....Girls aloud

Cathy Grassick, chairman of the Irish Breeders’ Association, enjoyed Royal Ascot and got to see both Royal and Irish successes

ROYAL ASCOT is the race meeting like no other and this year it really showed why horseracing is known as the “Sport of Kings”.

The daily attendance of Their Highnesses King Charles and Queen Camilla was wonderful to see but it was tinged with sadness at the memory of Queen Elizabeth II no longer with us; the wonderful bookies’ bet on the colour of her attire and her huge enthusiasm for this fantastic week of pageantry and racing.

If anyone was in any doubt of King Charles inheriting the Queen’s love for horseracing, they were to stand corrected very quickly.

Both King Charles and Queen Camilla were out of their seats cheering home Desert Hero in the King George V Stakes on Thursday.

Trained by William Haggas and ridden by Tom Marquand this son of Sea the Stars was bred by The Queen and the Royal family were clearly very emotional in the aftermath of the race. How special it must have been for the whole Royal family to see her breeding continue to shine on the international stage.

With over 250,000 people attending over the five days and the meeting televised in over 200 different territories it is clearly a formula that works and holds huge attraction for racegoers and viewers alike.

It always makes me marvel at the huge passion for Royal Ascot, given that it has a dress code and rules and regulations that, while relaxed from days gone by, are stricter than any other meeting. Elsewhere other racecourses spend their time and money trying to make the sport more accessible to the average person on the street.

The beauty of Royal Ascot is that every day is in fact a “ladies day”, everybody goes to such huge effort to look their best, even the men have to put in the effort!

There is no need to pay for big name entertainment as stars from all walks of life are more than happy to be there – famous names such as Demi Moore, Richard E Grant, Dame Judi Dench, Alan Carr and Amanda Holden among those in attendance.

Even the equine stars all come out to shine during the five-day meeting and this year was no exception with Paddington, King Of Steel, Tahiyra, Khaadem and River Tiber some of the big names to light up the winners’ enclosure.

There were some very special moments as always at Royal Ascot and I am sure that Willie and Jackie Mullins were already having a day to remember when part of the Royal procession, but the commanding performance of Vauban on the same must have been the icing on the cake.

The Irish trainer has created a fantastic dual-purpose career for this talented son of Galiway. In fact, Willie Mullins was not the only NHt trainer to have a winner at Royal Ascot on Tuesday with Nicky Henderson also victorious with Ahorsewithnoname.

Another very emotional victory came on the last day when Pyledriver put in an astonishing performance after an absence of almost a year to win the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes for William Muir and Chris Grassick.

It was very clear to anybody watching the joint-trainers being interviewed just how much love, care and attention had been given to this horse in order to get him back to his full potential.

It was also clear how important this was to both the staff in the yard and his owners. I may be more than a little biased (as a proud cousin of Chris) but I have to say I found the victory thrilling and I can imagine many others did, too. Roll on the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes!

The wayward Pyledriver: despite drifting on track still won the Hardwicke

OF COURSE, we cannot write about Royal Ascot without mentioning the great Frankie Dettori, who has won 81 races at the Royal meeting, and who was riding in the last Royal Ascot of his career. Not only did he win his ninth Ascot Gold Cup (G1) with Courage Mon Ami, but was also victorious aboard Porta Fortuna, Coppice and Gregory.

It was poignant to hear the great showman of racing speak after his final ride at Royal Ascot and his unique brand of showmanship will be missed from the parade ring in the future.

Not all of the great stories took place on track and one of the great stories of the week was at the Goffs London Sale on the Monday before the meeting.

Attendees at the sale in Kensington Palace gardens on the eve of Royal Ascot were treated to a wonderful spectacle of enthusiasm as consignor Con Marnane climbed on the bid spotters’ rostrum and happily took bids as his own Givemethebeatboys sold for an incredible £1,100,000 to Bronsan Racing; the Marnanes having purchased the horse for just €11,000 the previous autumn.

It was a wonderful result for Con, his wife Teresa and daughters Amy and Olivia, as well for trainer Jessica Harrington, who has handled the colt so well, and for whom he finished a close fourth in the Group 2 Coventry Stakes on Tuesday. He is an exciting prospect to follow for the rest of the year.

Con Marnane: his Royal week got off to a very good start indeed at the Goffs London Sale when selling Givemthebeatboys for a cool £1,100,000

The celebrations didn’t end quietly, and in true Marnane fashion, were still going strong at the Irish picnic in Car Park 2 on Wednesday!

It was a wonderful week to be part of, but after a number of days of dressing up and hats and finery, it was more than a relief to get back to the farm and normal life.

The break was short lived – the Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale followed hot on the Flat meeting’s heels, and then the Irish Derby Festival, which started on Friday with the ITBA Flat seminar before evening racing.

This was an exciting evening with a debate on distance – sprinters, stayers and everything in between, Sally Ann Grassick was the host and guest panellists Kevin Blake, Ado McGuiness, John Oxx, Stuart Boman and Jason Morris. Entry was free to breeders, owners and trainers and included admission to races and refreshments.

Vauban: the dual-purpose son of Galiway winning his third race on the Flat

Vauban: the dual-purpose son of Galiway winning his third race on the Flat The wayward Pyledriver: despite drifting on track still won the Hardwicke

Con Marnane: his Royal week got off to a very good start indeed at the Goffs London Sale when selling Givemethebeatboys for a cool £1,100,000