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stodge

Royal Ascot 2021

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3 hours ago, Tauhei Notts said:

Tough Love.

She looked beaten two furlongs out but stuck on like a real tough mare.

Good to see the great run from the second in the Peter Harris colours used now by his daughter but winner one tough mare . He did a great job getting people involved in racing in 90s  and had a superb yard in  beautiful setting at Tring in Herfordshire . Had some very good steeplechasers back in day .

Good mix of winners on day two , some new connections to go with the heavyweights of Godolphin, Cheveley and Coolmore .

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On 6/16/2021 at 6:48 AM, stodge said:

Plenty to chew over from this afternoon's action but we have to keep looking forward.

Thursday's final declarations are through - just to caution there are thunderstorms forecast from Wednesday night through Thursday so ground conditions could change significantly especially if the course catches a storm.

Gold Cup:

It used to be the big race of the week but it's not the best race any more nor even the most significant in bloodstock terms and oddly enough more for the jumpers than the flat horses.

13 will go over the 4000m which remains a real test. The winner for the last three years, STRADIVARIUS, bids to join Yeats as the second four time winner of this race. He won last year in a hack canter despite the ground but the autumn campaign wasn't so good with a disappointing run in the Arc followed by a real flop in the stayers on Champions Day.

He came back with a win in the Sagaro last month and there won't be a dry eye in the house if he can do it again.

STRADIVARIUS first won the Gold Cup as a 4-y-o in 2018 and a new generation of young pretenders look to dethrone the old champion. SUBJECTIVIST was a revelation improving with distance - he couldn't cope with the English Leger but won the Royal Oak and this spring went over to Dubai and won the 3200m Gold Cup impressively. His trainer Mark Johnston has tried to vanquish STRADIVARIUS before and bravely through his horses have run they've always come up short. SUBJECTIVIST looks a more confirmed stayer than Dee Ex Bee was but he'll need another step forward to take down STRADIVARIUS.

Aidan O'Brien runs two Derby winners in a Gold Cup and it's wonderful to see both SERPENTINE and SANTIAGO still in training. The former fluked the Epsom Derby and his form since hasn't lived up to that while SANTIAGO took on STRADIVARIUS at Goodwood as a 3-y-o (so getting the weight) and was held in third. True, he finished in front of SUBJECTIVIST in the English Leger and showed a hint of a return to form last time at York. I've always wanted to see SANTIAGO over this trip but Ryan Moore prefers SERPENTINE.

If we're talking winners of great races, it's worth mentioning we have a Melbourne Cup winner in the field - TWILIGHT PAYMENT is 28/1, which perhaps shows the real divergence between the top European and Australian stayers. The early season runs have been okay and for those looking for a Flemington follow-up, you'll be looking to see TWILIGHT PAYMENT finish close to the pace.

TRUESHAN won the Stayers on Champions Day at Ascot last autumn but his defeat by JAPAN in the Ormonde suggests he has something to find. SPANISH MISSION beat SANTIAGO at York last time but he's been behind SUBJECTIVIST and TRUESHAN and for all he won the Doncaster Cup last year that wasn't a strong renewal.

I think we'll see better from both TWILIGHT PAYMENT and SANTIAGO and they are for me the each way options but STRADIVARIUS will have been prepared to the minute for this and I think we'll get another Dettori masterclass.

Another set of strong supporting races starting with the Group 2 Norfolk over 1000m for the juvenile colts. Wesley Ward sets us a bit of a poser by running the unbeaten colts LUCCI and NAKATONI - the former looks the choice on his smooth Belmont win on the grass. CADOMOSTO was a rare juvenile debut winner for Aidan O'Brien though that was on the Polytrack at Dundalk in April and I much prefer the Clive Cox runner INSTINCTIVE MOVE who impressed me at Bath on debut and I've had a play at 12s.

The Ribblesdale over 2400m for the 3-y-o fillies is known as the Ascot Oaks and often sees those who ran at Epsom re-match. No SNOWFALL of course but third placed DIVINELY represents Ballydoyle. NOON STAR was a late scratching at Epsom but the Musidora second to SNOWFALL now looks very solid form. The interesting runner is ESCHAADA who has won her two starts so far including a Listed at Newbury last time and is clearly on the upgrade.

DUBAI FOUNTAIN won the Cheshire Oaks well but flopped at Epsom and this is very much a recovery mission.

The Hampton Court over 2000m for the 3-y-o is one of those races (like the Wolferton) which signposts winners for races later in the season. MOHAAFETH was fourth favourite for the Derby before being withdrawn on the day of the race because of the easier ground. I imagine if the ground softens he'll be scratched but if it stays fast he has a huge chance on the basis of his highly impressive win in the Newmarket Stakes. I fancied ONE RULER for the Derby but he patently didn't stay and over this shorter trip has claims while ROMAN EMPIRE was fourth in the Dante and has a little to find.

More chewy handicaps end the card - arguably the hardest of the week is the Britannia in which 30 3-y-o run over the straight 1600m and it's 9/1 the field currently. MITHRAS is the obvious starting point but I think QAADER has a chance at 20s. 22 go in the King George V over 2400m for the 3-y-o - a poor man's King Edward VII? Well, perhaps though SIR LAMORAK went into every notebook following his strong win at Leopardstown in April but NAGANO and FIRST LIGHT are worthy opponents from the home team. Finally, just 29 go in the Buckingham Palace over 1400m for the 3-y-o. They go 8/1 the field and I genuinely have no idea - ALDAARY looks the place to start. 

 

A couple of Galileo half brothers to Zoustar line up tonight Stodge , up in trip a bit from Zoustar   , Empire of the Sun in Gold Cup and Kondo Isami in the last . I've had a little each way on Kondo Isami and Raymond Tusk tonight for some interest .

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The first day of Royal Ascot 2021 took place on a very warm and sunny afternoon. The ground was confirmed Good to Firm with some Good areas down by Swinley Bottom on the Round Course.

A reduced crowd of 12,000 was in attendance.

The meeting opened with the Queen Anne Stakes over the straight 1600m – the mile championship race for the older horses. Last year’s champion 3-y-o miler PALACE PIER had impressed in the Lockinge at Newbury and went off 2/7 to follow up.

Queen Anne Stakes:

 

Those expecting a Frankel-style demolition were out of luck, but Dettori got the job done. I thought the ground was as firm as the horse wanted and coming off a slow early meant it was always going to be a dash for the line and Frankie had PALACE PIER well placed to exploit the raising of the pace.

LOPE Y FERNANDEZ ran his usual sound race, but I just wonder if they’ll try him back at 1400m in a race like the Lennox at Goodwood. SIR BUSKER ran a huge race for his syndicate of owners.

The plan for the winner seems to be either the Sussex at Goodwood or the Marois at Deauville (in either case, he may well take on POETIC FLARE of whom much more anon). From there, John Gosden is keen to step PALACE PIER up to 2000m for the Juddmonte but if he were mine, I’d look at the Irish Champion which is less of a stamina test, but the ground will be key. On genuine good ground or slower, PALACE PIER is a real force.

The second Group 1 was the King’s Stand over 1000m for the 3-y-o and upwards. This is again a championship race and the 2020 winner BATTAASH was back to defend his crown and supported down to 11/8 to score. However, he had not been seen since the Nunthorpe at York last year and had suffered a setback.

King’s Stand Stakes:

 

OXTED returned to form with a vengeance – let’s not forget he won the July Cup over 1200m last year but clearly a stiff 1000m and a suicidally fast early gallop plays to his strengths. I thought he got the gaps while the runner up didn’t and ARECIBO comes out of this with a lot of credit in my view while the American horse, EXTRAVAGANT LAD, also ran well in third.

