Group 3 victory for son of Atlantic Jewel
Russian Emperor (Galileo), the third foal produced by four-time Group 1 winner Atlantic Jewel (Fastnet Rock), added even more black type to an already outstanding pedigree when winning the Hampton Court Stakes (Gr 3, 1m 2f) at Royal Ascot yesterday.
Trained by Aidan O’Brien, Russian Emperor settled at the tail of the field outside his stablemate New World Tapestry (War Front) during the run before being urged by Ryan Moore approaching the bend.
It wasn’t until the final furlong that he hit top gear but when he did, the regally–bred three-year-old stormed up to the front runners to score by half a length.
Sir Michael Stoute’s First Receiver (New Approach), who was bred and raced by The Queen, finished second with Berlin Tango (Dansili) coming home a further length and a quarter away in third.
Russian Emperor began his 2020 campaign with a win over a mile at Naas in March before returning from the lockdown break to finish second in the Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial (Gr 3, 1m 2f) at Leopardstown last Tuesday.
“He is a lovely colt, straightforward and with a good attitude,” Moore said. “He was very professional; he has had the benefit of a couple of runs this year and let us see if he will keep progressing.
“He has a very good pedigree – his dam was exceptional in Australia. I think he will be a nice horse going forward for the rest of the year.”
The victory saw Russian Emperor shorten into odds of 8-1 for next month’s Epsom Derby (Gr 1, 1m 4f) and when asked whether that looks his likely next target, Moore said: “That will be decided. He will give himself a chance to stay, anyway.”
Russian Emperor (3 c Galileo – Atlantic Jewel by Fastnet Rock) was bred by Coolmore Stud and is one of two winners from two to race out of his champion dam Atlantic Jewel; her first foal, five-year-old Empireofthedragon (Galileo), is set to debut in Victoria this weekend.
Trained by Mark Kavanagh, Atlantic Jewel won the Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m), All Aged Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m), Memsie Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) and Caulfield Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) and was narrowly beaten in the Underwood Stakes (Gr 1, 1800m) by exciting young Arrowfield sire Dundeel (High Chaparral).
Her half-sister, Commanding Jewel (Commands), was also a Thousand Guineas winner, while her granddam Nanshan (Nashwan) produced Lady Beckworth (General Nediym) who is responsible for this year’s Galaxy Handicap (Gr 1, 1100m) scorer I Am Excited (Snitzel) and Group 3 victor Flippant (Hinchinbrook).
Further down the page is Cheveley Park Stakes (Gr 1, 6f) winner Pass The Peace (Alzao), who also produced a Cheveley Park scorer in Embassy (Cadeaux Genereux), as well as Group 1 victors King’s Apostle (King’s Best) and Pacific Trader (Sail From Seattle).
After producing five foals by Galileo (Sadler’s Wells), Atlantic Jewel is now in foal to Triple Crown-winning freshman Coolmore shuttler Justify (Scat Daddy).
Russian Emperor becomes the 316th individual stakes winner for his champion sire Galileo (Sadler’s Wells), who stood his 20th season at Coolmore in Ireland for a private fee.
He is also just the second stakes winner bred on the cross between Galileo and fellow Coolmore sire Fastnet Rock (Danehill).
Lord North takes out Prince Of Wales’s Stakes
John Gosden looks to have unearthed another superstar in the form of Lord North (Dubawi) who showcased a blistering turn of foot to defeat a star-studded field in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes (Gr 1, 1m 2f) at Royal Ascot yesterday.
The four-year-old gelding settled at the rear of the field and was still last at the furlong pole before bursting away from his rivals to win by three and three-quarter lengths.
Ranvet Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) winner Addeybb (Pivotal) held on for second, while Jebel Hatta Stakes (Gr 1, 1800m) scorer Barney Roy (Dubawi) was another length and a quarter away in third.
Lord North, who ran out the winner of the rearranged Brigadier Gerard Stakes (Gr 3, 1m 2f) at Haydock ten days earlier, was gelded in the middle of last year and Gosden said that has been the making of him.
“Lord North was gelded, he needed to be,” the champion trainer said. “He was tormenting himself. Testosterone is the most dangerous drug in the world, and he is a lovely horse to be around now.”
Gosden made comparisons between Lord North and Halling, who also made the leap from Cambridgeshire (1m 1f) winner to Group 1 hero.
“Halling had a hock injury as a three-year-old and it messed his career up,” he said. “This boy just became aggressive at the gate and was becoming a danger to himself, let alone others.
“Lord North has a lovely character now and when they let Bangkok have his head as I thought they would do one day, boy we had an honest gallop.
“I was looking at the race and talking to Peter (Shoemark, Gosden’s racing secretary) and I thought this race was winnable for Lord North, so at 9:55am we put him – it was very late.
“I was toying between this race and the Listed Wolferton under a penalty as you want to have a winner at Royal Ascot. I said no, let’s go for this.”
As for Lord North’s next assignment, Gosden said he would let the dust settle before making any future decisions.
“I would say give him a week, ten days and see how we are. He has had two very quick races.
“He blew up at Haydock. Rab (Havlin, jockey) said at the furlong pole, he went for his girths, so he did well to hang on there. He has had two hard races, so we’ll freshen him up and then make decisions.”
Winning rider James Doyle added: “I think when John takes a horse into a race like this, you do have to prick your ears.
“Obviously, Lord North looked quite unexposed coming into it and he has gone through his grades. He won the Brigadier Gerard nicely up at Haydock but looked to get a bit tired, and John said he’d definitely improved a lot for that run. Going into this, the vibes were all pretty confident from Mr Gosden’s camp.
