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Ascot Saturday
King George VI & Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes (Group 1)
HUKUM (Owen Burrows/Jim Crowley) beat Westover (Ralph Beckett/Rob Hornby) by a head in a much-anticipated renewal of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.
A field of 10 runners went to post in the absence of Hamish for the summer’s middle-distance showpiece, with the mile-and-a-half contest widely talked of as the race of the season even before final declarations were made. The late injury which ruled out 2022 Derby winner Desert Crown took a little of that lustre away, but the race itself didn’t disappoint.
Point Lonsdale and Bolshoi Ballet acted as a pair of high-class pacemakers, setting a strong gallop in the conditions, and ensuring that any weaknesses in others would be punished, so it was ironic that the first horse to crack was stablemate Auguste Rodin, who ran unaccountably badly with Aidan O’Brien unable to offer any excuse.
Point Lonsdale led until weakening at the turn into the straight, at which point Luxembourg made his bid for glory, but Westover took over with two furlongs left, pursued by Hukum, and with King Of Steel threading a passage on the rail.
With just over a furlong to go, Hukum joined Westover and the pair battled to the line, with Hukum holding a narrow lead through the closing stages, but unable to get away from the game runner-up, who rallied gamely, as the pair pulled four and a half lengths clear of King Of Steel (Roger Varian/Kevin Stott), who had looked to hold every chance a furlong from the finish. Despite poor runs from Auguste Rodin and Emily Upjohn (seventh), it was hard to argue that the best two horses had come to the fore in an epic contest.
Hukum was sent off a 13/2 shot after beating 2022 Derby hero Desert Crown in the Brigadier Gerard at Sandown in May, that marking his comeback from a serious injury incurred when beating Pyledriver in last season’s Coronation Cup.
Always travelling well in mid-field for Crowley, the six-year-old was justifying strong stable confidence, and this win pays a great compliment to trainer Owen Burrows, who has always shown extreme patience with a horse who needed plenty of time but has also done remarkably well to produce a career-best performance from the son of Sea The Stars after an injury which could have curtailed his career.
For his part, Burrows paid tribute to owner Sheikha Hissa Hamdan for keeping the horse her father bred in training for a crack at this prize, and now has his eyes set on the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in the autumn.
Speaking on Sunday, Burrows said: “I owe him a lot. He’s been around for a while; he was my first Royal Ascot winner and my first Group 1 winner. We travelled him to Dubai after the sad passing of Sheikh Hamdan and that was a big thing for him to win over there on Super Saturday as well.
“He’s all well this morning. He ate up and he’s trotted up sound, so touch wood all good. The plan has always been King George in the summer and then trying to get him to France in the beginning of October and now we can start dreaming.”
THE Group 3 Princess Margaret Stakes threw up an unexpected result, with 16/1 shot Sacred Angel (Charlie Johnston/Jason Hart) quickly away before making all for a three-length win over Pretty Crystal (Richard Fahey/Oisin Orr) who in turn was a length and a quarter ahead of Symbology (Clive Cox/Rossa Ryan).
The winner was showing much improved form having only won a maiden at Newmarket prior to this first taste of group company, but she certainly looked the part, and has scope for further improvement, albeit not entered in the Lowther Stakes at York later this month.
The race did not look very strong beforehand, but the runner-up had run with credit when beaten a similar distance by Porta Fortuna in the Albany Stakes over course and distance, so the winner can be viewed as being of similar ability to that filly, with a progressive aspect to her performances.
The reason for her lack of an entry at York was explained by the winning trainer after the race.
“The owner [Nurlan Bizakov] sponsors the Prix Morny,” said Johnston. “So I think he will want her to go there next and the Cheveley Park would be the obvious target at the end of the season.”
SAFFIE Osborne was star of the show at the opening Racing League Meeting last week, and she gained a deserved Group 3 winner as Random Harvest (Ed Walker) made most and repelled all boarders to cling on for a neck win over Roman Mist (Archie Watson/Oisin Murphy) with Thornbrook (Joseph O’Brien/William Buick) third, beaten a length in all.
The 10/3 winner is something of an Ascot specialist, this being her second course win, while she has also been runner-up at the Royal Meeting in each of the last two seasons. As when second in the Duke of Cambridge, Osborne gave the five-year-old mare a perfectly judged ride from the front, and while she is not quite top-class – she could make no impact at all in the Falmouth Stakes - Random Harvest is nothing if not a trier and refused to concede defeat in the straight.
Ed Walker is still keen to give Random Harvest a chance to gain some Group 1 blacktype, and mentioned the Sun Chariot as a target, while not ruling out a trip stateside for the daughter of War Front, with the possibility of her stepping up to 10 furlongs in that case.
A WINNER on debut at Newbury in June, Rosallion (Richard Hannon/Sean Levey) ran out an impressive winner upped to listed class in the Pat Eddery Stakes, with the 11/1 chance coming from off the pace to beat Al Musmak (Roger Varian/David Egan) by four lengths in the style of a high-class performer in the making.
Rosallion has an entry in the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster, but his trainer suggested after the race that the son of Blue Point will head to the National Stakes at the Curragh next, with the Dewhurst on the cards after that, all being well.
York Saturday
OWEN Burrows was the man of the moment at York as well as Ascot, with Alflaila (Andrea Atzeni) kicking off an across-the-card double by winning the Group 2 York Stakes.
The son of Dark Angel producing the best turn of foot after all five runners had held some sort of chance in the straight. The 5/1 shot proved half a length too strong for favourite My Prospero (William Haggas/Tom Marquand).
Like Hukum, Alflaila was returning from a lay-off, having fractured a cannon bone when in Bahrain last year. He could now head to the Juddmonte International over the same track and trip later this month.
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