BATTAASH looked to “blow up” 300m down and jockey Jim Crowley suggested the horse needed the run – well, perhaps and it may be the quick 1000m at Goodwood for the King George or the flat 1000m for the Nunthorpe at York will play more to his strengths, but this was a notch disappointing.

I thought WINTER POWER didn’t enjoy the ground and the younger horses were well held – LIBERTY BEACH is another who I think would have wanted it slower.

OXTED is top of the sprinting tree for now and I imagine connections will think of Newmarket and a repeat of the July Cup – this is a tough race with both the Diamond Jubilee and Commonwealth Cup winners likely to be in opposition, but we know OXTED thrives on fast ground so if it comes up quick on the July Course, he will still take a world of beating.

The day’s feature was the 3-y-o colt mile championship race, the St James’s Palace Stakes, often known as Ascot’s 2000 Guineas, but unlike Newmarket this is on the Round Mile and is a different test than the straight dash down the Heath.

POETIC FLARE had, as the saying goes, “danced every dance” this season, running in the English, French and Irish 2000 Guineas, winning at Newmarket, coming a close second to his stable companion at The Curragh and finishing a slightly unlucky sixth at Longchamp.

Many of those who he had already beaten, such as LUCKY VEGA, CHINDIT, WEMBLEY and THUNDER SNOW re-opposed along with the unbeaten MOSTAHDAF who had won the Heron at Sandown.

St James’s Palace Stakes:

 

This was a stunning performance by POETIC FLARE, a tribute to the constitution of the horse and the skills of his 79-year-old trainer Jim Bolger. He relished the fast ground and the stiff 1600m and simply galloped away from them off what wasn’t an early dawdle set by ONTARIO.

In what was probably his final race before heading for stallion duties in Australia, LUCKY VEGA kept on for second, but POETIC FLARE has now beaten him three times. The one for me, apart from the winner, was BATTLEGROUND who kept on well for third and I think may still have some improvement to come. CHINDIT ran well – I thought he might have been a suspect stayer, but he saw this out well enough.

The likes of THUNDER MOON, WEMBLEY, LA BAROSSA and MOSTADHAF were all well held.

The question now is whether the winner will face PALACE PIER at Goodwood or perhaps at Deauville and the prospect of another “Duel on the Downs” is getting plenty of people excited.

The early Sussex betting has PALACE PIER at 4/5, POETIC FLARE at 4/1 and BATTLEGROUND at 14s and I think that’s a bit of an insult to POETIC FLARE who has more than proved himself among his peers.

The main supporting race was the Group 2 Coventry Stakes for the juveniles over 1200m. The Wesley Ward-trained KAUFYMAKER drifted like a barge as the money came for the Gosden newcomer DHABAB, but this went to Team Balding with BERKSHIRE SHADOW who scored at 11/1. The winner is in the same ownership as the stayer BERKSHIRE ROCCO and the way he finished suggested 1400m or further would be no problem.

Andrew Balding’s father, Ian, trained the winner of the Coventry way back in 1970 with the champion MILL REEF who, despite winning the Derby and the Arc in 1971, is generally considered in that generation inferior to BRIGADIER GERARD who beat him three lengths in the 2000 Guineas.

BERKSHIRE SHADOW had won back in mid-April at Newbury so to come back after two months and establish yourself as top juvenile is no mean feat. ELDRICKJAMES was tipped up at big prices by a few pundits and ran home second at 66/1. Neither fourth placed MASSETO nor sixth placed DHABAB had the rub of the green and I expect both to be contenders for races like the July Stakes at Newmarket or the Richmond at Goodwood.

The Listed Wolferton Stakes looked wide open – PATRICK SARSFIELD, who was the only one of the runners with solid Group form, went off favourite and looked set to win when coming through to lead 300m out but he had done plenty earlier in the evening and was run down by JUAN ELCANO who was fifth in the 2000 Guineas in 2020 but had struggled since before wind surgery. As is often the case, the wind op can spark a lot of improvement and a reproduction of the Guineas form was good enough.

The handicaps produced a couple of right boilovers – the 4000m Ascot Stakes saw 66/1 shot RESHOUN just hold off the late challenge of M C MULDOON as a big plunge on CAPE GENTLEMAN from 10s to 9/4 went astray.

Finally, the 2800m Copper Horse Stakes another big plunge on an Irish horse with SALDIER, who had decent hurdle form for Willie Mullins, backed down to 15/8 from 7s but again the cash stayed with the bookies as John Gosden’s AMTIYAAZ won at 33/1 for Hollie Doyle just pushing out another 33/1 shot in DUBIOUS AFFAIR.

Day One ended with the three Group 1 races all won by previous Group 1 winners – PALACE PIER and POETIC FLARE may yet meet on the Sussex Downs while OXTED now dominates the sprint division.

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The last of the previews as the final declarations are through for Saturday's races.

Diamond Jubilee Stakes:

14 stand in this 1200m highlight. STARMAN comes here as the new kid on the block following his Duke of York win but he faces proven Group 1 performers in DREAM OF DREAMS and GLEN SHIEL among others. The former was runner up to Hello Youmzain in this last year and to Blue Point the year before and returned with a smooth win at Windsor. He seems able to go on any ground and has a big chance.

GLEN SHIEL won the sprint on Champions Day having run second to DREAM OF DREAMS in the Haydock Sprint Trophy. I just wonder about him on quick ground but there has been rain and more is forecast. ART POWER will have claims if the ground goes Soft while NAHAARR was close to STARMAN at York and also has claims. The handicapper SUMMERGHAND is consistent but this is the top table and each way crumbs may be all he can achieve 

Hardwicke Stakes:

It's a Group 2 but really should be a Group 1 and it isn't solely because of its proximity to the Coronation Cup and the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud. 15 go and the favourite is BROOME but he has to bounce back from a slightly disappointing defeat in the Tattersalls Gold Cup last time. HUKUM won the King George V Stakes last year and has improved since but he only won a Listed last time and this is a strong race.

Aidan O'Brien also runs JAPAN, MOGUL and TIGER MOTH but all three were a bit below par last time. MOGUL was tailed off in the Coronation Cup where JAPAN was a moderate third and TIGER MOTH was very ordinary on his return. If the heavens open, WONDERFUL TONIGHT would have claims and I'm just wondering if the progressive handicapper ILARAAB might be the answer. He was very good at York and is probably up to this.

Other Races:

The Jersey Stakes is a Group 3 over 1400m for the 3-y-o and this fills the gap between the top mile races and the Commonwealth Cup. 19 go and it looks wide open - MUTASAABEQ was seventh in the 2000 Guineas and ran as though 1400 rather than 1600m would be ideal. He's my idea against the Godolphin pair of CREATIVE FORCE and NAVAL CROWN but the one I fear is the filly BELLOSA who is unbeaten after two wins at Newmarket, the second of those in Listed company.

The Chesham over 1400m is a Listed race for juveniles and this race has grown in importance in recent years. Only 10 go but they include four unbeaten colts from top yards - POINT LONSDALE represents Aidan O'Brien and he won his Curragh maiden by five and a half lengths which is rare for a Ballydoyle colt so he could be anything. I saw Godolphin's NEW SCIENCE win at Yarmouth and he went straight into the note book. MASEKELA won for Andrew Balding on debut on soft ground at Goodwood while Michael Bell's GREAT MAX scored on debut at Newbury last week. 

