14 minute read
Royal reward
Amy Bennett reports on a superb Royal Ascot meeting
THE ST JAMES’S PALACE STAKES (G1) promised to be one of the races of the meeting, with the winners of the 2,000 Guineas in Britain, Ireland and France crossing swords over Ascot’s straight mile.
Victory went the way of the Irish 2,000 Guineas hero Rosallion, who was beaten a length and a half by Notable Speech (Dubawi) at Newmarket, but landed the Irish equivalent by a head from Haatem (Phoenix Of Spain).
The son of Blue Point proved that his Classic success was no fluke when repelling the late charge of Henry Longfellow (Dubawi) to triumph by a neck. The Poule d’Essai des Poulains (G1) winner Metropolitan (Zarak) claimed third place, with Notable Speech only seventh.
The young sire Blue Point deserves plaudits for the top-flight winner, but we must also tip the hat to the top families nurtured by Rosallion’s owner-breeder Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum.
Rosallion is out of the New Approach mare Rosaline, an unraced sister to high-class miler Ostilio, and a half-sister to a number of other high-class performers, including the Group 1 winners Ajman Princess (Teofilo) and Triple Time (Frankel), now a sire.
Ajman Princess provided her owner-breeder with yet another red-letter day when her son Inisherin stormed away with the Commonwealth Cup (G1). From the final crop of the leading sire Shamardal, Inisherin finished sixth in the 2,000 Guineas before being remade as a sprinter when winning the Sandy Lane Stakes (G2) 21 days later.
Sheikh Mohammed Obaid certainly takes the honours for Royal Ascot week with this pedigree producing two Group 1-winning three-year-olds and significant stallion prospects.
The colts’ Classic form was paid another hefty compliment when Haatem dropped back in trip to win the 7f Jersey Stakes (G3) by a short head from Kikkuli (Kingman), the latest (and last) to bear the weight of being a half-brother to Frankel.
The winner is the flag bearer from the first crop of the Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Phoenix Of Spain, who stands at the Irish National Stud at a fee of €10,000.
He was one of the most popular equine winners of the week, with Richard Hannon remarking that he’d never known a horse to have a fan club like him – the horse receives email and Instagram messages.
Successful in the Vintage Stakes (G2) during his lengthy juvenile career in which he ran nine times, Haatem got his season off to a winning start in the Craven Stakes (G3), before finishing third in the 2,000 Guineas, prior to his runner-up spot at The Curragh.
Bred by Hyde Park Stud, the colt was bought back as a foal and was purchased for just 27,000gns by the Doyles during Tattersalls October Book 2 a year later.
The fillies’ Classic form came under the spotlight in the Coronation Stakes (G1) and it was Porta Fortuna (Caravaggio) who came off best, showing an impressive turn of foot to hold off Opera Singer (Justify) by a length.
In the 1,000 Guineas (G1) at Newmarket, Porta Fortuna was beaten a neck by Elmalka (Kingman), who finished fourth at Ascot, with the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (G1) winner Rouhiya (Lope De Vega) finishing last.
Winner of the Albany Stakes 12 months ago, Porta Fortuna landed her first top-level triumph in the Cheveley Park Stakes (G1) before finishing runner-up in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies’ Turf.
Bred by the O’Brien family’s Whisperview Trading, she is out of the winning Holy Roman Emperor mare Too Precious, from the sturdy further family of the St Leger (G1) victor and sire Milan.
She is owned by a syndicate for Taylor Made Partnerships, Mark McStay of Avenue Bloodstock having been involved in putting the group together.
Whisperview also scored as a breeder with Port Fairy (Australia), who won the Ribblesdale Stakes (G2) by a neck.
Old guard still in command
It can often feel that a small number of sires dominate proceedings on the Royal racetrack, but that was not the case at Royal Ascot 2024. No fewer than 30 sires were responsible for the week’s 35 winners, while 33 broodmare sires hit the board.
The old guard were amongst the handful to sire more than one winner, with Galileo responsible for three, and Sea The Stars, Dark Angel and Frankel each responsible for a pair of winners. The first three were also on the board as broodmare sires.
Dark Angel became the only sire of the week to sire two Group 1 winners, getting off the mark in the very first race of the week when Charyn triumphed in the Queen Anne Stakes (G1).
Victory for the Grangemore Stud-bred four-year-old was thoroughly well deserved as Nurlan Bizakov’s likeable colt has been knocking on the door at the highest level throughout his career. Purchased for 250,000gns at Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, the colt has definitely earned himself a berth to stand under the growing Sumbe banner when he retires.
After the race stud manager Tony Fry was all smiles and said: “I said to the boss [Nurlan Bizakov] before Charyn ran that if he wins on this ground he is a star, and so he has proved – Silvestre [De Sousa] said as such when he got off.
