Gold Cup (Group 1)

IT was all set up for a fairytale finish, and Frankie Dettori didn’t let the crowd down at Royal Ascot by taking the Gold Cup aboard the John and Thady Gosden-trained four-year-old Courage Mon Ami.

The 15/2 chance had been well supported in the ante-post markets but was stepping up markedly in both class and distance, so this was a genuinely remarkable success despite the shortish odds.

The unbeaten son of Frankel was running in his first pattern race, but looked born for it as he produced a sustained run from off the pace to collar favourite Coltrane (Andrew Balding/Oisin Murphy) inside the final furlong to score by three-quarters of a length.

Coltrane may have been beaten, but ran at least as well as he ever has in second, with the pair pulling three and three-quarter lengths clear of long-time leader and 2021 victor Subjectivist, who set a searching gallop, and kept on gallantly after Coltrane took his measure early in the straight.

This was a ninth Gold Cup victory for Dettori, whose first came aboard Lord Huntingdon’s Drum Taps in 1992. More recently, Stradivarius helped keep the Italian firmly in the limelight with a hat-trick of wins in the meeting’s feature event. It was also his 79th winner all told at the Royal Meeting.

Unbelievable

Dettori said: “It’s unbelievable, on my last year winning the Gold Cup. Myself, The King, and Queen Camilla had a talk beforehand about his win and my relationship with his mother, Queen Elizabeth, then the next race I go on and win the Gold Cup and he presents the trophy. It’s amazing, really amazing.

“I really don’t know the horse and I didn’t know his capability or if he was able to stay. I knew there would be pace, I wanted to swing out wide but Stéphane [Pasquier] kept me in and actually won me the race, because I thought: ‘I’ll cut the corner and see what happens.’ Then it happened!

John Gosden said: “You don’t know if they are going to stay two and a half miles. He looked quite mature at home but look, he hasn’t been easy to train. He didn’t run at two, ran as a back-end three-year-old on the all-weather, and Mr Oppenheimer was very patient.

“He has the stud to run, which is very expensive, hence this horse is a gelding and he sold him. The form is solid with Coltrane, Subjectivist, and Emily Dickinson. It was a superb performance.”

On the winning rider he joked: “He’s only good in long-distance races now. He’s had a phenomenal career. Thirty years we’ve been working together on and off.

“We’ve had one argument in 30 years. How many marriages can say that? We patched that up after five days and were winning Group 1s in Deauville straight after that.”

Norfolk Stakes (Group 2)

THEY’RE just like buses. You wait a couple of centuries for a 150/1 winner at Royal Ascot, and then two come along in three years.

After Nando Parrado’s shock win in the 2020 Coventry Stakes, it was Valiant Force who left racegoers and punters stunned with a clear-cut win in the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes.

Beaten on both prior outings, the Adrian Murray-trained colt looked smart as he left favourite Elite Status (Karl Burke/Clifford Lee) standing with a sharp turn of foot at the two-furlong pole, and he stayed on strongly to beat 66/1 shot Malc (Richard Fahey/Oisin Orr) by a length and a quarter, with Elite Status half a length further away in third place. All three were drawn together on the far side of the track.

Valiant Force jumped sharply but was soon headed by Amo Racing first-string Thunder Blue, who led until joined again by the winner over two furlongs out. Elite Status challenged at the same time, but was driven along to do so, while Valiant Force was still travelling well, and when asked to go on, he left his rivals floundering.

Disappointments

Notable disappointments included American Rascal, Wes Ward’s son of Lady Aurelia, and Paddy Twomey’s Noche Magica, who filled the last two places in a race that left many scratching their heads, but to suggest this was a fluke would be a grave injustice to the winner.

Valiant Force was much the best in a fair race, and while he was only fifth behind Givemethebeatboys in the Marble Hill Stakes on his previous start, he raced alone that day and showed speed to lead until a furlong out over six furlongs. That was a much better run that the formbook could convey and meant that he was simply overlooked on the day.

It was a first Royal Ascot winner for Murray and Kia Joorabchian’s Amo Racing, which had placed at the meeting eight times before, notably, and controversially, in this corresponding race 12 months ago, and a second of the meeting for Rossa Ryan after taking the Royal Hunt Cup on Jimi Hendrix.

“I can’t believe it,” said Murray. “I fell into racing by accident. A friend of mine got me involved in the flat. It’s magic. We were third here on Tuesday [in the Coventry Stakes] and I wondered if that would ever happen again.

“We knew Valiant Force was a nice horse and I couldn’t believe the price – he was beaten less than a length by His Majesty first time out and was 150/1 today. It didn’t make sense – I knew he was much better than that.

“It’s the stuff of dreams. It’s great for the small man. I’m based in Mullingar and have had some right nice jumpers in the past. I love it, love racing.”

Ryan, who was replaced as Amo Racing’s retained rider in September found redemption in victory after the debacle of last year’s contest. He rode the runner-up Walbank 12 months ago when the winner caused serious interference, in a controversy that rumbled on for months. This time, there was no questioning the winner’s credentials, and the rider was happy to give former boss Kia Joorabchian the winner he’s wanted so badly.

