After winning the first three races on the card, Frankie Dettori put an exclamation mark on the day when riding Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) to the horse’s second G1 Ascot Gold Cup victory. The victory gave Dettori a clean sweep of the day’s stakes races.
Dettori quickly angled Stradivarius to the fence soon after the break in the 4000 metre race, a position he’d stay in behind the leading Dee Ex Bee (GB) (Farhh {GB}) and Master Of Reality (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) for the next 3200 metres while Melbourne Cup winner Cross Counter (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) took up a spot near the back of the field.
As the field crossed the 650 metre mark Stradivarius shifted a path off the rail and there was just enough room for Thomas Hobson (GB) (Halling {USA}) to come up on the winner’s inside, the first time in the race anyone had been able to take the rail from the horse. Though he galloped beside Stradivarius for a few hundred metres, that horse proved to be no threat with Stradivarius’ bigger worry coming from being trapped behind horses with just 450 meres left to run. Stradivarius had to fight with Capri (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) to squeeze through a hole but once he did, he was hot after the leaders with Cross Counter also making a move up the outside.
It took until the 200 metre mark for Stradivarius to become a clear leader but once he did, he started pulling away with Dee Ex Bee and Master of Reality battling head-to-head for second with Cross Counter closing behind them.
"Stradivarius does not know how to lose. All I have to do is get him amongst other horses and he does the rest - what a horse. For a stayer, this lad has everything. He loves getting into a fight and he is a brilliant horse to ride,” said Dettori. "Everyone loves him, including me. It is fantastic for the stable, (owner/breeder) Bjorn Nielsen and everybody else involved... I am so thrilled.”
"I get nervous riding [him] because the people care about him so much and it is a great story for Bjorn and the stable. Every time he runs, he delivers, he is unbelievable. I wasn't worried about the trouble in the home straight as I just had to wait for the split. It got tight, but when I got the split, it was all over.”
"Stradivarius does not know how to lose. All I have to do is get him amongst other horses and he does the rest - what a horse." - Frankie Dettori
Stradivarius became the 10th horse to win two Ascot Gold Cups when crossing the line a length ahead of second placed Dee Ex Bee, who was able to get his nose in front of Lloyd William’s Master Of Reality. Cross Counter just missed out on a top three spot by three quarters of a length when fourth.
It was the seventh Gold Cup victory for Dettori, whose last win before Stradivarius’ double was in 2012 on Godolphin’s Colour Vision. The jockey also won two Gold Cups in 1992/1993 with Drum Taps (USA) (Dixieland Band {USA}).
Frankie Dettori on a winning streak
Dettori’s big day continued in the next race when he finished second on Turgenev (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) though he was unplaced in the last race of the day.
The second winner on the day for Sea The Stars, Stradivarius is a half-brother to German champion Persian Storm (Monsun). It’s no surprise Stradivarius is a stayer with his dam a half-sister to the granddam of G1 Melbourne Cup winner Protectionist (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}).
Star Catcher best in Ribblesdale
It was a third win in three races for Frankie Dettori at Royal Ascot on Thursday when Star Catcher (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) provided the jockey with another win at in the G2 Ribblesdale Stakes.
Running over 2400 metres, Dettori put his mount a few paths off the fence next to Frankellina (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in midpack as Peach Tree (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) set the pace up front. Dettori started scrubbing on his mount with 600 metres left to run and the filly responded, taking over the lead soon after the 400 metre mark.
Queen Power (Ire) (Shamardal {USA}) fought for the lead with Star Catcher for about 50 metres before yielding with race favourite Fleeting (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) trying to make a run behind them. Fleeting came within a length of Star Catcher with about 50 metres left to run with Sparkle Roll (Fr) (Kingman {GB}) also joining in but it was no use as Dettori asked his filly for a little more and she shot away to win by 1 ½ lengths. Fleeting finished second over Sparkle Roll with Queen Power, the full sister to Swettenham sire Puissance de Lune, finishing fourth.
"I'm an extremely happy man. We knew she was very useful - when she ran third at Newbury, Frankie said he made a mistake and he thought she could have won, so we knew she was pretty smart. Frankellina is also very smart, but I think she didn't quite stay - I'm not sure, I haven't spoken to William Haggas yet. Star Catcher's a nice filly, very useful,” said owner Anthony Oppenheimer, who also owns sixth place finisher Frankellina.
"I'm an extremely happy man. We knew she was very useful - when she ran third at Newbury, Frankie said he made a mistake and he thought she could have won, so we knew she was pretty smart." - Anthony Oppenheimer
Star Catcher provided a second winner for Sea The Stars this week after Crystal Ocean’s (GB) G1 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes victory Wednesday and would be one of three winners for the stallion by the end of the day.