“I was asked if it all played into my hands, and I guess it did in the sense of how the race panned out. I didn’t see them going as quick as we ended up going.
“I think Japan missed the break, Bangkok ended up going forward and I felt it was a pretty even-run race.
“Lord North settled beautifully out the back, took me into the race nicely and showed a good turn of pace when I asked him, so it certainly wasn’t a fluke, and he can continue this and be quite a strong force in these type of races.
“He feels like a solid mile and a quarter horse. He is quite versatile on the ground, I guess; it is beautiful out there and perfect for everyone. It suited him well. I wouldn’t want to bump into Enable, but she’ll be going up in trip before too long.”
Meanwhile, William Haggas was pleased with the effort of his gallant Group 1 winner Addeybb, but said a softer track would have increased his chances.
“I am very proud of Addeybb today – he has run a great race,” Haggas said. “I am not saying if the race had been run on softer ground [he would have won], but he is better on softer ground. He always tries his heart out and has run a solid race again.
“He just tries. If I keep running him on good ground, he will not keep going and doing that. He just gives his all and he has become a high-class very consistent horse and that is another very good run.
“We just need the heavens to open. That slows the quicker ones down and he is more effective on soft ground – he has run a great race.”
Bred by Godolphin, Lord North (4 g Dubawi – Najoum by Giant’s Causeway) has had nine starts for six wins and two placings, earning a total of £352,625 (AUS$640,000 approx) in prize-money.
He is one of two winners from two to race out of Giant’s Causeway (Storm Cat) mare Najoum who herself is a three-quarter sister to Listed scorer Ferdinanda (Giant’s Causeway).
Najoum is also a half-sister Blue Grass Stakes (Gr 1, 9f) victor Bandini (Fusaichi Pegasus), Group 3 winner Discourse (Street Cry) and My Mammy (Came Home) who is responsible for Grade 1 scorer Out For A Spin (Hard Spun).
Lord North’s third dam is 1990 Santa Anita Oaks winner (Gr 1, 8.5f) Hail Atlantis (Seattle Slew) while this is also the family of Group 2 scorers Atlando (Hernando) and Incanto Dream (Galileo).
The gelding is one of five stakes winners bred on the cross between Dubawi (Dubai Millenium) and Giant’s Causeway, however it is the first Group 1 scorer.
The win brought up the 42nd elite level winner for Darley stallion Dubawi who stood at Dalham Hall Stud in Newmarket for a fee of £250,000 (AUS$454,000 approx) in 2020.
Tactical Windsor Castle win a milestone for Toronado
Tactical produced a dominant performance to take out yesterday’s Windsor Castle Stakes (Listed, 5f), the first two-year-old at this year’s Royal Ascot, and provided Swettenham Stud shuttler Toronado (High Chaparral) with his first win as a sire at the royal meeting.
Toronado himself was no stranger to Royal Ascot having been runner-up to Dawn Approach (New Approach) in the 2013 St James’s Palace Stakes (Gr 1, 1m), before returning the following year to take out the Queen Anne Stakes (Gr 1, 1m).
However, Tactical not only provided the shuttler with his first Royal Ascot victory as a sire, but also became his first stakes-winning juvenile.
The in–form Andrew Balding-trained colt, who is owned by The Queen, travelled along the stands’ side rail under James Doyle and kicked clear in the final stages of the race to score by a length and a quarter.
Yazaman (Kodiac) from the William Haggas stable was second, just edging out Muker (Mehmas) by a short-head.
“He was showing a fair bit at home before we ran him first time out,” Balding said. “He ran a nice race and learnt plenty, and James gave him a lovely ride today, but we were quite hopeful, especially when it looked like the draw was more of a help than a hindrance.
“He was showing plenty early. He would have been, for me, ready to run in April, which is very early for one of mine.
“He has got a great attitude and is very professional. It is obviously a huge thrill for all of us to have a Royal winner at the Royal meeting. I feel very lucky.”
Doyle added: “I was quite confident to be honest. Oisin (Murphy) rode Tactical first time and I rode in that race, so I could see by his reaction that he was quite frustrated afterwards.
“Things just didn’t quite go to plan as there was a speed and rail bias that day, but I loved the way he came home. The vibes were very positive and that was justified by him going off favourite – there was plenty of market support for him all day.
“It was a straightforward race. I was a bit concerned about the draw and could foresee a few traffic problems if he didn’t begin quickly.
“But testament to Tactical, he took it all in his stride, he jumped the gates very quick. I got a nice lead from Oisin and he actually stayed off the rail, which helped me. I kept things simple and was conscious about not getting to the front too soon on a horse who is inexperienced.
“A runner in the centre of the field kicked for home and that took me out of my comfort zone for a few strides, but a furlong down I knew I would get him and I knew his last furlong would be his best furlong.
“Oisin sees him as a six or seven-furlong horse going forward, so he has performed with a lot of credit today.”
Bred by The Queen, Tactical (2 c Toronado – Make Fast by Makfi) is the only foal out of dual stakes placegetter Make Fast (Makfi), who herself is out of Group 3 scorer Raymi Coya (Van Nistelrooy).
Tactical’s third dam, Something Mon (Maria’s Mon), has produced ten individual winners including Hikari (Galileo), who is responsible for last year’s Fairway Stakes (Listed, 1m 2f) victor Raise You (Lope De Vega). Further back, this is the family of Grade 1 scorer Try Something New (Hail The Pirates).
Tactical becomes the sixth individual stakes winner for Toronado, joining the likes of Tasmanian filly Still A Star and Perth gelding Laverrod. He is also the sire of the inaugural Showdown (1200m) victor Prince Of Sussex.
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.