The Wokingham over 1200m is one of the traditional Ascot handicaps. KINGS LYNN was seventh in  Tuesday's King's Stand and steps up 200m. I quite like CHIL CHIL but it's a hugely competitive heat. The Golden Gates is one of the newer races having only been instigated last year. Run over 2000m for the 3-y-o, 16 run so it could be four places making it an interesting each way heat but I'm struggling to find an angle. ISLE OF SARK, the top weight, got to within four lengths of BOLSHOI BALLET on his first run but he was poor just eleven days later at Cork and has had a break and a wind op and we know how they can improve horses. He's 25/1 so perhaps worth a few squid.

The Queen Alexandra is the longest race run in Britain over just shy of 4400m. It's also the weakest race of the whole meeting if I'm being honest and is often plundered by the jumps fraternity. This time, however, it looks more likely to be won by a proper Flat training maestro in Dermot Weld who runs Chester Cup winner FALCON EIGHT on whom Frankie Dettori was brilliant. At Frankie's favourite track, over this extreme distance, I actually think the 5/1 on offer looks a decent bet.

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The second day of the Royal Ascot meeting took place on another glorious afternoon. A little overnight watering had been applied and the ground was now Good to Firm all round.

The feature on the second day was the Prince of Wales’s Stakes over 2000m for the older horses. The race was somewhat devalued by the morning withdrawal of LORD NORTH for whom the ground had gone too quick. This left just six with the champion 3-y-o filly of 2020, LOVE, a strong favourite at 11/10. Her principal opponent on paper looked to be her stable companion and Cox Plate runner up ARMORY.

Prince of Wales’s Stakes:

 

An absolutely sublime piece of front running riding from Ryan Moore and a detailed sectional analysis by the commentator Richard Hoiles illustrated how Moore had gradually wound the pace up from the front from 1200m out and this won the race.

LOVE looked magnificent in the paddock and while Aidan O’Brien said after the race, she would improve for the run she looked pretty straight to this observer.

For all the post-race buzz was on the winner, I thought the second, AUDARYA, ran a huge race in defeat. She had also come back off a long layoff but it’s incredible to think barely a year ago she was winning a Redcar novice off 81 and here she is chasing down a multiple Group 1 winner and being rated 117.

Clearly, these two 4-y-o are both very good fillies, and you’d think both would be better suited by 2400m. LOVE will probably come back to Ascot for the King George whereas I wonder if AUDARYA might go for the Grand Prix de Saint Cloud. It’s clear LOVE enjoys the quick ground and you’d always be worried about the Arc given the probability of much slower conditions in Paris.

ARMORY ran okay and if you think he ran to his Cox Plate form you have an intriguing line back through SIR DRAGONET to the European and Australian form. It’s probably fair to say the race didn’t work to his advantage and it’s also fair to say he was up against a couple of really smart fillies.

A very strong supporting card was headlined by three Group 2 races. The Queen Mary is the sprint race for the 2-y-o fillies over 1000m. With the first day indicating a high draw an advantage, the money came for Wesley Ward’s TWILIGHT GLEAMING from stall 20 but she was run down close home by QUICK SUZY from stall 22. The latter comes from the Gavin Cromwell yard in Ireland that we normally associate with jumpers, but this is clearly a very quick filly though the extent to which her stall draw contributed to her success we’ll discover in time.

The other American raider, ARTOS, was in stall two and ran a huge race in fourth just behind the wonderfully named CHEERUPSLEEPYJEAN, who relished the quick ground.

The Queen’s Vase over 2800m is a race which has grown in stature since the distance from reduced from 3200m in 2017. A certain HARTNELL won this race back in 2014 but the winners since the change of distance include STRADIVARIUS, KEW GARDENS and SANTIAGO so this is a serious race now for the staying 3-y-o and one to note.

The money was for the Aidan O’Brien trained WORDSWORTH, but this was an impressive win by KEMARI on whom, I think it’s fair to say, William Buick enjoyed a dream ride and a fair dose of luck. From an inside gate, Buick dropped in and sometimes you can get real traffic problems off the home turn and as it’s only a 500m straight, there’s little time to get out of jail.

When pacemaker LAW OF THE SEA started to weaken, Buick managed to get a dream run on KEMARI and to be fair the horse showed a decent turn of foot to put the race to bed.

WORDSWORTH got caught out wide but ran home well and looks a real Leger type while STOWELL, who was the subject of a hugely controversial debut, also ran with a lot of promise in third and I really hope we get to see him on some slower ground.

Future plans for KEMARI may be of interest to some on here – he’s gelded so the Leger and the Royal Oak are closed off but there was plenty of post-race talk about a certain handicap in Flemington in early November. This was only KEMARI’s third run, so you’d wonder about his experience but he’s not short of ability and bounced off the quick ground.

The Duke of Cambridge is basically the Queen Anne for the fillies and mares – it’s a Group 2 over the straight 1600m. LADY BOWTHORPE had been morning favourite but some concerns over the ground led to late support for QUEEN POWER who was backed into favouritism.

However, this was a case of the “one that got away” as a certain Mr Dettori recorded his 75th Royal Ascot success by steering home INDIE ANGEL at 22/1. This was the first winner for Cheveley Park since 2017 and the first since the death of David Thompson. It was an inspired move by Frankie to drop down to the stand rail where the fastest ground seemed to be at that time and the filly simply swept past her opposition.

I wonder if they’ll be tempted by the Falmouth or the Rothschild with the winner – I suspect the former is more likely because the chances of fast ground are that bit greater at Newmarket.

LADY BOWTHORPE and QUEEN POWER were second and third – the former may not have bene totally happy on the quick ground while the third is perhaps more an 1800m or 2000m filly these days. CHAMPERS ELYSSES ran a much better race in fourth – she was conceding the winner 5 lbs with her Group 1 penalty and if she can build on this, she’ll be a big player as the season continues.

The Windsor Castle is a Listed race for the juveniles over 1000m and attracted another maximum field of 28. Following the previous race, the field split into two groups and unfortunately and uncharacteristically Frankie Dettori got it wrong on the American speedball RUTHIN. Drawn in twelve in the unfavoured middle, he had a chance of going left to the stand side or right to the far side. He chose to go left, and I think if he’d have gone right, he might have won.

As it was, RUTHIN’s move to the left expanded too much energy and she was done in the final 150m. The race went to the colt CHIPOTLE who had won the first juvenile race of the season, the Brocklesby, way back in late March. He just held off the late run of DIG TWO and the outsiders BOONIE and BOND CHAIRMAN.

The one that went into everyone’s note books was the colt KABOO who had been the subject of an enormous punt from 66/1 overnight down to 8s. KABOO was making his debut, the only debutant in the race and it’s very rare for complete newcomers to run in these hot Ascot juvenile events. The owning syndicate, Nick Bradley Racing, had made no secret of how well the horse had been going and to be fair he shaped with a lot of promise on sixth.

The Royal Hunt Cup is one of the traditional Ascot handicaps, run over the straight 1600m. A full field of 30 went to post and a big gamble developed on ASTRO KING from the Sir Michael Stoute yard who looked to have an ideal draw in 27 but the conventional thinking of the meeting was turned on its head as the unfancied REAL WORLD bolted up from stall four.

This was a first winner for Saeed Bin Suroor since 2017 – he has rather been in the shadow of Charlie Appleby within Godolphin – but REAL WORLD didn’t go unfancied at 18/1 for all it was his first run on grass, and he had been campaigned on the Dirt at Meydan in the winter. First time cheekpieces and a 3 lb claim from rising apprentice star Marco Ghiani (already being hailed as the new Dettori) helped but this looked a bit of a rick from the handicapper who had basically kept his Dirt rating from the winter of 94.

