Cover image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Race 1, Listed Chesham S., (7 furlongs) 1400m - 11.30pm AEST (2.30pm local)
Prizemoney: £100,000 (AU$189,500)
The Listed Chesham S. was inaugurated in 1919 and reportedly ran on Wednesday, June 19. The year 1919 was hugely significant in 20th-century history as June saw the signing of the Treaty Of Versailles, several months after World War I ended in November 1918.
The Chesham S. was first run over five furlongs (1000 metres) and wouldn’t be extended to the seven furlongs (1400 metres) until 1996 when Saeed bin Suroor saddled up Shamikh (GB) (Unfuwain {USA}) to score.
Over the years, the Chesham has produced some significant moments, such as the 1989 edition won by Be My Chief (USA) partnered by Champion North American jockey Steve Cauthen who had been reportedly lured to Britain by Robert Sangster and legendary late Henry Cecil to replace Lester Piggott as the stable jockey.
Be My Chief, who would also win a G1 Racing Post Trophy, was owned by Peter Burell, who had been manager of the National Stud during the golden era when the stud produced Sun Chariot (GB) (Hyperion {GB}) and Big Game (GB).
Recently the Chesham S. has produced a host of significant winners. Among them was the filly, Maybe (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who saluted in 2011 for Coolmore and partners; she was trained and partnered by one of the best combinations of the modern era, Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore.
Maybe, was crowned the European Champion Filly in 2011. However, at stud, she has been just as impactful, with her son Saxon Warrior (Jpn), winning the G1 2000 Guineas and now carving out a successful stallion career at Coolmore Ireland, including shuttling to Australia.
In 2016, O’Brien and Moore were back together, but this time with a colt by the peerless Galileo (Ire); the colt carried a fitting name, Churchill (Ire), no doubt named after one of the greatest statesmen of the 20th century, Winston Churchill.
Churchill (Ire) | Standing at Coolmore
Churchill, the colt, would retire as one of the most gifted sons of Galileo, retiring as a dual Classic winner and four Group 1s overall. Retired to Coolmore Stud, he is proving quite the stallion, producing the hugely talented Blue Rose Cen (Ire) and Vadeni (Fr).
In 2019, another fittingly named colt, Pinatubo (Ire), kept his unbeaten record intact with a resounding victory in the Chesham S.
The Godolphin-owned and Charlie Appleby-trained colt would retire as a three-time Group 1 winner at Darley’s Dalham Hall Stud and shuttle to Darley, Australia.
In 2023, the race favourite is the O’Brien-trained Pearls And Rubies (USA) (No Nay Never {USA}); the juvenile filly will be partnered by Moore and was a winner at Navan on debut.
She is the fifth foal from the Fastnet Rock mare Diamondandrubies (Ire), who claimed the G1 Pretty Polly S.
Furthermore, Pearls And Rubies is from the family of the Frankel (GB) sired pair of Eminent (Ire) and King Frankel (Ire). The former being placed at Group 1 level in Australia, while the latter is a Listed winner and Group 1 placegetter in Australia.
Another runner with an Australian connection is the Joseph O’Brien-trained Warnie (Ire) (Highland Reel {Ire}); perhaps the late Australian cricketer Shane Warne was an inspiration. The colt will be ridden by the Champion New Zealand-born jockey James McDonald and was purchased by Stuart Boman of Blandford Bloodstock and Bennett Racing from the 2023 Tattersalls Guineas Breeze Up Sale for 65,000gns (AU$97,000).
Warnie (Ire) | Image courtesy of Tattersalls
Race 2, G3 Jersey S., (7 furlongs) 1400m - 12.05pm AEST (3.05pm local)
Prizemoney: £150,000 (AU$285,400)
The G3 Jersey S., like the Listed Chesham S., was inaugurated in 1919 and had a significant history of producing runners to further success.
In 2021, the G3 Jersey S. was won by the late Godolphin-owned Creative Cause (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), denying his stablemate Naval Crown (Ire).
The following year, in 2022, the Jersey S. would be the key form guide in the G1 Platinum Jubilee when Naval Crown turned the tables to deny his stablemate in the Group 1.
Another recent significant winner is the outstanding Ribchester (Ire), who also carried the royal blue of Godolphin to victory in 2016. Ribchester shuttles to Haunui Farm in New Zealand where he will stand the 2023 season at a fee of NZ$12,000 Plus GST.
Ribchester (Ire) | Standing at Haunui Farm
And Expert Eye (GB) gave James McDonald his first winner at Royal Ascot in 2018, with a romp in the G3 Jersey S.
Expert Eye would bow out in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Mile at the end of 2018, retiring to Juddmonte Farms’ Banstead Manor Stud.
The 2023 edition has attracted a competitive field of 15, with the favourite being the progressive John and Thady Gosden-trained Covey (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who Frankie Dettori will partner in his final Royal Ascot.
The Australian Champion Sire, Zoustar, who stands at Widden Stud, but shuttles to Tweenhills Stud in the United Kingdom, will be represented by Zoology (GB).
