just been caught up in a series of pollen allergens we have been having recently,” said Freddie Meade.

“We have been really pleased with the way he has developed, though. He was still really green when he won at York, so the plan with him is to go to a novice at Newmarket, over a mile on May 19.”

Out of Group Three-winning mare I Am Beautiful, whose sire was multiple Group One winner Rip Van Winkle, Modesty is bred to be top-class.

And after scoring by three lengths on his debut, Meade feels the speed he showed on the Knavesmire means he will be better suited to trips short of a mile and a half, this season at least.

“We are looking at him as a mile or a mile-and-a-quarter horse this year, and so we will start him in that novice and see whether there is anything at Ascot that would suit him and go from there, really,” he said.

“I think we have ruled out the Derby. I think he’s got quite a lot of speed and I think we’d rush him to get to the Derby.

“The speed he showed at York, hopefully, with that pedigree, if he can be a good miler, then hopefully he’d make a good stallion.”

The Manton handlers have given him an entry in the St James’s Palace Stakes over a mile at Royal Ascot on June 20.

Meade added: “We’ve put him in that and those are the sort of races we’ll be looking at for him.

“He won on good to soft and he’s a very sound horse, and will seemingly handle anything. He’s one we are really excited about.”

Hills eyeing Irish Guineas for Newmarket fourth Galeron

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Fourth in the Guineas, first in the Derby is the well-worn adage.

But while the Qipco 2000 Guineas has often been among the best trials for the Epsom Classic, Galeron, this year’s Newmarket fourth, is not likely to make the line-up, according to trainer Charlie Hills.

Having won the Goffs Million at the Curragh on his final start last season, Galeron finished a close-up third to Dear My Friend in a Newcastle all-weather Listed contest last month on his seasonal debut.

Despite that, the son of Camacho was sent off at 150-1 for Guineas glory.

Yet Hills had argued the bookmakers had overlooked him and his pre-race confidence proved spot-on as Galeron stayed on nicely in soft ground under Kieran Shoemark to finish five lengths behind Chaldean.

However, he would need to be supplemented for Epsom, so any thoughts of lining up in the mile-and-a-half colts’ Classic have been shelved for the time being.

Hills said: “It was a fabulous result. He did really well and I’m delighted with him, really.

“He just got a little bit further back than what we’d hoped – he got squashed coming out of the stalls. It was a bit rough at the start, but he came through them really well.

“Kieran said he didn’t really seem to be handling the ground too well, so you have to mark him up a bit on that.

“I don’t think he will get a Derby trip, but we certainly have to have a look at the Irish Guineas and keep a close eye on that. We’ll see how he is at the end of the week and then make a plan.

“He seems to have come out of the race really well.”

It was a great weekend for the Lambourn yard, with Mutasaabeq landing the Group Two bet365 Mile and Saxon King taking a decent handicap over the same Newmarket Rowley Mile.

And at Goodwood on Friday, Cicero’s Gift underlined his potential as a smart prospect when powering home to take another eight-furlong contest, a three-year-old conditions race, maintaining his unbeaten record.

The Muhaarar colt had previously won a novice on debut at Newbury in October and followed up on the all-weather at Wolverhampton in March.

Cicero’s Gift (right) May have booked his Royal Ascot ticket
Cicero’s Gift (right) May have booked his Royal Ascot ticket (Tim Goode/PA)

He stormed to a five-and-a-half-length success, trouncing five previous winners and although he holds a Dante entry, Cicero’s Gift is more likely to head straight to Royal Ascot.

Hills said: “It was exciting. I was really pleased with the way he lengthened away there.

“He is in the Dante, although my gut feeling is that he will go straight to the St James’s Palace Stakes. The gut feeling is to wait, but we have to see how he is. I think Ascot will really suit him.

“He is owned by Rosehill Racing, a syndicate that we set up. We have five horses who were bought relatively cheaply, about the 30-grand mark, and he looks an exciting horse for the future.”