He won by nearly five lengths so we can expect a big hike, but he looked a Group horse in the making.

ASTRO KING duly won the race on the stands side to finish second and time may tell he caught a tartar here and perhaps there’ll be some recompense in a race like the Bunbury Cup at Newmarket. With GROVE FERRY (30) and OUZO (33) filling the other places, the view remained the stands side and the high numbers had the advantage which perhaps further upgrades the winner’s performance.

The final race was the Kensington Palace Handicap for the fillies and mares over the round 1600m. This looked fiendishly difficult and those who backed STUNNING BEAUTY got no run at all as the field were dispatched with the stalls blanket still attached and the filly’s hood still on and jockey Silvestre de Sousa screaming at the starter to wait.

In truth, very little happened as the David Loughname pair of LOLA SHOWGIRL and FFION were first and second throughout. We’ve seen before how the round mile suits front runners and this was very much the case as those coming from off the pace got in each other’s way. Both DECLARED INTEREST and WALIYAK ran home well from the rear and are worth noting for another day.

With the storm clouds seemingly gathering, there was much speculation as to how quantities of rain set to fall overnight and how that would impact Gold Cup day.

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The third day of the Royal Ascot is Gold Cup Day and also known as Ladies’ Day. Before the advent of the Saturday Royal meeting, it was the best attended day of the week with crowds approaching 75,000 in attendance.

Despite forecasts of a deluge, little or no rain fell overnight Wednesday into Thursday and the ground remained Good to Firm. Rain did begin to fall before the last, however, and turned out very much a sign of things to come.

The feature was the Gold Cup, the signature race of the meeting and the staying championship race of the season over 4000m. STRADIVARIUS was aiming to join Yeats in becoming only the second four-time winner of the Gold Cup in a history of more than two hundred years.

Indeed, STRADIVARIUS had won at each of the last four Royal Ascot meetings having taken the Queen’s Vase in 2017 and went into this year’s renewal of the Gold Cup at 4/5 having returned with a smooth win in the Sagaro at the beginning of May.

He faced a numerically larger field than usual and a number of “new stars” including Yorkshire Cup winner SPANISH MISSION, Cadran winner PRINCESS ZOE and the Dubai Gold Cup winner SUBJECTIVIST.

Ascot Gold Cup:

 

A real sense of a shift in the balance of power as SUBJECTIVIST put up a dominant performance under a confident ride from Joe Fanning to take the Gold Cup back to Yorkshire. He’s only a 4-y-o and on this evidence could have two or three more of these in him. I imagine they’ll go to Goodwood from here.

PRINCESS ZOE ran a huge race in second on ground her trainer Tony Mullins would be too quick and were it to come up soft or heavy in Paris in October, she’d have a huge chance of retaining the Cadran title. SPANISH MISSION saw the trip out well and will obviously be there to pick up the pieces if the first two are absent.

Frankly, it all went wrong for Dettori on STRADIVARIUS – the horse seemed lethargic in the preliminaries and was soon a long way back. The problem was as the Ballydoyle pacesetter AMRHAN NA BHFIANN fell back on the home turn, it caused the field to stack up and those racing on the inside got caught in traffic. I don’t think for a second STRADIVARIUS would have won with a clear run, but he might have finished second.

Clearly, connections are going to have a think about the horse’s future – he owes them nothing and it wouldn’t be the biggest surprise if that were his swansong.

Of the others, the likes of SANTIAGO, SERPENTINE and TWILIGHT PAYMENT were all beaten a very long way and must be considered disappointing.

Two Group 2 races formed the main supporting features – the Norfolk over 1000m for the juvenile colts looked wide open and the fifteen split into two groups with eight staying up the stands side and seven going over to the far side. In the context of later races, I think we can upgrade the performance of the far side runners notably GO BEARS GO who was clear winner on that side but just lost out to PERFECT POWER who raced up the stands rail.

The winner was another for the north who are having a good meeting and Richard Fahey’s juveniles look very strong this season. PROJECT DANTE made it a 1-3 for the stands side with the favourite CADOMOSTRO from the Aidan O’Brien yard, a close fourth beaten less than a length. GO BEARS GO was from the Loughname yard who of course had the first two in Wednesday’s concluding handicap.

The Ribblesdale over 2400m for the 3-y-o fillies is often known as the Ascot Oaks and it’s often a “consolation” for those not quite good enough at Epsom. The Epsom form was represented by DIVINELY who was a long way back third behind SNOWFALL and it was another who had seen SNOWFALL’s hind quarters last time, NOON STAR, who had finished second in the Musidora, who was the favourite.

John Gosden had three in the race and while it seemed GLORIA MUNDI was perhaps his favoured, it was Lingfield Oaks Trial fifth LOVING DREAM who toughed it out to hold the late run of ESHAADA with NICEST running a fine race for Joseph O’Brien in third. I’m not quite sure where this leaves us – it may well be that bar SNOWFALL, the 3-y-o middle distance fillies are nothing special and if LOVE turns up in the Yorkshire Oaks, she’ll not have much to trouble her.

The Hampton Court is a Group 3 over 2000m for the 3-y-o and it’s one of the newer races which is quickly establishing itself as a serious race. Late Derby scratching MOHAAFETH was sent off a strong favourite to confirm the impression from his previous run at Newmarket and he did it very well.

I have to say I wasn’t impressed with Jim Crowley’s rising in the straight – MOHAAFETH hung right under a left-handed drive and interfered with ROMAN EMPIRE but instead of putting the whip down and trying to correct the horse, Crowley administered another smack which got the horse running right into the rail.

In many jurisdictions, MOHAAFETH would have lost the race but that’s not how the rules work in the UK – Crowley got a 6-day holiday for careless riding and the horse kept the race. He was the best horse but that isn’t always the point.

MOHAAFETH might now head for the Eclipse which is always a fascinating race, and he could face LORD NORTH if the ground is reasonable. I thought ROMAN EMPIRE ran with merit and he just held off SECRET PROTECTOR, who admittedly ended up closer to MOHAAFETH than he had been at Newmarket.

The three handicaps at the end of the card were extremely tricky. The Britannia is traditionally impossible to solve – 30 3-y-o over the straight 1600m. PEROTTO won for Marcus Tregoning who has struggled in recent years to get back among the winners but has always shown he knows what to do with the right ammunition. PEROTTO is in the Bunbury at Newmarket.

Those drawn low had no chance in the race.

In the King George V Stakes over 2400m for the 3-y-o, there was a gamble on the Aidan O’Brien SIR LAVORAK, but Ryan Moore didn’t enjoy a lot of luck in a messy and rough race and ended up just failing to peg back SUNFIRE who won off just 88 but looks set for a tilt at the Leger after putting up a game performance and earning a first Royal Ascot success for his jockey Hector Crouch.

The concluding Buckingham Palace Handicap was run in deteriorating conditions but that didn’t stop the one filly, HIGHFIELD PRINCESS, off the bottom of the handicap and up against the stands rail in another race totally dominated by those drawn high – the first four home drawn 31, 18, 24 and 29. A big punt on ALDAARY from 7/1 to 10/3, went awry when the horse completely missed the break – he ran well in fifth and is certainly one for another day and perhaps the big 1400m handicap at the King George meeting.

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11 hours ago, stodge said:

The second day of the Royal Ascot meeting took place on another glorious afternoon. A little overnight watering had been applied and the ground was now Good to Firm all round.

The feature on the second day was the Prince of Wales’s Stakes over 2000m for the older horses. The race was somewhat devalued by the morning withdrawal of LORD NORTH for whom the ground had gone too quick. This left just six with the champion 3-y-o filly of 2020, LOVE, a strong favourite at 11/10. Her principal opponent on paper looked to be her stable companion and Cox Plate runner up ARMORY.

