Artorius camp bullish ahead of Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes
Co-trainer Sam Freedman believes that Artorius (Flying Artie) is the one to beat in next Saturday’s Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (Gr 1, 6f), the highlight on the final day of Royal Ascot.
Artorius came from near last to dead-heat for third in the six-furlong showpiece 12 months ago and arrives on the back of two excellent performances so far this year.
The Australian challenger registered a second elite-level success in the Canterbury Stakes (Gr 1, 1300m) at Randwick on March 4 before finishing just three-quarters of a length behind Anamoe (Street Boss) when fourth in the George Ryder Stakes (Gr 1, 1500m) at Rosehill a fortnight later.
Speaking from Charlie Fellowes’ yard in Newmarket yesterday morning, Freedman, who trains in partnership with his father Anthony, said: “Artorius travelled over well. He only lost four kilograms on the flight, whereas last year he lost nine kilograms, and he has put on six or seven kilograms since he arrived in Newmarket last Thursday night – he is thriving.
“He had a little blow on the watered gallop on Tuesday morning, not a lot just quickening up a furlong, and tomorrow (Friday) morning he will do his main bit of work at Ascot – that is the plan eight days out. He is definitely stronger than last year and has come back a better horse.
“We knew we needed to work on his speed from the gate before last year. Since that run, we have done a lot of work with him to see if he could still finish off riding him a lot closer and he did that when winning a Group 1 two starts back.
Artorius is the current 4-1 ante-post favourite for the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes, with Hong Kong raider Wellington (All Too Hard), Sacred (Exceed And Excel) and Kinross (Kingman) heading the likely opposition.
Freedman said: “If you look at the form, he looks to be the horse with the best credentials. Wellington has good form in Hong Kong and we would consider him a danger, but I think our horse has improved into his four-year-old season.”
“I am not so concerned about the opposition, but more where he will end up and where he will get to in the run. I am confident in taking on any of the sprinters in the world, but it is a case of getting the right transit and a bit of luck.”
James McDonald has been booked to ride Artorius, with Jamie Spencer having partnered the entire in all three European starts last year.
“James McDonald has done a bit of work with him at home and knows the horse pretty well. He has been keen to get on the horse for a while.
“We offered the ride to Zac Purton but he is trying to break the record in Hong Kong and the next port of call was always going to be J-Mac. That is not to say that Jamie Spencer didn’t ride him correctly last year – he rode to instructions and rode him very well.
“I think Zac would be pretty confident that Artorius would be the horse to beat over here if you were going to line him up against Wellington. I would not swap him for anything.”