Kirby outlines Royal Ascot aim for Farhan

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Phil Kirby is eyeing an appearance at Royal Ascot for Farhan after performing above expectations at Newbury on Saturday.

The five-year-old won the 2021 November Handicap and a valuable prize at York last season for John Butler before changing hands for 150,000 guineas in October.

Following a slow start, Farhan failed to make an impact when defending his November Handicap crown on his debut for new connections, but fared far better in filling the runner-up spot as a 40-1 shot in Saturday’s Group Three Dubai Duty Free Finest Surprise Stakes – better known as the John Porter.

Kirby said: “I was delighted – I thought he ran really well and hopefully he’ll come on for it.

“The plan is to go for the mile-and-a-half handicap on the Friday of Royal Ascot (Duke of Edinburgh Stakes), so I couldn’t really afford to come down in the handicap, but I might go the wrong way now!

“I was trying to find something competitive for him, as mad as it sounds, but he put up a really good show and probably didn’t need the run as much as I thought he would.”

Farhan was beaten just over two lengths by the Charlie Fellowes-trained Grand Alliance, with Max Vega a neck behind him in third.

With hot favourite Hurricane Lane failing to fire and the top-class Mojo Star suffering an injury that could be career-ending, Kirby is hoping the handicapper does not take the form too literally.

Trainer Phil Kirby
Trainer Phil Kirby (Phil Kirby Racing)

“He travelled and stayed on nicely, but I suppose we rode him to run well. We sort of took our time and tried to pick up the pieces if we could and it ended up better than we expected,” the trainer added.

“I thought it was a hot enough Group Three, but the favourite has run badly and the other horse got injured, so I don’t know what they’ll do.

“We’ll look towards Royal Ascot and I think there’s room for another run before then. There’s another Group Three back at Newbury (Al Rayyan Stakes, May 20) and there’s also a race at York for him around the same time, so he’ll probably go for one of the two.

“I don’t think he’s desperate for it soft, but I don’t think he wants quick ground – easy side of good or softer is fine.”

Varian looking at starting options for The Platinum Queen

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Roger Varian has identified races at York and Haydock as potential starting points for The Platinum Queen ahead of a crack at the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot.

The Cotai Glory filly was one of the stars of the 2022 Flat season when trained by Richard Fahey, justifying ambitious campaigning from previous owners Middleham Park Racing by picking up a silver medal in the Nunthorpe and plundering the Prix de l’Abbaye at ParisLongchamp in October.

She was sold to Katsumi Yoshida for 1.2million guineas at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale and she will now sport the colours previously worn in the UK by Flotus when she makes her first start for Varian, having also swapped the northern racing hotspot of Malton for Newmarket in the close season.

The Platinum Queen will be trained by Roger Varian this season
The Platinum Queen will be trained by Roger Varian this season (Mike Egerton/PA)

Her new trainer has nominated the five-furlong King’s Stand Stakes as the three-year-old’s Royal Ascot target and is considering either York’s Westow Stakes (May 18) or the Temple Stakes at Haydock (May 27) as options to first blow away the cobwebs.

“I think there’s the Listed race for three-year-olds at York or there’s the Temple Stakes and we would like to run her before Ascot,” said the Carlburg Stables handler.

“We would like to run her in the King’s Stand at Royal Ascot, but it would be nice to get a run into her beforehand and those would be the two options I think.”

Marshman powers home in Prix Sigy return

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Marshman made a smart start to his campaign with a front-running victory in the Prix Sigy at Chantilly.

Impressive in winning his first two starts at Ayr and Thirsk last summer, the Nick Bradley Racing-owned colt went on to fill the runner-up spot in the Gimcrack Stakes at York before rounding off his juvenile year by finishing fifth when favourite for the Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket.

Karl Burke’s charge was a warm order to make a successful reappearance at Group Three level in France and dominated from the outset in the hands of Clifford Lee.