Prince of Wales’s Stakes:

 

An absolutely sublime piece of front running riding from Ryan Moore and a detailed sectional analysis by the commentator Richard Hoiles illustrated how Moore had gradually wound the pace up from the front from 1200m out and this won the race.

LOVE looked magnificent in the paddock and while Aidan O’Brien said after the race, she would improve for the run she looked pretty straight to this observer.

For all the post-race buzz was on the winner, I thought the second, AUDARYA, ran a huge race in defeat. She had also come back off a long layoff but it’s incredible to think barely a year ago she was winning a Redcar novice off 81 and here she is chasing down a multiple Group 1 winner and being rated 117.

Clearly, these two 4-y-o are both very good fillies, and you’d think both would be better suited by 2400m. LOVE will probably come back to Ascot for the King George whereas I wonder if AUDARYA might go for the Grand Prix de Saint Cloud. It’s clear LOVE enjoys the quick ground and you’d always be worried about the Arc given the probability of much slower conditions in Paris.

ARMORY ran okay and if you think he ran to his Cox Plate form you have an intriguing line back through SIR DRAGONET to the European and Australian form. It’s probably fair to say the race didn’t work to his advantage and it’s also fair to say he was up against a couple of really smart fillies.

A very strong supporting card was headlined by three Group 2 races. The Queen Mary is the sprint race for the 2-y-o fillies over 1000m. With the first day indicating a high draw an advantage, the money came for Wesley Ward’s TWILIGHT GLEAMING from stall 20 but she was run down close home by QUICK SUZY from stall 22. The latter comes from the Gavin Cromwell yard in Ireland that we normally associate with jumpers, but this is clearly a very quick filly though the extent to which her stall draw contributed to her success we’ll discover in time.

The other American raider, ARTOS, was in stall two and ran a huge race in fourth just behind the wonderfully named CHEERUPSLEEPYJEAN, who relished the quick ground.

The Queen’s Vase over 2800m is a race which has grown in stature since the distance from reduced from 3200m in 2017. A certain HARTNELL won this race back in 2014 but the winners since the change of distance include STRADIVARIUS, KEW GARDENS and SANTIAGO so this is a serious race now for the staying 3-y-o and one to note.

The money was for the Aidan O’Brien trained WORDSWORTH, but this was an impressive win by KEMARI on whom, I think it’s fair to say, William Buick enjoyed a dream ride and a fair dose of luck. From an inside gate, Buick dropped in and sometimes you can get real traffic problems off the home turn and as it’s only a 500m straight, there’s little time to get out of jail.

When pacemaker LAW OF THE SEA started to weaken, Buick managed to get a dream run on KEMARI and to be fair the horse showed a decent turn of foot to put the race to bed.

WORDSWORTH got caught out wide but ran home well and looks a real Leger type while STOWELL, who was the subject of a hugely controversial debut, also ran with a lot of promise in third and I really hope we get to see him on some slower ground.

Future plans for KEMARI may be of interest to some on here – he’s gelded so the Leger and the Royal Oak are closed off but there was plenty of post-race talk about a certain handicap in Flemington in early November. This was only KEMARI’s third run, so you’d wonder about his experience but he’s not short of ability and bounced off the quick ground.

The Duke of Cambridge is basically the Queen Anne for the fillies and mares – it’s a Group 2 over the straight 1600m. LADY BOWTHORPE had been morning favourite but some concerns over the ground led to late support for QUEEN POWER who was backed into favouritism.

However, this was a case of the “one that got away” as a certain Mr Dettori recorded his 75th Royal Ascot success by steering home INDIE ANGEL at 22/1. This was the first winner for Cheveley Park since 2017 and the first since the death of David Thompson. It was an inspired move by Frankie to drop down to the stand rail where the fastest ground seemed to be at that time and the filly simply swept past her opposition.

I wonder if they’ll be tempted by the Falmouth or the Rothschild with the winner – I suspect the former is more likely because the chances of fast ground are that bit greater at Newmarket.

LADY BOWTHORPE and QUEEN POWER were second and third – the former may not have bene totally happy on the quick ground while the third is perhaps more an 1800m or 2000m filly these days. CHAMPERS ELYSSES ran a much better race in fourth – she was conceding the winner 5 lbs with her Group 1 penalty and if she can build on this, she’ll be a big player as the season continues.

The Windsor Castle is a Listed race for the juveniles over 1000m and attracted another maximum field of 28. Following the previous race, the field split into two groups and unfortunately and uncharacteristically Frankie Dettori got it wrong on the American speedball RUTHIN. Drawn in twelve in the unfavoured middle, he had a chance of going left to the stand side or right to the far side. He chose to go left, and I think if he’d have gone right, he might have won.

As it was, RUTHIN’s move to the left expanded too much energy and she was done in the final 150m. The race went to the colt CHIPOTLE who had won the first juvenile race of the season, the Brocklesby, way back in late March. He just held off the late run of DIG TWO and the outsiders BOONIE and BOND CHAIRMAN.

The one that went into everyone’s note books was the colt KABOO who had been the subject of an enormous punt from 66/1 overnight down to 8s. KABOO was making his debut, the only debutant in the race and it’s very rare for complete newcomers to run in these hot Ascot juvenile events. The owning syndicate, Nick Bradley Racing, had made no secret of how well the horse had been going and to be fair he shaped with a lot of promise on sixth.

The Royal Hunt Cup is one of the traditional Ascot handicaps, run over the straight 1600m. A full field of 30 went to post and a big gamble developed on ASTRO KING from the Sir Michael Stoute yard who looked to have an ideal draw in 27 but the conventional thinking of the meeting was turned on its head as the unfancied REAL WORLD bolted up from stall four.

This was a first winner for Saeed Bin Suroor since 2017 – he has rather been in the shadow of Charlie Appleby within Godolphin – but REAL WORLD didn’t go unfancied at 18/1 for all it was his first run on grass, and he had been campaigned on the Dirt at Meydan in the winter. First time cheekpieces and a 3 lb claim from rising apprentice star Marco Ghiani (already being hailed as the new Dettori) helped but this looked a bit of a rick from the handicapper who had basically kept his Dirt rating from the winter of 94.

He won by nearly five lengths so we can expect a big hike, but he looked a Group horse in the making.

ASTRO KING duly won the race on the stands side to finish second and time may tell he caught a tartar here and perhaps there’ll be some recompense in a race like the Bunbury Cup at Newmarket. With GROVE FERRY (30) and OUZO (33) filling the other places, the view remained the stands side and the high numbers had the advantage which perhaps further upgrades the winner’s performance.

The final race was the Kensington Palace Handicap for the fillies and mares over the round 1600m. This looked fiendishly difficult and those who backed STUNNING BEAUTY got no run at all as the field were dispatched with the stalls blanket still attached and the filly’s hood still on and jockey Silvestre de Sousa screaming at the starter to wait.

In truth, very little happened as the David Loughname pair of LOLA SHOWGIRL and FFION were first and second throughout. We’ve seen before how the round mile suits front runners and this was very much the case as those coming from off the pace got in each other’s way. Both DECLARED INTEREST and WALIYAK ran home well from the rear and are worth noting for another day.

With the storm clouds seemingly gathering, there was much speculation as to how quantities of rain set to fall overnight and how that would impact Gold Cup day.

Got me thinking there with Kaboo mentioned on debut Stodge  . Remember one of the first Royal Ascot I watched . Chief Singer , how good was that horse to win the Coventry on debut nearly 40 odd years ago . Ron Sheather has since died , Ray Cochrane survived a plane crash and Jeff Smith still getting winners at Royal Ascot in the big ones to this day . Chief Singer was a horse and half , one of my favorites over the years .

