Royal Ascot begins with Goldikova-Canford Cliffs in Queen Anne
Frankel attempts to make it eight for eight in St James's Palace
By Tom Krish in Chicago.
The five-day Royal Ascot meeting begins today. There are six races every day. Royal Ascot, the most eagerly anticipated event in the British racing calendar, has now acquired international undertones. Takeover Target won the King’s Stand in 2006 and it was a victory for Australia. In 2009, America-based Wesley Ward sent out two winners, both ridden by John Velasquez. Strike The Tiger struck in the Windsor Castle Stakes and Jealous Again bolted in the Queen Mary Stakes. French and Irish horses have won time and again.
Trainers Wesley Ward and Todd Pletcher represent American interests this year. Ward sends out Holiday For Kitten in the 1000-metre King’s Stand Stakes and Todd Pletcher tightens the girth on Bridgetown. The 4-1 favorite in the Group I sprint is Star Witness, Australia’s flagbearer. In the same race, Hungary’s Overdose attempts to make amends for his failure in Haydock’s Temple Stakes. Another runner in the King’s Stand is Sweet Sanette from Hong Kong.
The Royal meeting is now part of the QIPCO British Champions Series. QIPCO is a Qatar-based group that is deeply involved in horse racing. Makfi, winner of the 2010 English 2000 Guineas, is owned by QIPCO. There are 35 races in the British Champions Series. Seven races (all Group I) at Royal Ascot are in the Series. The final five races in the Series will be run at Ascot on Saturday, October 15, 2011. Each race will carry points based on the order of finish. The Champions will be declared on October 15.
There are six races every day. Post time for the first race is 2 30 PM. The last race is run at 5 35 PM. The Royal Procession is over the straight mile (Ascot is right handed) and begins at 2 PM. The Queen is received at the paddock. Once she is seated in the Royal Box, the horses are brought to the paddock for the first race.
Ascot is readily accessible by train. I am missing the Epsom Oaks-Derby and Royal Ascot this year after attending the two festivals for several years. I go to Waterloo (train station) and board a train. It is a shade less than an hour. It is a tree-lined 550-yard walk to the course and the last 300 yards are uphill. It is great exercise. Ascot is a physically demanding track. Going to the paddock, getting to the betting ring and finding a place to watch the races involve going up and down the stairs.
Here is a look at opening day’s action at Royal Ascot. There are many story lines but I will consider the Group I races in race order. The Group I Queen Anne is the curtain raiser. Seven run in this straight mile race. Two of them jump off the page. The mighty Goldikova, now six, seeks an encore. Winner of 13 Group I contests, the daughter of Anabaa comes into the Queen Anne off a win in Longchamp’s Prix d’Ispahan on May 22, 2011. Thre Freddie Head-trained mare has won three Breeders’ Cup Mile (turf) races in a row. One would think that Goldikova would, to be ridden by Olivier Peslier, be accorded pride of place in the wagering. She is a 5-4 chance. The favorite’s role (11-10) will be played by Canford Cliffs, a Richard Hannon pupil. A son of Tagula, Canford Cliffs bolted in the 2009 Coventry Stakes at Royal Stakes after making a winning debut. In the English 2000 Guineas in 2010, Canford Cliffs could do no better than take third behind Makfi. In his next outing, Canford Cliffs outpaced his adversaries in Curragh’s Irish 2000 Guineas. The colt has been unstoppable since. In his 2011 reappearance, Canford Cliffs just did enough to win the Group I Lockinge Stakes at Newbury.
I spoke to Richard Hughes soon after he returned to England in March. He was upbeat. “He (Canford Cliffs) is working like a racing car,” Hughes exulted.
I called Olivier Peslier soon after he had won the French 1000 Guineas with Golden Lilac. He told me, “everything is going to plan. Prix d’Ispahan will help her. I think she is as good as she has ever been.”
Golden Lilac won the French Oaks at Chantilly on Sunday. Maxime Guyon rode Golden Lilac for Andre Fabre. Peslier was on Golikova, a half sister to Goldikoa, who took the runner-up berth.
