Melbourne Cup bid put on ice for Isle Of Jura
George Scott reveals King George and Queen Elizabeth Stakes will now be plan for Hardwicke Stakes hero
Trainer George Scott revealed a crack at November’s Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) has been shelved for Isle Of Jura (New Approach) after the progressive four-year-old landed Saturday’s Hardwicke Stakes (Gr 2, 1m 4f) in impressive fashion.
The son of New Approach (Galileo) was a prolific winner in Bahrain during the northern hemisphere winter, landing a total of four races from five runs in the jurisdiction between December and March, including a brace of Listed contests.
The gelding continued that good form when he returned to the UK, making his seasonal reappearance with a half-length victory in Goodwood’s Festival Stakes (Listed, 1m 2f) on May 24.
Stepping up to Group company for the first time in his career on Saturday, Isle Of Jura, who is a brother to dual Australian Cup (Gr 1, 2000m) hero Cascadian, was sent off a 16-1 chance under Callum Shepherd in the nine-runner field.
In touch with leaders for most of the mile and four-furlong trip, Isle Of Jura made headway to go second with two furlongs left to run.
Ridden to lead entering the final furlong, the four-year-old kept on well to clear away from his rivals, comfortably defeating Goliath (Adlerflug) by three and three-quarter lengths with the Qatar Racing and Ciaron Maher-owned Middle Earth (Roaring Lion) finishing another three-quarters of a length away in third.
Having been touted as a potential Melbourne Cup runner prior to Saturday’s victory, Scott confirmed after Saturday’s Group 2 win that targets for Isle Of Jura have now changed and he would be campaigned in European Group 1 company for the rest of this season, beginning with the King George and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Gr 1, 1m 4f) back at Ascot on July 27.
“He is a special horse,” the winning trainer said. “He has improved all the time and has been a pleasure to train. He has just kept improving physically – he is the most ginormous horse, beautiful mover, a lot of hard work has gone into him at home.
“It was a moment I will never forget, everything stopped for a minute and I could enjoy the last half-furlong.
“Most best-laid plans go to pot, but this has been a long-term plan. This was an obvious race for him. We knew Goodwood would bring him on, and it has. We knew he would get the ground, and he has. It was a scintillating performance, so we shall enjoy it.
“It means he will miss the Melbourne Cup, that was always the conversation we’d had, that if he did this he wouldn’t go to Melbourne and would be campaigned in Group 1 events so he won’t be going. His rating is going to soar now. All roads to the King George, 100 per cent.”
Saturday’s Group 2 victory was a first Royal Ascot winner for both Scott and Shepherd, who lost the ride on Gredley Family’s Amiente Friendly (Gleneagles) in this year’s Epsom Derby (Gr 1, 1m 4f), having previously ridden him to victory in the Derby Trial Stakes (Listed, 1m 3.5f).
“He’s been amazing,” Shepherd said. “We took him over for that handicap series in Bahrain initially, and obviously you hope he’s going to be better than that, but at that stage we had no idea.
“He just kept improving; he’s never let us down and has got better with every start. He’s become very straightforward and he’s got a real desire to win, as well. He was rusty at Goodwood, but you still saw that innate desire to pass the post in front, which is so important.
“It’s so wonderful for his owner, Sheikh Nasser; it was lovely he went over there so they could enjoy him on home soil, so to speak, and he’s come back and continued to climb.
“He was so, so good – he loves quick ground,stays a mile and half very well, and six weeks ago I thought I’d found my diamond [in Ambiente Friendly] and that wasn’t to be, but he’s (Isle Of Jura) certainly blossomed into one.
“I was hopeful coming into the race; I certainly believed he’d run very well, but I didn’t think he’d win as emphatically as that. That was quite remarkable. George and his team have done such a good job – they’ve got it absolutely to a T.”
Running in the Victorious Racing colours, Isle Of Jura was purchased for 150,000gns by Billy Jackson-Stops of JS Bloodstock and his trainer from the draft of his breeder Godolphin at the 2023 Tattersalls Ascot March Mixed Sale.
While also being a brother to the aforementioned Cascadian, Isle Of Jura is also a brother to winner Trossachs and a half-brother to Grade 1 scorer Albahr (Dubawi) and winner Imperial Empire (Dubawi) being out of the Group 3-winning Street Cry (Machiavellian) mare Falls Of Lora.
Third placegetter Middle Earth is likely to head to Australia following his game effort in Saturday’s contest, where he stuck on well in the closing stages. A crack at the Melbourne Cup was reportedly the plan heading into Saturday’s race.
“I didn’t want to be back at the field, but as I said before the race, he’s a bit of a slow starter,” Middle Earth’s rider Oisin Murphy said.
“He travelled on and finished very well. He ran home the last three furlongs in, I’d imagine, the quickest time of the race, so you have to be grateful for that. He’s probably run up to his rating.”
Khaadem lands back-to-back victories in Jubilee Stakes
The Charlie Hills-trained Khaadem (Dark Angel) became the first horse since Right Boy (Impeccable) in 1959 to win back-to-back editions of the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (Gr 1, 6f) when he landed the elite-level sprint on the final day of Royal Ascot meeting.
