Starman's Venetian Sun takes the G1 Commonwealth Cup
For the second consecutive year, Royal Ascot's G1 Commonwealth Cup was all about the fillies on Friday with favourite backers ultimately breathing a sigh of relief as Venetian Sun (Starman) edged it from Spicy Marg (Starspangledbanner).
Always travelling notably smoothly for Clifford Lee up the centre of the track, last year's Prix Morny and Albany heroine had to fight to deny the 50-1 outsider and Tom Marquand in the run to the line but was equal to the task to record a head success. Next home was the stands' side “winner” Division (Kingman), a half length away in third.
In recent years, Karl Burke has become accustomed to winners at this meeting and so this was putting a welcome end to a drought this week. “It's definitely a relief–it's such a hard place to win at and we've had plenty of shots and haven't even been hitting posts,” he said of the 11-8 market-leader, who had bounced back from defeats over further in the Moyglare Stud Stakes and 1,000 Guineas to confirm herself a pure sprinter in the Sandy Lane last time. “
I had a lot of faith in her–she is a great filly but she is what she is–she is such a laid-back filly.”
Ryan Moore and Precise win the G1 Coronation Stakes
An interrupted preparation was a mitigating factor when Precise (Starspangledbanner) blotted her copybook in the G1 1000 Guineas at Newmarket, but the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine was in no mood for succumbing to outside influences as Ryan Moore got the selection right in Friday's G1 Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Moore was an embedded observer in seventh as True Love (No Nay Never) found glory at HQ and was aboard that stablemate when Precise gained redemption at the Curragh last month.
Precise went postward as the heavily-favoured 8-13 choice to provide Aidan O'Brien with a fourth Coronation and 101st Royal winner and raced in rear through the initial stages of the one-mile heat.
Sent forward into third rounding the home turn, she was clear of the subsequent carnage in behind when seizing control with a quarter-mile remaining and kept on powerfully under a forceful Moore drive to hit the line with a 1 1/2-length buffer.
Shadwell's TDN Rising Star Touleen (Lope De Vega) suffered most as several engaged in a barging contest when jostling for open lanes in the straight and finished strongly inside the final furlong to deny True Love by a neck for second nearing the line.
Moore added, “Precise began a bit awkwardly, and I was a bit further back than I wanted to be, but I rode her to get there in front. She got into a beautiful rhythm. I was not really concerned about what position I was in, just keeping her going forward. She covered ground on the turn, but I knew she was going to stay well."
"She is the best filly, there was no need to complicate it, and she has done what she had to do. I would say 10 furlongs is within her compass, but she is good at a mile. There are plenty of good fillies in the yard, so I suppose we will get home, see what the others are doing and make a plan. It was not her fault she got beat first time up. She is a very good filly and beautifully trained.”
Causeway prevails in the G2 King Edward VII
Under direct threat from Joseph for the Royal Ascot trainers' title following the preceding Sandringham, O'Brien Sr answered in the only way he knows how by saddling another Royal Ascot winner in Causeway (Wootton Bassett).
Heavily-backed for Friday's G2 King Edward VII Stakes despite tackling a mile and a half for the first time, the colt who had followed the “Paddington route” of the Madrid and Tetrarch before diverting off it to the Gallinule was able to win another battle and stretch his unbeaten sequence this term.
This time it was Amo's Derby also-ran Ancient Egypt (Frankel) who put it up to the relative of Magical, Rhododendron and Auguste Rodin and the duel up the home straight was only a slightly lower-key version of Thursday's Gold Cup epic.
As his namesake used to do in the old days, the even-money favourite refused to be denied and got there by a neck, with Charlie Johnston's flagbearer in turn 10 lengths clear of the highly-regarded Clarehaven runner Water To Wine (Kingman).
No Nay Never's Libertango storms home for Albany glory
Adding more lustre to a memorable week for George Boughey and Billy Loughnane, Libertango (No Nay Never) swooped to take Friday's G3 Albany Stakes from under the nose of Ballydoyle's hot favourite Sun Goddess (Sioux Nation).
Still with plenty to do as that 10-11 market-leader moved towards the front approaching the final furlong, Vefa Ibrahim Araci's 400,000gns Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up purchase who had scored on debut at Leicester flew late to overwhelm the TDN Rising Star and score by a length. Wathnan's Light Of Dawn (Showcasing) was the same margin back in third.
With this win No Nay Never is confirmed one of the Kings of Royal Ascot, with three winners from the three races he has had representation in this week.