“That opens up options, but for now we will enjoy this. You always hope that the horse you purchase goes on to do this sort of thing, but they rarely do!”
A full-brother to Wings Of War, also successful in the Mill Reef Stakes (G2), Charyn hails from the smart family of the useful Galeota (Mujadil), with the Group 3 winner Pipe Major appearing back in the family.
Dark Angel has never seemed to get the credit he really deserves, but he is now the sire of 17 Group 1 winners worldwide and stands at a fee of €60,000 at Yeomanstown Stud.
Firmly in the running this year for champion British and Irish sires’ honours, and topping the table as we go to press, the son of Acclamation thoroughly deserves every bit of credit he gets.
He has a number of stallion sons at stud in Europe, the most successful to date being Harry Angel.
Could Charyn be the son who will future proof his sire’s line? Time will tell.
One son of Dark Angel who will not be furthering his father’s line is the gelded Khaadem, who stormed to a repeat victory in the renamed Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (G1).
Now an eight-year-old, Charlie Hills’ charge is the kind of hard-knocking, consistent stakes performer so typical of his sire.
As a broodmare sire Dark Angel also made his mark this June – Mecca’s Angel, dam of the impressive Listed Chesham winner Bedtime Story, one of his, too.
The mighty Galileo’s final crop are now juveniles, but it was his three-year-olds who dominated on Wednesday, with Illinois leading home his paternal half-brother Highbury in the 1m6f Queen’s Vase (G2).
Third in last year’s Criterium de SaintCloud (G1) to stablemate Los Angeles (Camelot), the Coolmore homebred has been placed in a couple of Classic trials this year, but staying looks to be his future, given how well he hit the line at Ascot.
A full-brother to the Group 3 winners Venice Beach and Broadway, he is also a half-brother to the great Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe heroine Danedream (Lomitas), out of the unraced Danehill mare Danedrop.
GALILEO WAS ALSO responsible for the superb stayer Kyprios, who is out of a daughter of Danehill in Moyglare Stud Farm’s top-notch producer Polished Gem. Kyprios became only the third horse to recapture the Ascot Gold Cup (G1) having missed last year’s race through a career and life-threatening injury.
The return to top class racing was so in doubt for Kyprios and Fiona Craig, long term bloodstock advisor to Moyglare Stud, said: “It is testament to Aidan O’Brien and the team at Ballydoyle, but also to the horse who fought for his life and his career.”
She added with an update on Search For A Song, Kyprios’ two-time Group 1 Irish St Leger Stakes-winning full-sister: “Search had a filly by Baaeed this year, and that is fantastic, the line goes on.
“She was a bit of a madam and quite highly strung, and when I saw Baaeed at Ascot he is not only very athletic but also seemed to have a very equal temperament.”
The filly is already named Sing Our Song.
As a broodmare sire, Galileo scored another Group 1 victory with the mercurial Auguste Rodin (Deep Impact), who brought his A-game to land the Prince of Wales’s Stakes (G1) and give trainer Aidan O’Brien his 400th top level winner.
It is also worth noting that six of Galileo’s sons were responsible for winners at the Royal meeting.
Sea The Stars teamed up with broodmare sire Motivator to sire a pair of handicap winners.
The lightly raced Doha is a daughter of Motivator’s dual Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1) victrix Treve and turned in a fine performance to land the Kensington Palace Stakes by a head, pleasing many racegoers who were fans of the brilliant Treve.
A day earlier, Pledgeofallegiance scored by half a length in the Ascot Stakes. Bred by Lodge Park Stud, the Tattersalls October Book 1 graduate is out of the Listed Lingfield Oaks winner Vow (Motivator), who was not beaten far when fourth in the Oaks (G1).
Just half an hour later, Sea The Stars added his name to the rollcall of the week’s winning broodmare sires when Israr (Muhaarar), out of Sea The Stars’ outstanding daughter Taghrooda, was a smart winner of the Listed Wolferton Stakes.
The most impressive Story of the week
Among a cavalcade of top-notch winners and great stories, the most visually striking winner of the week came in the Listed Chesham Stakes when the flying filly Bedtime Story hosed up by nine and a half lengths.
In a race that promotes more stoutly produced individuals, the Coolmore-bred filly may seem something of an anomaly, being out of the dual Nunthorpe Stakes (G1) heroine Mecca’s Angel.
However, she gained entry to the race on the strength of her sire Frankel’s 1m2f victories and given his injection of what we will loosely term “stamina”, it will be interesting to see what this filly’s optimum distance turns out to be.
Having broken her maiden over an extended 7f at Leopardstown earlier in June, Bedtime Story is now trading at short odds for next year’s 1,000 Guineas.
The policy of using fast mares on Galileo was one that the Coolmore team quoted frequently in the champion sires’ last few years, this is a twist with the speedy mare having been covered by Galileo’s Juddmonte Stud-based super sire son Frankel.
