Britannia Handicap

BOOKMAKERS around the land breathed a sigh of relief when the well-backed Turgenev just failed to extend Frankie Dettori’s winning run in the Britannia, but only after they had stared into the abyss as the favourite kicked clear and looked sure to win with a furlong to run.

In the end he was run down by handicap debutant Biometric, who was scoring in the Juddmonte Farms colours carried to great success by his sire Bated Breath. Harry Bentley rode for trainer Ralph Beckett, and the colt was winning his third race in four starts, having made his debut at the end of April.

He’s bred to be smart, with his dam made favourite for the 1000 Guineas after winning her only start for Khalid Abdullah, and this was another vindication of the owner’s breeding programme, which has produced so many top-class winners over the years. It is in fact 40 years exactly since Abeer provided him with his first Royal Ascot winner in the Queen Mary Stakes.

In retrospect, Turgenev may have kicked a little too soon, but he was still two lengths clear of the others, headed by Fanaar and Awe.

It seems churlish to level any criticism at Dettori given how perfectly he judged his riding on what was a momentous day for the 48-year-old rider.

Turgenev has regained the progressive thread of late, and should keep improving for a while, especially over a little further, with his dam having been beaten a nose in the Prix de l’Opera.

William Haggas’s Fanaar bounced back to form in blinkers at a big price considering connections, but stablemate Awe deserves extra praise.

While the first three home where all drawn middle to high, Awe had to do a lot of his own work from stall five and was most definitely better than the bare result. That was also the case on his previous start, and he has a big handicap in him when everything drops right.

Sleeper

Ralph Beckett explained that he was forced to run the winner in a six-furlong novice at Lingfield to qualify for this handicap, and that explained him losing his unbeaten record.

He described the winner as “a sleeper, not a flash worker” and that suggests he will have plenty more to offer in future.

King George V Handicap

THE Coolmore bandwagon may have been stalled a little earlier in the day, but the day finished on a remarkable note for Aidan O’Brien and the lads, as South Pacific (Seamie Heffernan), led home Constantinople and Eminence in a Derrick Smith trifecta.

The race was also notable for the dominance once again of the high-drawn horses. Of the first five home, four were drawn in stalls 18 through 21 inclusive, and it was possibly the tactics of James Doyle, who headed to the outside rail on Sinjaari from stall 22 which stopped that trend being even more marked.

That route, made famous by Willie Carson when he rode Bahri to beat Ridgewood Pearl in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes in 1995, has been out of fashion for some time, and while Sinjaari wasn’t disgraced, his extra wide move was of no benefit.

Humble Heffernan

Eminence looked unlucky not to collect having stated poorly and then – typically for races round the bend here – met trouble as he tried to make his move off the home turn, but this was another big win for Ballydoyle stalwart Seamie Heffernan, who was typically humble in his post-race assessment. “I am very privileged to be in these colours and it’s a pleasure riding these horses. Some of them are a work in progress; some of them have proven that they are on the way down. Here are a couple who are on the way up.”