The eight-year-old was a shock 80-1 winner of the race 12 months earlier and had not tasted victory since that triumph.
After flopping on his seasonal reappearance at York, Jamie Spencer, who partnered the gelding to victory 12 months ago, opted to ride his stablemate, the fellow Fitri Hay-owned Mitbaahy (Profitable), after he won his warm up for Saturday’s race, last month’s Greenlands Stakes (Gr 3, 6f) at the Curragh.
However, with Oisin Murphy in the saddle, Khaadem bounced back to his best when finishing a half-length clear of Swingalong (Showcasing), with Mill Stream (Gleneagles) coming home another length and a quarter away to claim third.
Murphy, who was riding his fourth winner of the week and 15th at the meeting overall, said: “What an amazing horse. That’s back-to-back wins and an incredible training performance from Charlie Hills and his team.
“I thought for the majority of the last two furlongs he would win and I was able to enjoy it a little bit. There was a lot of speed on, particularly after a furlong. When it began to slow down late on he came alive. I just wanted to copy Jamie Spencer from last year.”
Khaadem was cut to as short as 10-1 for the July Cup (Gr 1, 6f) at Newmarket on July 13, a race he finished fifth in last season behind Shaquille (Charm Spirit).
“What a horse,” said Hills, who was landing his eighth race at the royal meeting. “He’s won this twice, plus a Palace House, Stewards’ Cup, King George at Goodwood – he’s a very good horse.
“He got a fantastic ride there, off the pace, he never looked like he was going to be beaten and travelled beautifully. He loves this track. I think it’s pretty much the first time he’s had his ground since he ran here last time. I think fast ground is key to him.
“He had a lovely pitch, they went a good strong pace in front and he just travels for fun. He’s such a versatile horse. He was making the running over five furlongs two years ago. We thought we’d ride him differently today, drop him in and it seems to have suited him really well.”
Purchased by Shadwell for 750,000gns at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Khaadem (7 g Dark Angel – White Daffodil by Footstepsinthesand) is the fifth foal out of the winning Footstepsinthesand (Giant’s Causeway) mare White Daffodil. He is a brother to Listed scorer Log Out Island.
Dark Angel stands at Yeomanstown Stud for a fee of €60,000 (approx. AU$96,300).
Bedtime Story shoots to head of betting for 1,000 Guineas
Bedtime Story’s (Galileo) runaway win in the Chesham Stakes (LIsted, 7f) at Royal Ascot on Saturday left connections searching for superlatives after she slammed her 14 rivals to rocket to the head of the market for next year’s English 1,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1m).
Having her second start after winning cosily at Leopardstown on her debut earlier in the month, the Aidan O’Brien-trained filly pulled further and further clear of a toiling field under Ryan Moore to come home a comfortable nine and a half lengths clear of the runner-up Pentle Bay (New Bay), with Brian (Shamen) a further half length away in third.
The winner was cut to 11-4 for next year’s 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket and Derrick Smith, in whose colours she races, was among those bowled over by the performance.
“I said to Ryan ‘was she as good as she looked’ and he said ‘absolutely’. You can’t get better than that. They don’t win like that here. Not normally.”
O’Brien was equally emphatic about the performance. “We never let her go before. This was the first time she was asked to stretch. Ryan said he couldn’t believe it; he said everyone fell away, he said ‘go on’, and she just took off. He didn’t even give her a slap down the shoulder.
“We thought she was probably a Group 1 filly, but we hadn’t looked – thinking is one thing and seeing is another, so everyone saw it together today [Saturday]. It was the first time she was ever dropped down, really. She’s got an unbelievable pedigree, she’s a homebred. She’s very special, isn’t she?”
The win gave O’Brien and Moore their sixth success of the week each and ensured the pair took out the leading trainer and jockey titles at the meeting. O’Brien has now been top trainer at Royal Ascot 13 times in total, including in each of the last three years, while Moore picked up his award for the 11th time.
George Boughey believes big things could be in store for Pentle Bay after the colt ran well to finish second.
Ciaron Maher forked out £400,000 (approx. AU$766,720) to secure the son of New Bay (Dubawi) at Monday’s Goffs London Sale and he sported the famous yellow and claret colours of Teme Valley in Saturday’s Listed race, with Maher also listed in the ownership.
Following the performance, Boughey described the Leicester maiden winner as “a horse with a big future”.
“Ciaron Maher and his team are going to have a really fun horse when he does get down to Australia,” the trainer said.
“He’s still very raw. I think a race that stands out immediately is probably the Vintage [Stakes] at Goodwood.
“We will do a bit of work on the stalls, he’s still very raw. And if they get a bit of juice at Goodwood, which they often can, I think he’s a horse who is going to improve no-end for a run. He did one piece of work since he won and is a horse we have always thought plenty of, in the little time we’ve had him.
