Cover image courtesy of Royal Ascot
With the opening day of the prestigious festival done and dusted, attention turns towards Wednesday, Day 2, where the historic G1 Prince Of Wales’s S., first run in 1862, will be one of the many highlights of the seven-race card.
Race 1, G2 Queen Mary S., 1006m (5 furlongs)- 11.30pm AEST (2.30pm local)
Prizemoney: £115,000 (AU$215,900)
The G2 Queen Mary S. will the opening race on an elite seven-race card on Wednesday. The Queen Mary is a straight race over 1006 metres for the 2-year-old fillies.
A massive field of 28 fillies will battle for the valuable contest unheard of for the Australian audience.
First run in 1921, the G2 Queen Mary S. and named in honour of Queen Mary, the consort to King George V. The race has an extensive honour roll that includes the hugely influential Mumtaz Mahal (GB) (The Tetrarch {GB}) who won the Queen Mary in 1923.
Mumtaz Mahal (GB) | Image courtesy of Wikipedia
The outstanding race mare Sun Chariot (GB) (Hyperion {GB}) scored in 1941, owned by King George V, and trained by the champion trainer Fred Darling.
In modern times, the G2 Queen Mary S. was won by Anthem Alexander (Ire), a daughter of the brilliant Australian-bred sprinter Starspanglebanner, who tasted his own ‘Royal glory’ in 2010, winning the G1 Golden Jubilee S.
Starspangebanner shuttles between Coolmore Stud Ireland and Australia and will return to this spring for a fee of $33,000 (inc GST).
Starspangledbanner | Standing at Coolmore
While it would be hard to forget the 2016 romp by the Welsey Ward-trained Lady Aurelia (USA) (Scat Daddy {USA}), the former flying filly will be represented by her juvenile son, American Rascal (USA) (Curlin {USA}) on Thursday in the G2 Norfolk S.
Another victress with an Australian connection is Elletelle (Ire) (Elnadim {USA}), the dam of the 2014 G1 WS Cox Plate winner Adelaide (Ire), now a stallion at Coolmore Stud, Australia, and the sire of the Group 1-winning filly, Funstar.
On Wednesday, two runners in the Queen Mary S., that may appeal to Australian interests is the Henri F. Devin-trained Balsam (Fr), a daughter of the sire sensation, Wootton Bassett (GB) who will shuttle to Coolmore Stud, Australia, this spring for a fee of $93,500 (inc GST).
Balsam is already a stakes winner having won the Listed Prix des Reves d'Or in May. She is owned by Al Shaqab Racing, which has been extensively interested in Australia, having raced the now Swettenham Stud-based Toronado (Ire).
Another filly with an Australian link is Cotai Vision (Ire), a daughter of Cotai Glory (GB), a speedy Group 1-winning son of significant Australian juvenile influence, Exceed And Excel.
The Ed Walker-trained filly will be sent out as an outsider in the large field but partnered by the popular jockey Hollie Doyle.
Race 3, G2 Duke Of Cambridge S., 1609m (8 furlongs) - 12.40am AEST (3.40pm local)
Prizemoney: £225,000 (AU$422,600)
The G2 Duke Of Cambridge S, first run in 1813 and formerly known as the Windsor Castle S., was initially open to 3-year-old fillies, however now, the race is only open for mares aged four years or older over the testing mile at Ascot on Wednesday, Day 2, of the prestigious carnival.
Despite holding Group 2 status, the Duke Of Cambridge S. has a strong tradition of attracting elite-level mares.
Soviet Song (Ire) (Marju {Ire}) has been one of the star mares to salute in the Group 2 feature.
The brilliant mare was crowned the Champion Older Horse in Europe in 2004 and the Champion Older Female Miler in GB in 2004/05.
In 2022, the Jane Chapple-Hyam-trained outstanding mare, Saffron Beach (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), was victorious with Champion hoop William Buick in the saddle.
Saffron Beach was sold at the 2022 Tattersalls December Mare Sale for $3.6 million gns (AU$6.7 million).