Had a read up , Piggott said to Cochrane pre race in reply to a put down about the horse from Piggott , " take a good  look at his face cause all you going to see later is his arse " . 

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Had a look at Chief Singers record at stud and by coincidence Chief Singers last ever runner in UK was a horse called Chief Song who ran his last race at Ascot in 2002 . However he ran in a 2 and half mile Steeplechase 20 odd years after his dad had blazed a trail down the straight in Coventry Stakes .

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Drama greeted the fourth day of the Royal Ascot meeting with the anticipated deluge arriving 24 hours later than expected.

32mm of rain overnight and through the morning left the course saturated and prompted an inspection at 12.45pm amidst rumours of a 10-race Saturday or the abandoning of the round course races. The Straight course was fine, but water had accumulated at Swinley Bottom (it’s called that for a good reason) and a deputation of stewards, trainers (including Aidan O’Brien and Ralph Beckett) and jockeys (including Ryan Moore, Oisin Murphy and Frankie Dettori) went to look at the worst affected areas.

The commercial and logistical issues around an abandonment notwithstanding, all agreed that with some movement of rails, racing could go ahead and despite further rain through the afternoon, they got through the card.

The ground was officially posted before racing as Soft (Heavy in places) but after the first it was changed to Heavy. It was very wet, no question, but the horses were generally splashing through it and my first thought was Saturday was going to be much tougher as the rain soaked through. The early times indicated the ground was Soft certainly and very slow on the round course, but the straight course wasn’t so bad.

The runners kept to the far side on the round course and raced up the middle in the straight – this was because the middle had been the less “chewed up” part of the track through the week.

The feature was the Coronation Stakes over the old mile for the 3-y-o fillies. The change in the ground led to a plunge on PRETTY GORGEOUS into 4/1 favourite. She had been effective on soft and heavy turf as a juvenile and was just preferred to English 1000 Guineas winner MOTHER EARTH.

Coronation Stakes:

 

Redemption for both horse and jockey – for the latter for events which had happened just half an hour earlier and which I’ll mention anon. For the horse, redemption for a slightly unlucky run in the English 1000 Guineas where she had raced on the “wrong” side of the track and finished fifth. There were those (including me) who doubted her stamina – after all, she had been a speedy juvenile who had won the Cheveley Park over 1200m and even after her Fred Darling win at Newbury, the view was the 1600m would be too far, but she saw it out really well and on this evidence is clearly the top mile 3-y-o filly.

She’s in the July Cup and the Sussex and in both she’ll be taking on the boys – there are alternatives such as the Falmouth and the Romanet where she will be up against the older mares, so we’ll see. Her owner/breeder Geoff Smith has been a huge supporter of UK racing for 40 years and while he’s had a lot of really nice horses including Lochsong and Chief Singer, ALCOHOL FREE is right up there.

SNOW LANTERN is bred to be a champion (Frankel-Sky Lantern) and Richard Hannon has always thought the world of her and she ran a huge race in second and I’m sure will come on from that.

MOTHER EARTH ran a solid third after her exertions at Newmarket and Longchamp – I suspect she’s not a vintage 1000 Guineas winner but a perfectly good one though I wonder if “the lads” will be thinking about a step up in trip. NOVEMBA set the pace and ran a huge race for Germany in fourth – it’s good to see the top German horses back competing in the UK and on this evidence, you’d have to give the German form plenty of respect.

PRETTY GORGEOUS looked a real threat before fading and the likes of EMPRESS JOSEPHINE and SHALE were disappointing especially as they had both run well on heavy in the past.

The feature for the 3-y-o sprinters is the Commonwealth Cup over 1200m. Since its inception in 2015, this race has established itself as a serious championship race and once again a decent field assembled. Wesley Ward sent over the Queen Mary and Morny winner CAMPANELLE to take on arguably the best of the British sprinters in DRAGON SYMBOL, but the money was for the French filly SUESA who had impressed on slow ground at Chantilly.

Commonwealth Cup:

 

A dramatic finish which ended in the stewards’ room with the front two places reversed after a lengthy enquiry. I don’t think Oisin Murphy can have too many complaints – it wasn’t his best ride and as champion jockey he should ride to the highest standard. He should have put the whip down and pulled it through to his right hand and he didn’t.

CAMPANELLE was pulled right and lost by a head. To be honest, in every other racing jurisdiction, DRAGON SYMBOL wouldn’t just have been thrown out but might have been placed last but that’s not how it is in the UK.

The front two pulled five lengths clear and both are clearly very good types – CAMPANELLE maintained Wesley Ward’s record of picking up something from his Ascot raiding party (2019 being a rare blank) for all the juveniles were a shade disappointing this time. She’s gone back to America so no run at the July Cup which is a shame.

DRAGON SYMBOL is 7/1 for the July Cup but will have to go up against the older horses and there are some useful older sprinters about this year including OXTED and DREAM OF DREAMS so this will be a test and he had a hard enough race here.

DANDALLA blitzed the Albany on soft ground last year and we saw a glimpse of that as she finished fourth just behind the Irish raider MEASURE OF MAGIC. The disappointment was SUESA but in truth her connections had said they had come to Ascot for quick ground and in the end, they ended up on a French surface – hopefully, they’ll bring her back for another try on firm ground.

The main supporting race was the Group 2 King Edward VII over 2400m. Just six went to post following the late scratchings of GLOUCESTERSHIRE and YIBIR and in a week which had seen some tall reputations broken, ALENQUER won this with some ease and marked himself as a very useful colt.

At Sandown, back in April, he had won the Classic Trial beating a certain ABAYAR and he followed up here beating TASMAN MAN, the best horse Sir Mark Todd has trained in the UK. TITLE and the others were well held though there was less than six lengths from first to last.

ALENQUER is a German-bred and if we know nothing else about German breds, they have stamina and love soft ground. We’ll never know if he might have won at Epsom but he’s in the King George and the Arc for which 33/1 doesn’t look bad odds if it comes up heavy in Paris. He’s not short of speed for a 2400m type.

TASMAN BAY ran really well but I suspect his future lies further south.

The Albany is a Group 3 for the juvenile fillies over 1200m. 15 runners and they went 9/2 the field which was instructive with the ground another variable. The race went to SANDRINE, another success for Andrew Balding who was enjoying a fantastic week (later success with ALCOHOL FREE) and a success for one of the most established of the breeders over here, Kirsten Rausing, who apparently bought the six-times dam of this juvenile back in the 1980s. She owns the hugely successful Lanwades Stud.

HELLO YOU was well punted and ran a fine race in second – she’s certainly one to follow. Woodcote winner OSCULA was taken stands side by her jockey Mark Crehan in the search for better ground. It was an interesting ploy but a failure – she was beaten two lengths in third – but she comes out of the race with a lot of credit.

The remaining three races were handicaps, all of which were affected by late scratchings on account of the deteriorating ground. Even with nine out, twenty-one ran in the Sandringham over the straight 1600m for the fillies and mares. The former jockey Johnny Murtagh saddled his first Royal Ascot winner with CREATE BELIEF a wide margin winner. He won off 87 at The Curragh and won this off 97 and has been raised to 110 so it’ll be a Group race next you would think. The Kilboy Estate Stakes at The Curragh on Irish Oaks Day seems a reasonable option.

The money had come for the proven soft ground performer SAMOOT, and she didn’t run badly in second and was certainly nicely ahead of the others.