Cape Blanco, winner of the 2010 Irish Derby, takes his chances in the Queen Anne. His recent form has been anything but inspiring. He needs to find a great deal to topple the top duo. It would indeed a tremendous boost to the bookmaking fraternity if neither Goldikova nor Canford Cliffs comes through. The winner’s purse is 141,925 pounds.
The King’s Stand field will be flagged off at 3 05 PM. It is a 1000-metre Group I race. There are 19 runners. Star Witness is the 4/1 favorite. The Australian star’s last win came four starts back on October 30, 2010 at Flemington (Melbourne Cup festival) in the Group I Coolmore Stud Stakes. Star Witness leaves from post 18. Let me remind you that the King’s Stand is run over a straight course. Sole Power, by Kyllachy, won the Group II Temple Stakes and is a 7/1 chance. Sir Michael Stoute sends out Kingsgate Native who was the bridesmaid in the Temple Stakes. Ryan Moore, favored to win the riding title at Royal Ascot, will be on board. Overdose’s moniker is the Budapest Bullet. Rain in the Berkshire area late Sunday has prompted a cut in Overdose’s odds. From 20/1, the Hungarian sprinter is now a general 14/1. Andreas Suborics, Overdose’s jockey, offered firm ground at Haydock as the excuse when not justifying favoritism in the Temple Stakes.
Joel Rosario rides Holiday for Kitten and John Velasquez will be aboard Bridgetown, the two American hopes. Jockey Velasquez is no stranger to Ascot. He won two races in 2009 when substituting for the injured Rene Douglas. Velasquez gave jockey Robby Albarado a monetary reward after winning the Kentucky Derby this year with Animal Kingdom. An injury and a change of heart on the part of the owners deprived Albarado the chance to ride Animal Kingdom. There is no doubt in my mind that jockey Velasquez found a way to show his gratitude to Rene Douglas.
In a 19-horse field, racing luck will have a bigger-than-usual role to play. They will be racing in two groups, if not three. It must be a spectacle. The winner of the King’s Stand Stakes, a part of the Global Sprint Challenge, will receive 170,310 pounds.
Rain on Sunday may make the going ‘good to soft’ when the Royal meeting gets underway. Monday’s forcast calls for a rain-free day. Tuesday, according to the weather bureau, will be a gorgeous day. Let us keep our fingers crossed. The only person not having an umbrella in a bus stand was the weatherman for the local TV station.
The clock should show 3 45 PM (London time) when Frankel and eight other sophomores jump out of the stalls in the St James’s Palace Stakes. The race will be on the round course. Prince Khalid Abdullah’s Frankel puts his (unbeaten) six-race streak on the line. A runaway winner in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, Frankel has sidestepped the Derby at Epsom. Frankel’s connections have stated that the colt’s ability to get the Derby distance (2400) is suspect. In none of his wins, the Galileo colt has been extended. In the St James’s Palace, Frankel is a shade under half money. The bookmakers are running scared. Tom Queally continues the partnership.
Henry Cecil, it has been announced, will soon be Sir Henry Cecil. He is in the Queen’s List to enter the realm of knighthood. What a fitting tribute to a training legend! How appropriate it would be for trainer Cecil to win the St James’s Palace in the presence of the Queen?
Frankel is opposed by Dubawi Gold who headed the beaten brigade in the 2000 Guineas. Richard Hughes gets the call. Dream Ahead, a promising freshman, seeks to catch lightning in a bottle. Wootton Bassett, a flop in the French 2000 Guineas, is looking for a form reversal. Execelebration, Grand Prix Boss, Neebras, Rerouted and Zoffany complete the St James’s Palace lineup.
Wednesday’s feature is the Prince of Wales, So You Think, an Aidan O’Brien trainee, will face six runners. More on that in my next report.
It is a delightful idea that the Vivek Jain-led team has come up with to simulcast the Royal Ascot. It is great exposure for racing fans in India. It is a small world and the racing world is smaller. In 2006, when I started writing for Indiarace, hardly any attention was paid to racing abroad. With jockeys from England, Ireland and France plying their trade in India and the increasing foreign influence in the breeding sector, the RWITC attempt enhances our appreciation and understanding of racing in other jurisdictions. Races from the US are a logistical problem because of the different time zones but tapes may be used.
