Royal Ascot Wrap – Day 2
42 for Dubawi
The impressive performance by Lord North (4 g ex Najoum by Giant’s Causeway) in landing yesterday’s Prince Of Wales’s Stakes (Gr 1, 1m 2f) provided Darley sire Dubawi (Dubai Millennium) with his 42nd individual Group 1 winner. Among Dubawi’s haul of elite-level winners is Caulfield Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) winner Benbatl, the highly-rated recent Coronation Cup (Gr 1, 1m 4f) winner Ghaiyyath and current Darley shuttler Too Darn Hot, who stands at Kelvinside this season for a fee of $44,000. Dubawi stood at Dalham Hall Stud in Newmarket for a fee of £250,000 (AUS$454,000 approx) in 2020.
316 for Galileo
Champion Coolmore stallion Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) landed his 316th stakes winner yesterday when Russian Emperor (3 c ex Atlantic Jewel by Fastnet Rock) took out the Hampton Court Stakes (Group 3, 1m 2f) at Royal Ascot. Russian Emperor joins the likes of Japan, Frankel and Highland Reel as Royal Ascot winners for Galileo, who stood at Coolmore Ireland for a private fee in 2020.
Six for Toronado
Swettenham Stud shuttler Toronado (High Chaparral) landed his sixth individual stakes winner yesterday when the Andrew Balding-trained Tactical (2 c ex Make Fast by Makfi) took out the Windsor Castle Stakes (Listed, 5f) at Royal Ascot. The son of High Chaparral (Sadler’s Wells) has shuttled to Australia since 2015, covering a total of 778 mares, and will stand at Swettenham in Victoria for a fee of $25,000 (plus GST) in 2020.
Murphy gets a tune out of Busker
Reigning champion jockey Oisin Murphy got off the mark for the week when he brought Sir Busker (Sir Prancealot) with a well-timed challenge to swoop late and steal the Silver Hunt Cup (1m). As was the case in the big-field contest over the straight course on the opening day of the meeting, those drawn high were left to battle out the finish as the winner, drawn in stall 18, beat Salayel (Bated Breath) who raced from stall 17 by three-quarters of a length. Alternative Fact (Dalakhani), drawn 21, was a further length behind in third, with Almufti (Toronado), who raced from 19, filling fourth spot, a length and three quarters further adrift. Trained by William Knight, who was celebrating his first winner at the Royal meeting, the four-year-old was also a first Royal Ascot winner for Sir Prancealot (Tamayuz), the champion first season sire in Europe in 2016, who has been shuttling to Cornerstone Stud since 2017.
Knight, who moved his training base to Newmarket last month, was understandably delighted. “Just unbelievable,” he said. “To be honest with you, we had high hopes for this lad at the end of last year coming into this year. I was quite confident when I saw Oisin had him settled early on. I think it took us through last year to work out how the horse needs to be ridden. If you put him into the race too early, he will be too keen. It suits him on this course to be ridden that way – it is a hold up track here, the mile, isn’t it, in these big handicaps anyway.”
Cornerstone buoyed by Sir Busker success
The first Royal Ascot success for Sir Prancealot as a sire has given heart to South Australian farm Cornerstone Stud, with the stallion already having more than 40 mares booked in for 2020. “We’ve been saying he is the best value and only proven freshman season sire on offer this year and hopefully the exploits of Sir Busker and his Grade 1 US performers in the last few months will give that statement clout,” said Cornerstone Stud’s bloodstock and nominations manager Sam Pritchard-Gordon. “He returns from Rancho San Miguel next month as a West Coast pin-up boy – he served 120-plus mares and was knocking them over quicker than a spaghetti western.” Most of Sir Prancealot’s previous Royal Ascot runners had come in the juvenile features and Pritchard-Gordon expects similar precocity from his Australian yearlings. “The breakers of his first-crop Aussie yearlings are all saying they are so forward,” he said. “They are loving the way his progeny land on the bit and track up like the Snitzels and the I Am Invincibles. We’ve heard great things from Tony McEvoy and Gai Waterhouse who expect to have Sir Prancealots among their first two-year-olds.” Sir Prancealot will stand at Conerstone in South Australia for a reduced fee of $9,900 (inc GST) in 2020.
Crowley strikes again as Burrows gets off the mark
It is turning out to be quite some week for Shadwell’s retained rider Jim Crowley, who notched his fourth winner of the meeting when sporting the famous blue silks aboard Hukum (Sea The Stars) in the King George V Handicap (1m 4f). Having just his third start, the colt was ridden prominently by Crowley in a steadily run affair, and that proved to be the place to be with the closers failing to get to the front in time. Hukum, sent off a 12-1 chance, crossed the line half a length in front of Kipps (War Command) with Subjectivist (Teofilo) a further three-quarters of a length back in third. Winning trainer Owen Burrows was another to send out his first ever winner at the Royal meeting. He said: “Hukum has always been a horse we have liked. He does enough at home without blowing you away. He had options this week, but off 90 I thought we would come here. It is a big step up for a horse who has only had a couple of runs, but he travelled nicely and stuck to it well. Hukum has got the profile and the breeding to be better than that. I am sure he will get further, he travelled well there. We will get him back, speak to Sheikh Hamdan and see what he thinks – it is great to have one like him.” With the race schedule in Britain turned on its head this year, the winner was introduced into the betting for the Derby (Gr 1, 1m 4f) at Epsom next month as a 33-1 chance.
Favourite downed but Godolphin still land Hunt Cup
The hoodoo of favourites in the Royal Hunt Cup (1m) continued after the lightly-raced Lord Tennyson (Poet’s Voice) failed to strike a blow, but Godolphin still conjured the winner from up their sleeve as Dark Vision (Dream Ahead) came from deep in the pack to strike under William Buick. The Mark Johnston-trained four-year-old had considerably more of his 22 rivals in front of him than behind as they approached the business end of the race but he weaved his way through the field under a patient Buick to pass the post a length and three- quarters in front of Montatham (Showcasing). Pogo (Zebedee) got a tow from the winner to come home another half a length back in third, while Vale Of Kent (Kodiac), stablemate of Dark Vision, fared best of those who raced prominently, finishing a length and a quarter away in fourth. Buick said: “Dark Vision was bought by connections to be a good horse and now he has rewarded them with a Royal Ascot win. He travelled through the race beautifully today. I was always happy with where I was throughout the race. I was tracking the right horses and it was just all about getting the split at the right time. When he got that split, he quickened up very well. It was a strongly run race and everything fell in place for him.”
Royal success for Prince
Andrea Atzeni’s move for home two furlongs out proved to be a decisive one as Fujaira Prince (Pivotal) was a cut above his 15 rivals in the Copper Horse Handicap (1m 6f). The betting suggested the first running of this race would be a highly competitive affair, but it ended up being anything but as the Roger Varian-trained six-year-old cruised to an eased-down three and three-quarter length win over Selino (Champs Elysees), who was doing his best work late without ever looking like getting to the winner. Almania (Australia) was another who got going too late and finished a further half-length away in third while Themaxwecan (Maxios) filled fourth position, another three-quarters of a length away.
Varian was full of praise of the move from Atzeni. “Andrea gave him a great ride,” he said. “It looked a tricky draw beforehand but he was intent on getting out and getting a position. From stall 16 if I’d thought we’d be one off the rail, sat second coming out of that first bend I’d have been very happy and that’s what he achieved. He got the horse in a no excuse position and the rest of it was pretty straightforward. He travelled well and he quickened up nicely in the straight.”