MY much missed former Racing UK colleague Tom O’Ryan regularly used to inform me that Kevin Ryan pulls something out of the hat every year and the Irishman was at it again on Tuesday producing Triple Time to win the opening Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot defying an absence of 262 days in the process.
A homebred belonging to Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum and a half-brother to previous Royal Ascot winners Cape Byron and Ostilio, the four-year-old arrived with Listed and Group 3 wins on his CV with his only disappointing performance coming in bottomless ground at Longchamp last autumn.
Ruled out of the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury last month due to a bout of colic, the son of Frankel was steered to a gutsy neck victory under Neil Callan from the triple Group 1 winner Inspiral, who was also returning from a similar time away from the track.
The winner’s SP of 33/1 may suggest an element of fortune about the win and there is every possibility the John and Thady Gosden trained runner-up would have got the better of the argument had she relaxed more early on before making up ground rapidly covering four of the last five furlongs quicker than Triple Time.
However, Kevin Ryan has always regarded his colt as very smart and was bitterly disappointed when ruled out of last year’s 2000 Guineas. Don’t forget the same trainer sent out Hi Royal to finish second in this year’s first colt’s classic.
Ironically, Callan rode the first of Ryan’s 15 Group 1 winners – Amadeus Wolf in the 2005 Middle Park Stakes – and their 329 successes together include Uhoomagoo (2006) and Lightning Cloud (2013) in the Buckingham Palace Stakes at the Royal meeting and a handful of Group 1 wins in total. History has a knack of repeating itself.
DAY one was otherwise dominated by Ballydoyle and Ryan Moore with the former champion jockey recording his 74th, 75th and 76th Royal Ascot winners.
River Tiber made it three out of three in the Coventry Stakes and, while his class got him through his latest examination, one can’t help feeling there is so much more to come from the son of Wootton Bassett when tackling seven furlongs or more.
Races such as the National Stakes and Dewhurst Stakes in the autumn look ready made for him. Paddington looks in the mould of some of Aidan O’Brien’s previous St James’s Palace Stakes winners, namely Giant’s Causeway, Rock Of Gibraltar and Henrythenavigator.
Battle hardened
Moore always looked confident, despite being pushed wider than ideal turning for home, on a colt who is battle hardened and improving at a rate of knots.
Once upsides the English Guineas winner Chaldean, the result was never in doubt as the €420,000 yearling strode clear. Even though he is bred to stay further, the son of Siyouni is likely to be kept to a mile for the time being and is expected to cross swords with the aforementioned pair Triple Time and Inspiral in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood (August 2nd).
Expect him to get better and better as the year goes on. As for the third leg, rarely are staying handicaps won by seven and a half lengths by a horse rated 101.
But then again Vauban is a former listed winner on the flat who is rated 160 over jumps and trained by Willie Mullins. The vibes from Closutton beforehand suggested the five-year-old did exactly what was expected and owner Rich Ricci is already scanning the internet for flights and some accommodation for Australia in early November. The pink and green have unfinished business when it comes to the Melbourne Cup following Max Dynamite’s near miss eight years ago.
A STELLAR line up assembled for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes on Wednesday with the six runners amassing seven Group 1 wins between them.
Their victories included an Epsom Derby, King George, English and Irish Champions Stakes and a Tattersalls Gold Cup.
It was Mostahdaf, who had failed in his three previous efforts at the highest level, who routed his more decorated opponents with a blistering change of speed in the homestraight running the penultimate furlong in 11.80 seconds compared to Luxembourg (12.30), Adayar (12.26), My Prospero (12.44) and Bay Bridge (12.20). The five-year-old was providing the Gosden stable with their third win in the race during the last 10 years and Gosden senior was quick to say afterwards that 10 furlongs on fast ground are the key to his latest big race win.
The son of Frankel did something similar in Riyadh in late February when powering seven lengths clear in the Group 3 Neon Turf Cup. His form figures in such conditions are 1211.
Runner-up in the Hardwicke Stakes this time last year, he has been campaigned almost exclusively over a mile and a half during the last 12 months, including in the Dubai Sheema Classic during the spring.
The US raider and rank outsider Classic Causeway didn’t do Luxembourg any favours by ranging upsides early on and the drying surface wouldn’t have been to Bay Bridge’s liking but that shouldn’t take anything away from the winner’s effort.
Mostadhaf’s win evoked memories of former globetrotting stablemate Mishriff whose greatest performance arguably came in the Juddmonte International Stakes at York a couple of years ago.
That same Group 1 event is very much on the agenda for Shadwell’s latest stallion prospect and setting up a mouthwatering clash with Epsom Derby winner Auguste Rodin in August. No wonder York supremo William Derby is licking his lips.
A CROWD of 37,158 witnessed Frankie Dettori registering his 78th winner at Royal Ascot on Wednesday. The Italian was partnering the unbeaten Gregory for the first time in public having won his two previous starts at Haydock and Goodwood. The son of Golden Horn had emulated his half-brother Lionel by winning the Listed Cocked Hat Stakes.
Out of a Park Hill Stakes winner and from the family of group winning stayers Duncan and Samuel, Dettori quickly overcame a tricky draw from stall 8 and got his mount to the fore rounding the first turn. Setting the tempo thereafter, his mount responded generously and pulled out more when tackled by the improving grey Saint George to win going away by a length and a half. Promoted to the head of the market for the St Leger at Doncaster as a result, his performance screamed more of a Cup type horse rather than a future classic winner. Good or faster ground is considered important according to Gosden and two miles will be within his stamina range. Rated 110, the second and third raced off marks of 93 and 101 and arrived on the back of handicap wins.
Gregory’s win supplied big spending owners Wathnan Racing with their first win in the UK. The Qatari-based operation, who purchased the Gosden-trained colt from Philippa Cooper’s Normandie Stud, have also acquired French 2000 Guineas runner-up Isaac Selby, Ascot Gold Cup winner Courage Mon Ami and Richard Fahey’s exciting juvenile Native American in recent weeks.