While the Newmarket-based Cheveley Park Stud has an imperious record in the Duke Of Cambridge S., it has won the race five times, and twice the ownership group has combined with the legendary trainer Sir Michael Stoute to claim victory.
On Wednesday, they join forces again with Potapova (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), a winner of the G3 Atalanta S. in August last year.
Holding an Australian link is the outsider Lightship (Ire), a daughter of Fascinating Rock (Ire), a dual Group 1-winning son of the great Australian sire Fastnet Rock, a mainstay at Coolmore Stud, Australia, since retirement.
Race 4, G1 Prince Of Wales’s S., 2004m (10 furlongs) - 1.20am AEST (4.20pm local)
Prizemoney: £1 million (AU $1.8 million)
First run in 1862, the G1 Prince Of Wales's S. is named in honour of King Edward VII, who at the time carried the title of the Prince Of Wales.
The then Prince had stepped up his involvement and role in royal duties for his mother, Queen Victoria, who was mourning the death of her husband, Prince Albert.
It may shock some that the Prince Of Wales’s S. has only held Group 1 status since the year 2000, despite a rich history of elite gallopers contesting and saluting and a not to be understated influence on the thoroughbred breed overall.
Legends such as Brigadier Gerard (GB), Bosra Sham (USA) (Woodman {USA}), Dubai Millennium (GB) and Ouija Board (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}) are just a tiny sample of brilliant thoroughbreds with their names cemented on the honour roll.
In 1909, the great Bayardo (GB) would salute; at stud, he would be responsible for the elite galloper Gainsborough (GB). The latter would sire the hugely influential Hyperion (GB), a sireline responsible for Star Kingdom (Ire), whose importation to Australia would coincide with the creation of the Golden Slipper in 1957.
Bayardo (GB) | Image courtesy of Wikipedia
Star Kingdom would make Golden Slipper his own, siring the first five winners: the brilliant Todman, Skyline, the champions Fine And Dandy, Sky High and Magic Night.
In 1912 the Prince Of Wales’s S. was taken by Catnip (GB), a son of the G1 The Derby, at Epsom Downs victor Spearmint (GB), the latter a son of the Australasian legend, Carbine (NZ).
The Australasian link with the Prince Of Wales’s S. has not been ceded in modern times. In 2012 one of the best colts/entires of the contemporary era, So You Think (NZ), would capture a memorable victory in the race at the royal meeting.
Formerly trained by the Hall of Fame Australian trainer Bart Cummings, and bought by Coolmore, after a gallant run in the G1 Melbourne Cup, So You Think was transferred to the care of the wizard of Ballydoyle, Aidan O’Brien, where the Irish trainer guided the Australasian to a further five elite-level victories.
In 2017, the globetrotting Highland Reel (Ire) would take the G1 Prince Of Wales’s S. The former Ballydoyle inmate was an outstanding galloper in his own right, but many Australasians would recall the 2016 G1 WS Cox Plate where Winx (Street Cry {Ire}) gave Highland Reel windburn.
Highland Reel would return to Victoria, Australia, again to stand at Swettenham Stud before he jetted off again to stand in Japan at Takaya Shimikawa's S T Farm on Hokkaido.
The Prince Of Wales’s S. ties strongly with the G1 WS Cox Plate. In 2021 the Joseph O’Brien-trained State Of Rest (Ire), a son of the Australian-bred Starspangledbanner, would claim a narrow victory in the Moonee Valley showpiece from the mighty Anamoe.
State Of Rest (Ire) | Standing at Newgate Farm, image courtesy of Newgate Farm
In 2022, State Of Rest, owned by an ownership group that included the Australian-based Newgate, would show the world his class by saluting in the Prince Of Wales’s S.
The colt will return to Australia to take up stud duties at Newgate Farm for a fee of $44,000 (inc GST).
On Wednesday, the great race attracted a small but select field of classy gallopers; amongst them is Godolphin’s G1 Derby at Epsom Downs, hero Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), the classy Bay Bridge (Ire) (New Bay {GB}) and current favourite Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {Ire}).
