Mostahdaf shines as he shoots down the big guns in Prince of Wales’s romp
Having failed to fire on each of his previous three starts at the highest level, Mostahdaf (Frankel) had his day in the sun yesterday when he claimed a number of notable scalps in putting up an astonishing winning performance in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes (Gr 1, 1m 2f).
Lining up as one of the lesser fancied runners in a top-notch renewal of the £1 million (approx. AU$1.88 million) contest, the John and Thady Gosden-trained five-year-old came from last to first in a steadily run race to scoot four lengths clear of his five rivals.
And some rivals they were, too. Trailing behind the entire were the winners of seven Group 1 races, spread across three countries over two continents, but none were able to match the acceleration shown by Jim Crowley’s mount after he hit the front racing inside the final two furlongs.
Luxembourg (Camelot), himself the winner of three of the aforementioned Group 1s, got closest to the impressive winner, with 2021 Epsom Derby (Gr 1, 1m 4f) hero Adayar (Frankel), finishing another half a length away in third.
Having started his year with a similarly comprehensive win in a rich Group 3 contest in Saudi Arabia, the son of Frankel (Galileo) lined up in yesterday’s race having not been seen since finishing fourth – defeated some seven lengths – behind Japanese superstar Equinox (Kitasan Black) in Dubai back in March when stepped up to 2400 metres.
“John and Thady have done an amazing job with him”, said Crowley after riding his 15th Royal Ascot winner.
“He bolted in in Saudi over a mile and a quarter on fast ground. He didn’t quite stay against Equinox when he served it up to the winner, went after him and then got tired.
“John and Thady brought him back, he’s fresh and he’s bouncing coming into the race today. A mile and a quarter on fast ground, he’s fantastic.”
Such was the manner of the performance from the winner, even the man on board was taken by surprise.
“I didn’t expect him to win like that, although we’ve always held him in high regard,” continued Crowley. “He’s a son of Frankel and probably only just coming into himself now. He’s a big, strong horse.”
Mostahdaf’s win was a fifth in the race for John Gosden, and a first since his son Thady joined him as co-trainer at Newmarket’s Clarehaven Stables two years ago.
Gosden senior was another taken aback by the outcome of the race. “I was expecting him to pick up well in the straight, but not to make them look like they were standing still,” he said of the 10-1 chance. “But he did it in Riyadh; he won the Neom Cup and just flew away. When the ground dries up, he’s a brilliant horse, so the fact he quickened like that on that ground – the amount he quickened past the others did surprise me.”
Asked where the winner would head next, Gosden snr said: “What’s the plan now? That might have been the plan!
“I always find the Eclipse comes too close. I’d wait for the Juddmonte International [at York in August], that would be the race for me. He likes to run fresh – too many nights out on the town, we don’t bounce like we used to. I think the Juddmonte International should be the big target.”
Set for a slightly quicker return to action are the second and third finishers, who could be back at Ascot next month for a crack at the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Gr 1, 1m 4f).
Aidan O’Brien, trainer of Luxembourg, said: “He ran very well, we are very happy. The winner won very well. The plan was that we would have a look at the King George after today, anyway, so it’s possible, but we will see how he is. He is always going to get a mile and a half well, as we know.”
Adayar’s trainer Charlie Appleby is also eyeing the race he won with the five-year-old in 2021.
“The set-up of the race didn’t work out for Adayar and they went steady enough,” he said. Take nothing away from the winner, who has picked up well, but on that evidence it looks as though we will step back up to a mile and a half for the King George.”
Sporting the silks of his breeder Shadwell Estates, Mostahdaf (5 h Frankel – Handassa by Dubawi) became the 30th individual Group 1 winner for Juddmonte Farms stallion Frankel.
The fifth foal out of the Listed-winning Dubawi (Dubai Millennium) mare Handassa, herself a half-sister to Grade 2 winner Desert Stone (Fastnet Rock), Mostahdaf is a half-brother to Group 1 scorer Nazeef (Invincible Spirit).