“He’s got the job done,” said Ryan. “And to be still associated with Amo Racing is a big part for me. To get Kia his first Royal Ascot winner is redemption for defeat last year.

Ribblesdale Stakes (Group 2)

THE Ribblesdale Stakes saw the warmest favourite of the week in the shape of the supplemented Al Asifah, but she failed to confirm the big impression she made at Goodwood on her previous start, and probably found this run coming too soon.

It was left to Warm Heart (Aidan O’Brien/Ryan Moore) to follow up her win in the Fillies’ Trial at Newbury, where she had narrowly beaten Bluestocking.

The pair clashed again here, with the latter better fancied as second favourite, but 13/2 chance Warm Heart, ridden handily from a wide draw, proved the stronger again, beating Lumiere Rock (Joseph O’Brien/James McDonald) by two and a half lengths, with Bluestocking (Ralph Beckett/Frankie Dettori) another half length away in third having been held up in her run.

Ferrari Queen led until backing out of things before the straight, with Sea Of Roses taking over until tackled by the winner early in the home straight. Warm Heart had a clearer run than the pair who chased her home, but had plenty in hand, and despite stamina concerns (she is by Galileo out of leading Australian sprinter Sea Siren), she stayed on well to the line to produce a career-best effort.

Lumiere Rock came from well back and had to switch to get a run in the straight, proving her stamina for a mile and a half pretty conclusively. Just beaten in the Blue Wind Stakes at Naas on her previous start, she is also progressing with racing, and my be worth a try in the Irish Oaks, where she would likely meet the winner again.

Incredible fella

“Ryan is brilliant, an incredible fella,” said Aidan O’Brien in the aftermath. “He must be nearly 40, but every year he gets better. He gets better because he puts so much in day in and day out. When he comes over, he stays with us and runs six or seven miles every morning before he sits on a horse.

“He’s so fit, so focused and so committed, and when you ask him a question all the information comes out about the horse, the ride, the ground. He’s an incredible horseman, very cool under pressure and a total professional. We’re so lucky to have him.

On the winner, he added: “Warm Heart ran at Newbury over a mile and a quarter, and we thought that was maybe as far as she was going to get. We didn’t know when she got to the front today whether she would run out of stamina, but obviously we saw she probably doesn’t want to get to the front too early.

“She got the trip very well today and Ryan gave her a beautiful ride. She’s out of a great mare and usually those fillies with good pedigrees do improve – physically she’s doing great.”

King George V Stakes

IT was a case of “hats off to the King” as Desert Hero (William Haggas/Tom Marquand) landed the King George V Handicap on day three of the Royal Meeting, and nothing could be more fitting than a winner for King Charles in his first Royal Ascot as monarch.

The race was run at a strong gallop with the complexion changing rapidly in the final furlong, and in a frantic finish, Marquand managed to sneak the son of Sea The Stars through a gap and then repel the last-gasp challenge of Valiant King (Joseph O’Brien/Oisin Murphy) by a head.

The winner was only eighth in the London Gold cup won by Bertinelli on his handicap/seasonal bow, but clearly came on plenty for that run, and had that rival back in third as he gained an historic victory.

King Charles has a long way to go to match his late mother, who had a total of 24 winners at Royal Ascot, but this was an excellent start, and while Charles has never had the same love of racing as a non-participant that the late Queen did, this victory can only be a positive in terms of his future patronage of the sport.

FOR die-hard traditionalists, Royal Ascot is the Gold Cup, and with the absence of Kyprios and Stradivarius, there was a chance that the latest renewal would fall a bit flat.

Thankfully, Frankie Dettori was at his brilliant best both during and after the race to ensure that what might have been a forgettable contest went down in history as one of the most memorable in years.

Dettori typically shone for the cameras afterwards and asked about taking his children up onto the podium with him, he said what a great thrill it was for them, “now that they understand” before delivering the quote of the day.

“For the last 18 years, they’ve just thought I was a guy on the TV, maybe like Peppa Pig or something!”

Ascot misses some of its sparkle when Dettori is absent or out of sorts, and 2022 was a great example of that, with Frankie having nightmare after nightmare and briefly sent on sabbatical by John Gosden.

Lights up

When he is on fire, Frankie lights up, and Ascot lights up with him. He may have been merely smouldering on Tuesday, but victory in the Queen’s Vase lit the fuse, and the fireworks weren’t long in starting.

Intriguingly, both Frankie’s winners ran in the colours of Wathnan Racing, which was revealed to be a front for the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, whose brother Joaan runs his horses under the Al Shaqab racing banner.

Both were bought privately from well-known owner/breeders, with Anthony Oppenheimer producing Courage Mon Ami and Gregory a product of Philippa Cooper’s Normandie Stud.

It goes without saying that traditional owner/breeders need to sell selectively in order to pay increasingly expensive upkeep and stallion nominations, and the sudden emergence of Sheikh Tamim as a big player is a stark reminder of the changing dynamics of the sport.

At present, The Emir has just three horses running in his colours in the UK, the other being Poule D’Essai Des Poulains runner-up Isaac Shelby, but others have been purchased, and it remains to be seen whether this remains a small hobby for Qatar’s ruler, or whether such early success will lead to a deluge of new acquisitions.