The 3-year-old filly is a half-sister to Group 1 winner Cannock Chase (USA) (Lemon Drop Kid {USA}) and Group 2 winner Pisco Sour (USA) (Lemon Drop Kid {USA}) and hails from the family of Listed Scone Cup winner Special Missile (Smart Missile).
A’Ali kicks off winning day for Dettori
Frankie Dettori added to his win total in the first race of the day on Thursday when he won the G2 Norfolk Stakes with A’Ali (Ire) (Society Rock {Ire}).
Running in midpack down the straight in the 1000 metre race, a golden hole opened for A’Ali inside the final 400 metres with Dettori taking full advantage. His colt bounded through it and was quickly right behind the leaders with 250 metres to run. He looked to be a clear winner for a few strides before Ventura Rebel (GB) (Pastoral Pursuits {GB}) joined him, closing with every stride.
The line came quickly in the race, much to the relief of A’Ali’s connections with the colt beating Ventura Rebel by a neck. Australian stallion Brazen Beau was well represented in the race when his first crop runner Dubai Station (GB) finished third over Strive For Glory (USA) (Dialed In {USA}) to give him a first stakes placed runner in the Northern Hemisphere.
“I used to think having winners at Royal Ascot was like picking apples off a tree! However, since I've started training on my own it hasn't been quite as simple as that, but it means everything,” said trainer Simon Crisford. "Frankie is obviously the go-to jockey when you really need somebody - he was available and he gave A'Ali a super ride.”
"A'Ali travelled well enough, picked up nicely and has a good turn of foot. We've always known he was a very good horse." - Simon Crisford
“When I saw them cantering to the start, I thought A'Ali was very fresh. He put up huge speed figures when he ran at Ripon and the bounce factor was in my mind. I was worried that he had put in such a big effort there that it would count against him. A'Ali travelled well enough, picked up nicely and has a good turn of foot. We've always known he was a very good horse and that is why we ran him in a Group Two despite being beaten on his first start.”
From the final crop of the late Society Rock, A’Ali is from a half-sister to Listed winner and Group 1 placed Enforcer (GB) (Efisio {GB}) and Listed placed Canaveral (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}).
Kingman stars in Hampton Court
Frankie Dettori earned an early card double with an impressive display in the G3 Hampton Court on Juddmonte Farms’ Sangarius (GB) (Kingman {GB}).
Breaking well in the 2000 metre race, Sangarius was keen early on with Dettori taking cover a few lengths behind the leading Kick On (GB) (Charm Spirit {Ire}) to get his mount to settle. It worked well with Sangarius galloping between two horses just behind the leader through the mid-section of the race.
With 450 metres left to run, Sangarius forced his way through a small hole to quickly go to the lead. Once the 3-year-old colt was in front, there was no getting it from him as he pulled away from the field.
King Ottokar (Fr) (Motivator {GB}) and Fox Chairman (Ire) (Kingman) closed into his margin a bit in the final 100 metres but it wasn’t enough to catch him with Sangarius winning by 2 ¼ lengths over Fox Chairman, who edged out King Ottokar with The Queen’s Eightsome Reel (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}) a length back in fourth.
"It's Ascot, you've got to have 10 plans for a race and hope you pick the right one,” said Dettori. “I had half a split and I took it. He's a very brave horse - he's very big, so he made himself plenty of room, and boy, didn't he half quicken for a big horse. It was a great performance. I saw daylight, which in these races is very unusual, and I was able to push him out to the line and enjoy the moment. I embrace the pressure. It is part and parcel of the job and I thrive off it."
"He's a very brave horse - he's very big, so he made himself plenty of room, and boy, didn't he half quicken for a big horse." - Frankie Dettori
Second crop sire Kingman shined in the race when his son Fox Chairman (Ire) finished second to give the stallion the exacta. It was the second race of the week where he had horses hit the board after King Of Comedy (Ire) finished second in the G1 St James’s Palace on Tuesday with Calyx (GB) providing the stallion a first Royal Ascot winner last year.
Sangarius hails from the family of Hasili (Ire) (Kahyasi {Ire}) as a grandson of champion Banks Hill (GB) (Danehill {USA}) and is one of two stakes horses for his dam Trojan Queen (USA) (Empire Maker {USA}). He hails from the extended family of Australian Group winner and Arrowfield Stud stallion Scissor Kick (Redoute’s Choice).