14 went to post for the Duke of Edinburgh over 2400m but the market got this one right with a gamble landed on QUICKTHORN who was backed in to 7/2. He had won by eight and a half lengths at Haydock off 84 and followed up here off 97 – he’s now off 103 so a race like the Ebor is an option but trainer Hughie Morrison said with a glint in his eye he might look at eight flights of hurdles but somehow, I suspect that won’t happen.

RAYMOND TUSK was last turning for home but ran on strongly for second – he’s a proven stayer and could certainly go jumping while the third ZABEEL CHAMPION ran a huge race with his big weight and time may tell he had a lot on giving 6 lbs to the winner.

The rain had started falling again for the Palace of Holyroodhouse Stakes over 1000m and for all this was meant to be a sprint it looked a real slog. 22 different jockeys have won the 28 races of far and for a number it has been their inaugural Royal Ascot success and Clifford Lee added his name to the list as SIGNIFICANTLY just held the late challenge of BOOMSHALAA, who was perhaps a touch unlucky with the lightly weighted FANTASY MASTER third.

It’s not often significant form races happen at Hamilton, but I suspect connections of SIGNIFICANTLY may well not be so concerned by their three and a half length defeat over 100m in early May as the horse they lost to was one DRAGON SYMBOL.

Oisin Murphy got a 4-day ban for his ride on DRAGON SYMBOL – Jim Crowley had got a 6-day holiday for his ride on the Thursday. One kept the race, one lost it. Sometimes the rules defy logic.

With one day to go, Oisin Murphy led the standings with four winners ahead of Frankie Dettori with three. It has been a frustrating week for Ryan Moore with one winner but five seconds.

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The final day of the Royal Ascot meeting took place on a cloudy, damp afternoon. After 42mm of rain from the end of Thursday, the ground was soft (heavy in places). The rain had clearly got into the ground and those wanting firm conditions were heavily disadvantaged.

The Group 1 feature on the final day was the Diamond Jubilee over 1200m. This used to be the Cork & Orrery a long time ago before being elevated to Group 1 status and re-named as the Golden Jubilee in 2002.

With the coming of the Commonwealth Cup, 3-y-os have been excluded and it joins the Queen Anne and the Prince of Wales as championship races for the older horses. STARMAN, the Duke of York winner with a known liking for fast ground, was an expected withdrawal and the market was dominated by proven soft ground performers such as DREAM OF DREAMS and GLEN SHIEL, both of whom had strong form over the course and distance on soft ground.

Diamond Jubilee Stakes:

 

Arguably the finish of the week and dramatic stuff as Ryan Moore was all out to get home on DREAM OF DREAMS denying Hollie Doyle and GLEN SHIEL by a length. In some ways, justice for the winner who had finished second to Hello Youmzain and Blue Point in the last two renewals though he’d been four lengths behind GLEN SHIEL last autumn in the Champions Day Sprint.

ART POWER ran a huge race as he had last autumn but I just think the 1200m on soft ground is a tad too far for him. It was also unfortunate he had to make his own pace in a group which basically fell apart and left him isolated.

The next three home were all in the far side group with the front two – NAHAARR was second home in the stands side group, and he was seventh but only beaten just over four lengths. I thought the time – just shy of 1 minute 15 seconds – was pretty decent under the conditions and only a couple of seconds off the standard.

On then to the July Cup which is likely to be run on a very different surface and you could see OXTED, DRAGON SYMBOL and DREAM OF DREAMS all in opposition and this already looks one to savour. Current betting has OXTED and STARMAN at 5/1 joint favourites with DREAM OF DREAMS at 11/2 and DRAGON SYMBOL at 6s. It’s not easy to split the sprinters – I was very taken with OXTED in the King’s Stand, and he won the race in 2020. The question is whether STARMAN can build on his York run and whether the 3-y-o DRAGON SYMBOL can take advantage of the weight concession.

The Group 2 supporting feature was the Hardwicke over 2400m for the older horses and this was always going to be a war on the ground. Among the morning scratchings were BANGKOK, MOGUL and TIGER MOTH. The money came for BROOME from the Aidan O’Brien yard but he was decisively put in his place by Royallieu winner WONDERFUL TONIGHT who followed up her win in the Fillies and Mares on Champions Day.

Hardwicke Stakes:

 

This was a stunning performance by the winner who did plenty in the first 500m – her turn of foot off the final bend was one of the highlights of the week and hard though BROOME tried she was away and gone.

Connections immediately named the Arc as her long-term objective and expressed regret they didn’t run her in it last year – well, perhaps. On this evidence, assuming it came up soft in Paris in October, you’d see her up there with SNOWFALL and perhaps LOVE as the three leading contenders. We don’t know how good SNOWFALL really is – the truth is she will get a lot of weight from WONDERFUL TONIGHT in Paris and if the former comes out of the Yorkshire Oaks looking the part, trainer David Menuisier may have further cause to regret last year’s decision.

Of the others, HUKUM ran well for all he’s probably better on quicker ground and I thought ALBAFLORA ran well considering she lost a shoe in running, JAPAN disappointed again but BROOME did Aidan O’Brien proud.  He’s in both the King George and the Juddmonte and I’m of the view a fast run 2000m is his optimum.

The Jersey Stakes was the Group 3 feature over 1400m. As would be the case later in the Diamond Jubilee, the centre proved slightly favoured over the stands side. CREATIVE FORCE led home a 1-2 for Godolphin defeating NAVAL CROWN. The winner has won four on the bounce this season and has improved considerably. He’s 9/1 for the July Cup but I suspect the Maurice de Gheest might be a better option for all the 1400m division is always very competitive.

The Chesham was the final juvenile race of the meeting – a Listed race over 1400m. All the talk before the race was about BROOME’s full brother, POINT LONSDALE, who had looked a nice sort when winning on debut at The Curragh. He was really made to work by REACH FOR THE MOON, who had his mind on other things in the preliminaries but ran a huge race in defeat.

The front two were nicely clear and both are obviously decent. Aidan O’Brien mentioned both the Guineas and the Derby for the winner but he’s a long way from that though I suspect we’ll see him in a race like the National or the Dewhurst. The second is owned by the Queen, who wouldn’t have been impressed by his pre-race behaviour, and is clearly very smart. He’s very stoutly bred, and you can imagine the roof being lifted off Epsom if the Queen can win the Derby in her Platinum Jubilee year, but she has a real contender.

The Wokingham is one of the traditional Ascot handicaps over 1200m and even with a few ground-related scratchings looked very trappy. However, the one 3-y-o in the race, ROHAAN, made a nonsense of it winning cosily off 112 – now, you may wonder why a horse rated 112 has to run in a handicap rather than a Group race. The answer is ROHAAN is a gelding and up here geldings are often excluded from Group 1 races.

ROHAAN’s previous effort at Haydock saw him beat a certain DRAGON SYMBOL at Haydock in the Sandy Lane – as we know, DRAGON SYMBOL was first past the post (demoted to second) in the Commonwealth Cup so you could argue ROHAAN would have gone very close, but he couldn’t run.

To underline the strength of the form further, the Wokingham third was KING’S LYNN, to whom ROHAAN was actually giving 5 lbs despite being a 3-y-o. In fact, KING’S LYNN ran off 100 having been an unlucky seventh in the King’s Stand so you could argue ROHAAN might have run very well in the King’s Stand as well.

He can’t run in the July Cup so it will be fascinating to see where they go next, and it’s ignited a big debate over here as to whether geldings should be allowed to compete in Group 1 races. The Wokingham runner up FRESH might be the one to take out for future handicaps.

