Royal Ascot Day III – Stradivarius in the Gold Cup
The two-and-a-half mile Ascot Gold Cup (G1) may have long ceased to be as stallion making race – the last winner to become a major sire on the flat was probably Sheshoon who prevailed in 1960 – but it often provides an exceptional spectacle, and the 2018 renewal was no
Poet Has Last Word in Prince of Wales’s Stakes
The highlight of the day, the ten furlong Prince of Wales’s Stakes (G1) was also supposed to be one of the banker bets of the meeting, featuring Cracksman, officially the high-weighted turf male in the world last year. Cracksman had reportedly struggled to handle the downhill at Epsom when narrowly
HOLLIDAY, HARZAND & MINDING
With Harzand and Minding taking the Epsom Derby (gr. I) and Epsom Oaks (gr. I), and then following up with wins in the Irish Derby (gr. I) and Pretty Polly Stakes (gr. I), it’s interesting to reflect how both go back to families developed by the great English breeder, Major
ROYAL ASCOT – DAYS 4/5 – THE NEED FOR SPEED
Run for only the second time the six furlong Commonwealth Stakes (gr. I) for three-year-old sprinters fell to Quiet Reflection, who was winning for the sixth time in seven starts, all but one of those victories coming in black type company. Quiet Reflection is from the second crop of the
ROYAL ASCOT DAY 3 – CUP OF ST GEORGE
After a runaway win in the Irish St. Leger (gr. I) at three last year, Order of St George was given a World Racehorse Ranking that rated him among the best stayers of recent years. To justify such lofty consideration he really needed to win this year’s Ascot Gold Cup
ROYAL ASCOT DAY 4 – MUHAARAR SPEEDS TO TOP OF THREE-YEAR-OLD SPRINT DIVISION
Having been represented by the King’s Stand Stakes (gr. I) scorer, Goldream, earlier in the week, Oasis Dream completed a top-level sprint double when his son, Muhaarar captured the Commonwealth Stakes (gr. I). A smart two-year-old last year, when he won the Gimcrack Stakes (gr. II) and took third in
ROYAL ASCOT DAY THREE – GETTING THE TRIP
A rather sedate pace to the 2 1/2 mile Ascot Gold Cup (gr. I) ensured that several of the field were in with a shot close home, but in the end Trip to Paris prevailed to secure his first stakes victory, accounting for Galileo’s son, Kingfisher, and the previously undefeated
MILERS STAR ON DAY 1 AT ROYAL ASCOT
Day 1 at Royal Ascot was most notable for group one victories by a pair of outstanding milers. In the Queen Anne Stakes, for older horses over the straight mile, the expected clash between Able Friend and Solow fizzled out when the Hong Kong star failed to fire. That left
ROYAL ASCOT: DAYS 4 & 5: RIZEENA & TELESCOPE RETURN TO FORM
One of last year’s top two-year-olds – when her victories included the Queen Mary Stakes (gr. II) at the Royal meeting, and the Shadwell Fillies Mile (gr. I) – Rizeena failed to fire in the 1,000 Guineas (gr. I), but bounced back for a ¾ lengths victory in the one
GALILEO/DANEHILL REVISITED
A little over two years ago, we looked at the cross of Galileo with mares by Danehill. This was fast becoming a European mega nick, having—in the space of three weeks—been represented by Frankel, who had just taken the Two Thousand Guineas (Eng-I) in breathtaking style; Golden Lilac, successful in
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