Twenty-four hours before Bedtime Story’s victory, her stablemate Fairy Godmother was impressive in the Albany Stakes (G3).
The daughter of Night Of Thunder did not enjoy a clear run, but showed plenty of pace once in the clear to score by three-quarters of a length from Simmering (Too Darn Hot).
From the top nursery of Ballyphilip Stud, the filly cost MV Magnier 425,000gns at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, and is a half-sister to last year’s Listedplaced Sketch (Showcasing).
Their dam is the novice winner Scintillating (Siyouni), a half-sister to the juvenile Group 2 winner Prolific (Compton Place).
Manton Thoroughbreds, which races in the familiar Sangster colours, may have hit the crossbar in the Albany, but the famed colours were carried to victory in the Coventry Stakes (G2) by Rashabar, who triumphed for Brian Meehan.
A son of Holy Roman Emperor, out of the young Camelot mare Amazonka, the colt was bred by Haras de Beaufy, before being snapped up for €120,000 by Sam Sangster at Arqana last August.
The big investments pay off Wathnan Racing made several high-profile
(and high money, we can safely assume) purchases in the run-up to Royal Ascot and, having finished in the places on Day 1, the team’s already-familiar peacock blue swept to victory on Day 2 aboard Leovanni in the Queen Mary Stakes (G2).
The Kodi Bear filly, trained by Karl Burke, caught the eye when winning at Nottingham in early June, almost two months after being purchased for her owners for £190,000 at the Goffs UK Breeze-Up –a fantastic return on her 20,000gns yearling purchase price.
Bred by KCS Bloodstock, she is the second winner out of Kassandra (Dandy Man), a half-sister to the dual Listed winner Majestic Missile.
A day later, the Wathnan team enjoyed a second juvenile success with the impressive-looking Shareholder, who triumphed by a length in the Norfolk Stakes (G2).
By the young US sire Not This Time (Giant’s Causeway), the Burke-trained colt was a $62,000 yearling purchase at Keeneland, before parlaying that price into a €460,000 price tag at the Arqana May Breeze-Up for Jim McCartan’s Gaybrooke Lodge Stud.
Born and bred in the US, Shareholder is out of the British-bred mare Cloudy Dancer (Invincible Spirit), who is a half-sister to the Classic-placed Jersey Stakes (G3) winner Gale Force Ten (Oasis Dream), from the talented family nurtured by the late Bob McCreery out of the Electric mare Crackling.
Aussies strike again
It would scarcely feel like Royal Ascot if we did not have an Australian winner, and Asfoora kept up the Antipodean winning streak in the King Charles II Stakes (G1), formerly the King’s Stand.
The five-year-old mare had warmed up with fourth place in the Temple Stakes (G2) at Haydock, and flew home to beat Regional (Territories) by a length at Ascot.
Bred and owned by Noor Elaine Farm, she is by the Group 1-winning Artie Schiller stallion Flying Artie, already sire of a top-flight sprinter in Artorius.
He now stands at Blue Gum Stud in Victoria. Asfoora is out the I Am Invincible mare Golden Child, from a Group 1-winning family.
Victorious by name and deed
Victorious Racing, the nom de course of Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa, enjoyed a special week on Ascot Heath with two winners on the board. They were led by the Hardwicke Stakes (G2) victor Isle Of Jura (New Approach).
Once-raced for breeder Godolphin, the four-year-old was purchased for £150,000 by JS Bloodstock and George Scott, and went on to enjoy Triple Crown success in Bahrain this winter.
On his return to Britain, he maintained form with success in the Listed Festival Stakes at Goodwood, before striding away to win the Hardwicke by nearly 4l.
A full-brother to the multiple Australian Group 1 winner Cascadian and a half-brother to the Canadian juvenile Group 1 winner Albahr (Dubawi), he is out of Godolphin’s Group 3 winner Falls Of Lorna (Street Cry), from a deep family that has repaid Godolphin many times over.
It was a hugely emotional win for his jockey Callum Shepherd after the spring’s agony of being jocked off the Derby runner-up Ambiente Friendly
After the race Shepherd said: “Isle Of Jura has been amazing. We took him over for that handicap series in Bahrain initially, and obviously you hope he’s going to be better than that, but at that stage we had no idea.
“He just kept improving; he has never let us down and has got better with every start.
“It’s so wonderful for his owner Sheikh Nasser; it was lovely he went over there so they could enjoy him on home soil, so to speak, and he’s come back and continued to climb.
“Isle Of Jura was so good today – he loves quick ground and stays a 1m4f well.
“Six weeks ago I thought I’d found my diamond [Ambiente Friendly] and that wasn’t to be, but Isle Of Jura has certainly blossomed into one.”