Zoustar | Standing at Widden Stud
Trained by James Ferguson, Zoology will be partnered by Oisin Murphy. He was a winner two starts ago at Southwell on the All Weather.
Other gallopers with an Australian connection is the outsider, Clare Connell-trained Empty Metaphor (Ire), a son of James Garfield (Ire), a son of the great Darley-based Exceed And Excel.
Race 3, G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee S., (6 furlongs) 1200m - 12.40am AEST (3.40pm local)
Prizemoney: £1 million (AU$1.8 million)
The G1 The Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee S., has had many name changes since its inauguration in 1868, registered under the Cork and Orrery S.
In 2023, the race was named in the late Queen Elizabeth’s honour after her passing in 2022.
In 2012, the year the mighty Black Caviar (Bel Esprit) prevailed in an agonisingly close finish, the race was renamed the Diamond Jubilee to commemorate the late Queen Elizabeth’s 60th year as the Monarch.
Last year, when the Godolphin-trained Naval Crown (GB) saluted, and the returning Australian raider Artorius (Flying Artie) finished third, the race was renamed the Platinum Jubilee.
Australian-bred gallopers have an excellent record in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee S., a landmark moment when Choisir prevailed in 2003; his triumph was followed by Starspangledbanner in 2010, the aforementioned Black Caviar in 2012 and most recently, Merchant Navy in 2018.
This year flying the Australian flag is the returning Artorius; James McDonald will partner the Anthony and Sam Freedman-trained galloper, who has come up favourite.
The warhorse The Astrologist (Zoustar), trained by Leon and Troy Corstens, will have the jet-setting Damian Lane in the saddle. At the same time, the Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Cannonball (Capitalist) is expected to back up with Brett Prebble aboard after a below-par run in the G1 King's Stand S.
Artorius, the current favourite for the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee S. | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Rounding out the gallopers carrying the Australian suffix is Wellington, a son of the Vinery Stud-based All Too Hard. Wellington, trained by Richard Gibson, has been based in Hong Kong, where he has been one of the elite sprinters. Wellington gets the services of Ryan Moore.
The strongest of the domestic chances look to come from Highfield Princess (Fr) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), Sacred (GB) (Exceed And Excel) and Kinross (GB) (Kingman {GB}).
Highfield Princess, like Cannonball, will be backing-up after running in the King's Stand S. although the multiple Group 1 winner was placed in the King's Stand.
Highfield Princess (Fr) | Image courtesy of Racingfotos.com
Sacred has won two of her last three starts including the G3 Chartwell S. at Lingfield previous start.
Kinross hasn't raced since running third in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Mile in November, but before that claimed the G1 British Champions Sprint at Ascot and the G1 Prix de la Foret.
Historically, the G1 Queen Elizabeth Jubilee S. has an honour roll of who’s who, including the influential Danehill (USA) in 1989, the grand sprinter-miler Diadem (GB) (Orby {GB}), the Champion Blue Point (Ire) and the brilliant Slade Power (Ire).
Race 4, G2 Hardwicke S., (1 mile and four furlongs) 2400m, 1.20am AEST (4.20pm local)
Prize money: £250,000 (AU$474,700)
The G2 Hardwicke S. was named after the 5th Earl Of Hardwicke, who served as the Master of the Buckhounds in the 19th century. The Hardwicke has been a launching pad to the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. ran in July, with Aureole (GB) owned by the queen Elizabeth, and Harbinger (GB) in 2010 being the most recent to complete the double.
Other classy winners of the G2 Hardwicke S. include the G1 Derby winner St Paddy (GB), a son of Aureole, the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Rheingold (Ire) and Crystal Ocean (GB), who would claim the G1 Prince Of Wales’s S. the following year.
While he would claim the 1993 Hardwicke S. Jenue (GB) would be sent to Australia and won the G1 Melbourne Cup in Australia and three other Group 1s before retiring to stud, where he proved to be a successful stallion.
Jeune (GB) | Image courtesy of Sportpix
Other Hardwicke winners who have tasted success in Australia include Sea Moon (GB), who won the G2 Herbert Power S.
The 2023 edition of the Hardwicke S. has several intriguing runners, none more than the Bon Ho, Legend Racing-owned Deauville Legend (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}). Trained by James Ferguson, the 4-year-old was favoured in the 2022 G1 Melbourne Cup, where he ran fourth and hasn’t raced since then.
His regular jockey Daniel Muscutt will partner him for the 2400-metre contest first-up.
Deauville Legend (Ire) | Image courtesy of Racing Photos
Another interesting runner is Ardakan (GB) (Reliable Man {GB}), trained by Marco Botti and carrying the colours of Bennett Racing.
The 4-year-old was crowned the Champion 3YO in Italy in 2022 after winning the G2 Roma Derby Italiano. Ardakan will have the services of James McDonald.
There will be stiff competition from the classy Group 1 winner Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}) and the in-form Coronation Cup winner Hukum (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who returned strongly in the G3 Brigadier Gerard S.
*The results from Day 4 of the Royal Ascot meeting will be updated in this edition overnight.