Wodao, trained by Donnacha O’Brien did his best to bridge the gap in the latter stages of the five-and-a-half-furlong contest but Marshman was well on top at the line, prompting Paddy Power to trim his odds for the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot to 9-1 from 16-1.

Bradley confirmed the son of Harry Angel is likely to have one more run before heading to the showpiece meeting in Berkshire.

He said: “The season starts here really for us, so it’s nice to get off to a good start.

Clifford Lee speaks to Nick Bradley at Beverley
Clifford Lee speaks to Nick Bradley at Beverley (Mike Egerton/PA)

“Karl has been pretty positive all spring. He’s put the odd average piece of work in, but other than that he couldn’t have been any better.

“I thought he was a certainty today and he won like one. He got a little bit lonely at the end and the only danger was if he got tired on the ground, but we got away with it.

“We’ll look at the Sandy Lane at Haydock or the Duke of York Stakes next and then we’ll head for the Commonwealth Cup.”

Subjectivist taking direct path to Ascot Gold Cup

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Subjectivist will head straight to Royal Ascot as connections attempt to give the six-year-old the best possible chance of winning a second Gold Cup.

The son of Teofilo broke Stradivarius’ stranglehold on Ascot’s feature contest when storming to a five-length success in the Group One contest in 2021, but it was a long 618 days before he was seen on the track again having suffered a career-threatening injury.

He made his comeback in Saudi Arabia in February before moving on to Dubai last month in a bid to win a second Dubai Gold Cup and ran a pleasing race to finish third, beaten five lengths behind Broome.

Having come out of that race well, the six-time winner is enjoying a few easy weeks before being put through his paces again ahead of the Royal meeting, with trainer Charlie Johnston keen not to over-exert Dr Jim Walker’s fragile warrior away from the top staying contests.

“We’ve had a bit of debate about Sagaros and Yorkshire Cups and things, but the plan now for him, all being well and should we be able to get him there, is to go straight to Ascot,” said Johnston.

“With that in mind he’s just swimming and on the water walker at the moment and having an easy couple of weeks before we try to build him back up for the Gold Cup.

Joe Fanning riding Subjectivist celebrate winning the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot in 2021
Joe Fanning riding Subjectivist celebrate winning the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot in 2021 (Steven Paston/PA)

“We have a big, black cloud hanging over us every day now since his tendon injury and how long is a piece of string really, we don’t know how many bullets are left in the gun for us to fire and with that in mind we don’t really want to waste any in races like a Sagaro.

“He’s going to be campaigned in the three or four races that we really want to win and, touch wood, he has taken two races in a four-week window quite well.

“But once you’ve had a tendon injury, that is always something that is hanging over you to some degree and as a result we are only going to go into battle when it matters and the next time that will be, will be the Ascot Gold Cup.”

Brisland plotting Royal Ascot route for Doddie’s Impact

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Robyn Brisland may consider a trip to France with his Brocklesby hero Doddie’s Impact ahead of a planned appearance at Royal Ascot.

The Pearl Secret colt, who was bought for just £6,000 in October, displayed a willing attitude to win the first two-year-old race of the season at Doncaster on Saturday – knuckling down to get the better of 3-1 favourite and €250,000 purchase Valadero.

Brisland is keen to step his charge up in trip on his next start as he plots a route to a possible tilt to the Royal meeting in June.

“He’s come out of it well, he’s very tough – he could almost go again today,” said the trainer.

“We were hopeful going into the race, but you can never be a certainty with a load of two-year-olds running in a straight line.

“We’ve got to be looking that way (Royal Ascot) and in the meantime I’d like to step him up to six furlongs. I haven’t got anything in mind at the minute, but we might end up going abroad if there’s a race for him.

“The prize-money is always good if you go abroad, so we might look at going to France.”

While his Royal Ascot target will likely depend on how he fares on his next start, Brisland currently views the Coventry Stakes as the most suitable target.

He added: “I don’t think the Windsor Castle would be any good for him as they’d go too quick, so I think it would have to be the Coventry, but I’m sure there’ll be a few aeroplanes out before then!”