The Golden Gates over 2000m for the 3-y-o is another of the “new” handicaps and was another competitive event but Oisin Murphy sealed the jockeys’ title for the meeting with his fifth winner by coming from last to first on this lightly raced son of Zoffany who had completely failed to handle the tight twists and turns of Chester last time. He beat VISUALISATION though the second was conceding 7 lbs and put up a very useful effort looking ahead to the big handicaps down the season.

The meeting ended with a bit of a novelty race – the Queen Alexandra is run over 4350m and is the longest race in the British calendar. It’s often dominated by the jump trainers and this year was no exception with STRATUM winning for Willie Mullins under an inspired and patient ride by Ryan Moore who didn’t enjoy the rub of the green on KING’S LYNN in the Wokingham and although Moore had ridden four winners, it was a bit of a frustrating week for the former champion.

CALLING THE WIND was second with THE GRAND VISIR, who has been placed in the Ascot Stakes and the Chester Cup, running third.

I’ll sum up my thoughts on Ascot in the next thread along with my betting book for the week which unfortunately means I’m going to have to continue to work for a living.

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Wow, I've just added up my betting book for the Royal Ascot meeting 2021:

Day 1:

Queen Anne: No bet

Coventry Stakes: £10 each way EBRO RIVER @ 12/1 LOST

King’s Stand Stakes: £10 Win WINTER POWER @ 7/1 LOST

St James’s Palace Stakes: £20 Win POETIC FLARE @ 4/1 WON – return £100

                                          £2.50 each way LA BAROSSA @ 25/1 LOST

Ascot Stakes: No bet

Wolferton Stakes: £10 Win PATRICK SARSFIELD @ 9/2 LOST

Copper House Stakes: No bet

Total Stake: £65   Returns: £100 PROFIT: £35          

Day 2:

Queen Mary Stakes: £20 Win TWILIGHT GLEAMING @ 5/2 LOST

Queen’s Vase: £10 each way KEMARI @ 8/1 WON – return £120

Duke of Cambridge Stakes: £2.50 each way VALERIA MESSALINA @ 25/1 LOST

Prince of Wales’s Stakes: £5 each way AUDARYA @ 14/1 – 2nd return £19

Hunt Cup: £2.50 each way MAGICAL MORNING @ 14/1 – LOST

Windsor Castle Stakes: No bet

Kensington Palace Handicap:  £ 5 each way WALIYAK @ 14/1 – 3rd return £19

Total Stake: £70 Returns £158 PROFIT: £88

Day 3:

Norfolk Stakes: No Bet – INSTINCTIVE POWER backed @ 14/1 but withdrawn and money refunded.

Hampton Court Stakes: £20 Win MOHAAFETH @ 6/4 WON – return £50

Ribblesdale Stakes: £10 each way ESCHAADA @ 8/1 – 2nd return £21

Gold Cup:  £5 each way TWILIGHT PAYMENT @ 28/1 – LOST

Britannia Handicap: £2.50 each way QAADER @ 25/1 – LOST (my bookie paid down to six places, QAADER was seventh !!)

King George V Stakes: £10 each way SIR LAMORAK @ 5/1 – 2nd return £20

Buckingham Palace Stakes: No bet

Total Stake: £75 Returns £91 PROFIT: £16

Day 4:

Albany Stakes: £10 Win HELLO YOU @ 5/1 – LOST

King Edward VII Stakes: £20 Win ALENQUER @ 7/4 – WON – return £55

Commonwealth Cup: £10 Win CAMPANELLE @ 5/1 – WON – return £60 (thank you, the Ascot Stewards !!)

Coronation Stakes: £10 each way MOTHER EARTH @ 5/1 – 3rd – return £20

Sandringham Handicap: No Bet

Duke of Edinburgh Stakes: £10 Win QUICKTHORN @ 4/1 – WON – return £50

Palace of Holyrood House Handicap: £5 each way SIGNIFICANTLY @ 10/1 – WON – return £77.50.

Total Stake: £80 Return: £262.50 PROFIT: £182.50

Day 5:

Chesham Stakes: £5 each way NEW SCIENCE @ 7/1 – LOST

Jersey Stakes:  £5 each way MUTASAAABEQ @ 7/1 – LOST

Hardwicke Stakes: £10 each way WONDERFUL TONIGHT @ 5/1 – WON – return £80

Diamond Jubilee Stakes: £10 Win DREAM OF DREAMS @ 7/2 – WON – return £45

Wokingham Stakes: No bet

Golden Gates Stakes: No bet

Queen Alexandra Stakes: £10 win FALCON EIGHT @ 7/2 – LOST

Total Stake: £60 Returns: £125 PROFIT: £65

 

For the whole meeting:

Staked: £350

Returns:  £736.50

 

Profit for the meeting: £388.50

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Final thoughts on Royal Ascot 2021:

12.000 people a day made the place look open and inviting - I know Ascot took a big financial hit on the meeting but there's an argument for perhaps capping off attendances at 30,000 rather than 60,000 but they won't go for that.

The "Royal" aspect matters not a jot these days - it's always nice to see the Queen but she won't be around for ever and while Camilla loves horses, Charles is more ambivalent and there's little sign of William showing any interest at this time.

William Shakespeare penned about the Merry Wives of Windsor but it was more A Tale of Two Ascots this week - pre-deluge and post-deluge. The first two days were old-fashioned Ascot at its best. PALACE PIER and POETIC FLARE won the mile championship races to set up an intriguing clash at Goodwood at the end of next month. OXTED returned to form with a vengeance in a King's Stand where the speedballs cut their own throats.

Wednesday saw the triumphant return of LOVE with a courageous win in the Prince of Wales. I wonder how much of a mark that race will leave and AUDARYA ran a blinder in defeat. LORD NORTH will be waiting if the ground softens as will the 3-y-o such as the brilliant SNOWFALL so this story has a lot of twists and turns ahead.

As the storm clouds gathered on Thursday, there was a changing of the guard in the staying division as a combination of SUBJECTIVIST and a tactically inept ride by Dettori dethroned STRADIVARIUS. That said, SUBJECTIVIST will get better and looks a big chance in the 2022 running.

The heavens opened Thursday night into Friday and the meeting hung in doubt for a few minutes - the wet ground on Friday led to a spate of withdrawals but the times suggested, at least on the straight course, they were getting through it. The Commonwealth Cup ended in controversy with DRAGON SYMBOL losing the race in the stewards' room - Oisin Murphy can't have any complaints once he saw the head-on. However, redemption was swift with ALCOHOL FREE splashing through the ground for an emphatic success but only serving to confuse the picture among the 3-y-o filly milers whereas POETIC FLARE dominates among the colts.

Saturday had seen the rain really get in and WONDERFUL TONIGHT reminded us what a class act she is when the ground is soft when winning the Hardwicke. Perhaps the best finish of the week was reserved for the Diamond Jubilee with DREAM OF DREAMS finally getting his head in front just beating GLEN SHIEL in a desperate finish. With OXTED and DRAGON SYMBOL likely to be in the mix, the July Cup is also looking to be a wonderful contest in just three weeks.

That's the thing about Ascot - you can dwell on the past and reflect on the present but the anticipation for the future is what the meeting delivers - it sets the agenda for the rest of the season and creates the possibilities and the narrative that will build through the July Meeting, Glorious Goodwood and the York August Meeting right through to Leger and Irish Champions Weekend and finally to the Arc in Paris.

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Descendent of La Mer , Go Bears Go might be very handy , won Railway at Curragh off very good Royal Ascot  run , won his side that day when finishing second . Beat a good one last night and confirmed his form from  Ascot  race  with Ballydoyles  first string again  . 

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