“Not many New Bays feature this early in the season. He’s out of a Galileo mare and the pedigree would suggest that he’s going to be a miler, possibly a ten-furlong horse. We are delighted.”
141 for Frankel
Juddmonte Farms’ superstar stallion Frankel (Galileo) chalked up his 141st individual stakes winner when the Aidan O’Brien-trained Bedtime Story (2 f ex Mecca’s Angel by Dark Angel) produced the most dominant performance of the week to win the Chesham Stakes (Listed, 7f) at Royal Ascot. Bred in the purple by owners Coolmore, the filly is out of dual Nunthorpe Stakes (Gr 1, 5f) winner Mecca’s Angel (Dark Angel), making her a three-quarter sister to Group 3 winner and stable companion Content (Galileo). Mecca’s Angel herself is sister to Group 3 scorer Markaz. Frankel’s progeny is headed by 34 Group 1 winners and he stands at Banstead Manor in Newmarket for a fee of £350,000 (approx. AU$662,800).
Haatem gets the nod in tight Jersey
Having made the frame in Classics on either side of the Irish Sea on each of his previous two outings, Haatem (3 c Phoenix Of Spain – Hard Walnut by Cape Cross) returned to winning ways when holding off the late challenge of Frankel’s half-brother Kikkuli (Kingman) in Royal Ascot’s Jersey Stakes (Gr 3, 7f).
Just a short separated the pair on the line, with the Richard Hannon-trained colt notching the fourth win of his career, with this his third in stakes company. It was the colt’s first victory for new connections Wathnan Racing, who purchased the colt privately following his second-placed performance in the Irish 2,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1m) last month. Chicago Critic (Night Of Thunder) finished third, another length away.
Winning rider James Doyle was among those waiting on the judge to give the verdict. “I had no idea if we’d won, I had my head down,” he said after the result was called. “Oisin [Murphy, on Kikkuli] asked me if I’d got back up so that kind of showed me that he had an idea.
“If he had got beat he would have been robbed because he responded well. Oisin quite smartly challenged away from me and he did spot him late on and he responded well. What a horse.”
Reflecting on a week in which he has ridden four winners as retained rider for the big-spending Wathnan Racing, Doyle said: “There was plenty of pressure coming into this week to perform. It’s no secret about the money that’s been invested by Wathnan so it’s great that we’ve got some results on the board through the week.”
Haggas gets on the scoresheet as Unequal Love lands Wokingham
William Haggas saddled his first winner of this year’s Royal Ascot and Tom Marquand rode his second when Unequal Love (Dutch Art) landed the 25-runner Wokingham (6f), one of the big betting handicaps of the week. Sporting the colours of her breeders Cheveley Park Stud, the four-year-old beat favourite Dark Trooper (Dark Angel) by a half-length at odds of 12-1. Orazio (Caravaggio) filled third spot, another head away, while Lethal Levi (Lethal Force) was fourth, a further half-length behind. On the evidence of his week’s results, Unequal Love appeared to have an unfavourable draw but Marquand said he had little concern. “To be honest, I never really had a moment of worry,” the winning rider said. “Drawn [in stall] one looked one of the most horrible draws of the lot. I saw that the first eight in the betting were drawn high and you think, well it’s not a write off until it’s a write off but it’s as near as. I said on the way out, this is one of my favourite fillies in training. She’s just gorgeous. She went on a good run last year, she won a few. She’s just fantastic. She’s Cheveley Park’s as well, which is great. She’s a sweetheart as well as being very talented. That was a very well deserved win.”
No divine intervention needed for Hand Of God
Harry Charlton got off the mark as a trainer in his own right at Royal Ascot when Hand Of God, a colt by Coolmore Stud shuttler Churchill (Galileo), came with a perfectly timed late challenge under William Buick to bag the Golden Gates Stakes (1m 2f), the penultimate race of the meeting. Lining up off the back of a win at Sandown on his handicap debut, the three-year-old colt beat Cambridge (Dubawi) by a length and three-quarters having been sent off the the 5-2 favourite. Black Run (Nathaniel) was another three and a half lengths away in third. Buick said: “He’s a very talented horse. I believe this is Harry’s first Royal Ascot winner, he’s had two seconds, so I’m delighted for him and delighted that we could get some compensation. I loved everything he did. He gets into a lovely rhythm. We were drawn in stall 17 so it wasn’t an easy task. It’s fantastic. He’s a horse who’s fast improving.”
Uxmal demolishes Queen Alexandra rivals
Joseph O’Brien left it late to send out his first winner of the week at Royal Ascot, but he finally got on the board when Uxmal (Galileo) produced an emphatic performance to land the Queen Alexandra Stakes (2m 5.5f), the final race of the meeting. The gelding provided one of Ireland’s brightest stars Dylan Browne McMonagle with a first Royal Ascot winner when he scooted effortlessly clear in the closing stages to beat Run For Oscar (Oscar) by five lengths. The winner’s stable companion Dawn Rising (Galileo), who won the marathon contest last year, finished another three quarters of a length away in third. The victory handed O’Brien his fourth winner at Royal Ascot.