Latest Racing News, Results and Upcoming Action
From Galileo Gold coming out on top in the battle of the Guineas winners in the masterful hands of Frankie Dettori, to Order of St George confirming his potential to become the king of the stayers in the Gold Cup and a final day winner for the Queen as Dartmouth landed the Hardwicke Stakes, there were many highlights in what was another fabulous five days at Royal Ascot. For us though the two stand out performances came from a pair of the American raiders, whilst the big shock came in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes.
Tepin Shines in Queen Anne
The opening race of the meeting saw the first of this year’s overseas superstars take to the track as the US mare Tepin tackled the Queen Anne. A sparkling record in the States, where she had won her previous six races with aplomb, prompted connections to embark on this transatlantic quest. Tepin faced the daunting challenge of beating the best Europe has to offer, racing on an unfamiliar straight track on ground softer than she is used to, and without the benefit of her usual nasal strip and LASIX. Too tall an order surely?
To the delight of trainer Mark Casse, Tepin showed she has the heart to match her undoubted class to record a landmark victory. With Tepin having now demonstrated that US success at the Royal meeting need not be confined solely to the juvenile sprint contests, it is hoped that more American middle distance runners will take up the challenge in future, which can only serve to further enhance the meeting.
More US Success
Not that our American cousins have forgotten how to win the sprint events at the track, as Wesley Ward once again demonstrated in Wednesday’s Queen Mary Stakes. Ward has something of an affinity with this race having tasted success in 2009 with Jealous Again and last year with Acapulco, but neither produced anything like as devastating a display as Lady Aurelia here.
So quick did she go in the early stages that nothing could keep pace and the main thought was whether she could maintain her lead to the line. Little did we know that Lady Aurelia was yet to hit top gear. Jockey Frankie Dettori seemed as flabbergasted as the rest of us when the daughter of Scat Daddy moved into overdrive in the final furlong to pulverise the field by seven lengths. In terms of having the wow factor, this was the standout performance of the week.
Disappointment for Japan
The question ahead of the Prince of Wales’s Stakes was; could anything beat the highest rated racehorse in the world, the Japanese monster, A Shin Hikari? In the end everything beat him as he posted a laboured display to finish stone last with the prize going to Clive Cox’s, My Dream Boat, a horse who had finished fully 14 ½ lengths adrift of A Shin Hikari on his previous start. In the aftermath part owner Hirotsugu Hirai stated, “After the race the horse was fine. He wasn’t upset, but we’re upset…”. Those to have taken the “odds on” about the Japanese star were reportedly none too happy either!
Top riding honours once again went to Ryan Moore following his excellent six race haul. An achievement to be proud of you would imagine. Seemingly not for Moore, who when asked if winning the leading jockey title once again brought him a sense of satisfaction, replied simply, “not particularly, no”. Ryan Moore’s chief supplier, Aidan O’Brien, posted seven wins in all, putting him five clear of his nearest pursuer in the battle to be the week’s top trainer.
Looking ahead to the coming weekend and a pair of derbies take centre stage. Whilst the main protagonists from Epsom look set to contest round two in the Irish Derby at The Curragh, in what is sure to be a high class affair, it’s the handicappers who take centre stage in the “Pitmen’s Derby” up at Newcastle; something of an historic event this year as it will be the first edition of the Northumberland Plate to be run on the new synthetic surface.
