Artorius fourth as Khaadem springs massive shock in Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes
In a week of upsets during this year’s Royal Ascot, you’d be hard pushed to find a bigger surprise than Khaadem’s (Dark Angel) 80-1 success in yesterday’s feature event, the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (Gr 1, 6f), as the seven-year-old gelding became the biggest-priced winner since the race was first run in 1868.
Having previously been found wanting in eight races at the top level before yesterday’s assignment, with his closest placing coming when a one-and-three-quarter-lengths fourth in the 2020 running of this race, the Charlie Hills-trained sprinter produced a career-best performance when it mattered.
Ridden by Jamie Spencer, who was ironically the jockey of Artorius (Flying Artie) in last year’s renewal of the six-furlong sprint, the pair travelled in last place in the far-side group of runners throughout the opening half of the contest.
Making headway when angled out to the centre of the track with a furlong and a half left to run, Khaadem made persistent gains on the leader Sacred (Exceed And Excel) before overtaking that rival with 100 yards to run and then holding on for a neck victory over the William Haggas-trained mare.
“He does have his quirks, but most sprinters do,” Hills said. “It’s just amazing that we’ve got to where we are now at his age.
“At the end of the day, he was down at [a mark of] 104 before his last start. He was in the Wokingham [Handicap], I just really wanted to run him over six again.
“Last year, he won a Group 2 over five and looked to really blast down. I was really keen to take the blinkers off him and try and train him like a proper horse, do it the right way and try and teach him again how to just race him properly and drop him in, so I thought Jamie was the perfect jockey for it today.”
Third place was filled by Tuesday’s King’s Stand Stakes (Gr 1, 5f) runner-up Highfield Princess (Night Of Thunder), who again showed her tenacity to finish just one and a half lengths off the front two.
Artorius, who flew home to dead-heat for third in last year’s event, raced closer to the pace this time around under Kiwi jockey James McDonald and, having been outpaced by the leaders when the tempo quickened with two furlongs left to run, again kept on to comfortably hold fourth place from fellow Australian raider The Astrologist (Zoustar) under Damian Lane.
The six-year-old showed further improvement from his seventh-placed outing in the Duke Of York Stakes (Gr 2, 6f), his northern hemisphere debut, and last-start runner-up effort in the John Of Gaunt Stakes (Gr 3, 7f) at Haydock last month, to maintain fifth place, having led a group of six runners towards the near side until the final 100 yards.
“He ran terrific, we were a touch unlucky,” Troy Corstens, who trains The Astrologist in partnership with his son Leon, told ANZ Bloodstock News. “We wanted to try and get him a little bit of cover so he didn’t have a race but I think where we drew [stall six] it didn’t really help us in the end but I’m very happy with him. He’s run very well.
“I’ll speak to Damien [about the ground] but I’d say it was fine for him and we don’t want to make excuses. If anything, the draw has let us down and with a better one we probably would’ve finished a little bit closer, but we’ve had a go.”
Having had the benefit of two extra starts since arriving, Corstens felt this method was something he would repeat if heading back to the UK.
“I think that has worked, yeah,” he said. “I’d definitely do it again. We had a little break in between Dubai [Meydan] and coming here and I’d try and skip that step if we could next time. But other than that I’m very happy. I’ll be back in a heartbeat if I get a chance.”
As for the ever-consistent globetrotter Artorius, Henry Field managing director of Newgate Farm, who own the four-year-old in partnership with China Horse Club, was once again delighted with the sprinter’s performance while also reflecting on what has been a slightly disappointing week overall for the Australian contingent.
“It wasn’t our day but he’s run another great race,” Field told ANZ Bloodstock News. “He’s run so well in these top Group 1 races throughout his career and he’s done us proud again.
“He’s had an amazing career and was a dominant Blue Diamond Stakes winner and he’s hit the board in plenty of the world’s best Group 1 races and he’s done so again. It wasn’t the week the Aussies wanted, but he’s acquitted us well.
Following his dead-heat for third place in last year’s Platinum Jubilee Stakes, Artorius was then placed again in the July Cup (Gr 1, 6f) at Newmarket in July, before running sixth in the Prix Maurice de Gheest (Gr 1, 1300m) over in France.
However, it seems there will be no plans for any further engagements for the son of Flying Artie (Artie Schiller), with a career at stud beckoning back home.
“I’d say we’ll take him home now and retire him to stud,” Field said when asked about the possibility of any further racing in the northern hemisphere. He’s been a beauty and I’m super proud to have enjoyed the run with him.”
The Peter and Paul Snowden team again had a day to forget with Cannonball (Capitalist), who was last in the King’s Stand Stakes earlier in the week, and yesterday unseated his rider Daniel Tudhope as the stalls opened, with stewards later declaring him a runner following an inquiry into the race.
Khaadem (7 g ex White Daffodil by Footstepsinthesand) became the 14th individual elite-level winner for Yeomanstown Stud stallion Dark Angel (Acclamation).
The fifth foal out of the winning Footstepsinthesand (Giant’s Causeway) mare White Daffodil, Khaadem is a brother to Listed scorer Log Out.