An intriguing runner, although unfancied by the market, is Classic Causeway (USA), one of the last colts by the iron horse Giant’s Causeway (USA) will look to add his name to a handy group of American-bred runners who have saluted in the race, the first being the groundbreaking Iroquis (USA) in 1881 and the last being Nayef (USA) in 2003.
Race 6, G2 Queen’s Vase, 2847m (14 furlongs) - 2.35am AEST (5.35pm local)
Prizemoney: £265,000 (AU$497,700)
The G2 Queen’s Vase was inaugurated in 1838 and formerly ran over two miles (3200 metres) until 2017 when the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) concluded that the distance was too steep for 3-year-olds and reduced the distance to the current 2847 metres.
The G2 Queen’s Vase was won by some cult horses such as the famous Persian Punch (Ire) (Persian Heights {GB}), Le Moss (Ire) and Stradivarius (Ire).
A memorable moment when the late queen Elizabeth’s grand mare Estimate (Ire) (Monsun {Ger}) would take the Queen’s Vase before returning to claim the G1 Ascot Gold Cup.
Ballydoyle, have a strong CV in the race, in the past having saddled up for victory the classy trio of Leading Light (Ire), Kew Gardens (Ire) and Santiago (Ire) in recent years.
However, the Queen’s Vase has been a launching ground for gallopers that would later contest and sometimes claim the G1 Melbourne Cup in spring.
Twilight Payment (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) who was placed in the 2016 G2 Queen’s Vase and would later win the 2020 G1 Melbourne Cup with Jye McNeil in the saddle in front of vast and empty Flemington due to COVID-19 restrictions ravaging the world at the time.
Twilight Payment (Ire), winner of the 2020 G1 Melbourne Cup | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Dashing Willoughby (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) claimed the 2019 Queen’s Vase and was imported to Australia to contest the Melbourne Cup, in which he was unplaced.
Aloft (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) claimed the Queen’s Vase in 2015 and would be prominent in Cup markets after winning the Listed Roy Higgins at Flemington, but he ultimately would not contest ‘the race that stops a nation’.
The former Godolphin galloper Mamool (Ire), a classy conveyance in the Northern Hemisphere, won the G1 Grosser Preis von Baden at Baden-Baden and the Queen’s Vase before twice tackling the Melbourne Cup, finishing seventh with his best result.
However, Mamool left a son named ‘Lucas Cranach (Ger)’. The late Lucas Cranach would go close in the Melbourne Cup, ultimately running third, but claimed the G2 Peter Young S.
Another galloper who was placed in the Queen’s Vase and found success in the Southern Hemisphere has been Southern France (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).
The now Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained gelding scored the G2 Zipping Classic at Sandown.
The Queen’s Vase has even produced its own Southern Hemisphere ‘cult galloper’ in the form of Godolphin-owned Hartnell (GB) (Authorized {Ire}). Trained by Mark Johnston when he saluted in the 2014 edition, the gelding was then imported to Australia to the care of James Cummings.
Thriving in his new home, he retired as a four-time Group 1 winner. However, he did have the misfortune of running into the mighty Winx.
It would be no surprise to see any of the 14 declared runners make their way to Australia for the spring majors; in fact, one galloper’s connections have already signalled their intention to chase the spring riches.
The lightly raced Andrew Balding-trained Saint George (GB), a son of the late Roaring Lion (USA), will contest the Queen’s Vase on Wednesday night with gun jockey Oisin Murphy in the saddle.
Sheikh Fahad's Qatar Racing raced the colt, who has teamed up with the prominent and fortuitous Australian-based owner Ozzie Kheir. It is reported Saint George, after contesting the Queen’s Vase, will be transferred to the care of Ciaron Maher and David Eustace in Australia.
The New Zealand-based syndicator, Go Racing, will be represented by the Joseph O'Brien-trained Etna Rosso (Ire) (Decorated Knight {GB}) in the Queen's Vase.
It would not be surprising or out of the question to see St Vincent’s Garden (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), trained by Joseph O’Brien, contest the Australian spring majors, given his ownership of Lloyd Williams and the J D Packer Syndicate.
* The results from Day 1 are on the next page.
