Tag Archive for: Ascot

Monday Musings: A Five and a Six Away from Ascot

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On a day when Ascot’s Champions Day supplied winners at 200/1 and 100/1 for home stables, two of Ireland’s biggest yards were at it elsewhere, writes Tony Stafford. It came as little surprise when Aidan O’Brien had the first five and then mercifully allowed someone else to get on the scoresheet before making it six on the day back home at Leopardstown.

With several multiple opportunities through the card, it wasn’t easy to identify which would be the better, notably in the fifth, the Group 3 Killavullan Stakes. This went to 13/8 second-best Dorset in the Derrick Smith silks, after getting first run on the Michael Tabor colours on 6/4 favourite Daytona, clear of the rest and much to the mirth of the two gentlemen concerned back at Ascot.

I doubt whether even they or their trainer would have been able to predict all six beforehand. If they had, it was around a 1,150/1 six-timer, eclipsing the 200/1 longest-ever Group 1 winning starting price recorded by the Richard Fahey-trained Powerful Glory back at Ascot. His victory in the Qipco Champion Sprint owed much to a Jamie Spencer masterclass amid the whoops and disbelieving on the straight course at Ascot where his age-old skills never dim.

Two races later I did venture into the paddock, when many of the connections stay to view their race on the big screen, to watch the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. Horse racing can bring emotion far removed from everyday life and I swear I saw more than one very emotional woman and at least half a dozen men unashamedly crying as Charlie Hills’ Cicero’s Gift returned to unsaddle.

It was a day of days for owners Rosehill Racing and even jockey Jason Watson was wiping away a tear or two as he brought the unconsidered five-year-old back having edged out the big guns. Behind, a revived The Lion In Winter led home Alakazi and Docklands, with the disappointing pair Field Of Gold and Rosallion next home.

No doubt emotion in the entire Hills family was the order of the day just short of four months after Charlie’s father Barry, such a genius of a trainer, died at the age of 88. I snatched a few words with Barry’s widow and Charlie’s mum Penny earlier in the day. Afterwards I recalled one day driving down Fulham Palace Road in West London a decade or more prior, passing Charing Cross Hospital where Barry was being treated for cancer and seeing Penny on her way out having visited him, as she did every day during his illnesses.

She looked great on Saturday and I’m sure she felt that her son, often under-valued by ultra-critical people in racing – not always the kindest of arenas – had gone a long way to silencing his critics. After all, hadn’t he also won the Grade 2 Woodford Stakes at Keeneland two weeks earlier with the nine-year-old Khaadem, partnered by Frankie Dettori? That Fitri Hay-owned sprinter had won the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee at Royal Ascot both in 2023 and last year. You don’t keep top-class horses going that long into a career without having a real talent for the job.

Frankie no doubt would have been keeping an eye on matters at Ascot on the 29th anniversary of his unique seven-race through-the-card feat. I saw Gary Wiltshire at Chelmsford on Thursday night and he’s still dining out on how he lost £2 million laying the last winner of that septet. I won’t ever forget it either, having to write an extra chapter for the book Year in The Life Of Frankie Dettori, ready to go as it was then.

Gary’s latest book detailing those days is a steady seller, and I hope Victor Thompson’s Eighty Years in the Fast Lane, also published by Weatherbys will get a nice response. I helped Victor and his partner Gina Coulson put it together, and the final piece in the puzzle came with Nick Luck’s stylish and heart-warming foreword last week. Publication should be at the end of this month.

If ever I write another book of my own, the title ought to be “I digress” (!), because almost the most unlikely eventuality of all those remarkable Saturday feats was occurring over in the US at Far Hills racecourse in New Jersey.

Gordon Elliott might have been bullied almost into submission in the top races over the years by Willie Mullins, but he certainly knows how to pick his spots. He sent a team of horses to the US’s biggest day of jump racing in both prestige and money terms on Saturday and won five, including their Champion Hurdle and Grand National.

Jack Kennedy, happily recovered from his latest injury, rode four of them, giving way to Danny Gilligan on Coutach in the £72k to the winner Champion Hurdle. Pride of place goes to the last of the quintet, Zanahiyr, an Aga Khan-bred son of Nathaniel, Enable’s sire. Nathaniel, at the age of 17, has been making enough of a revival to stand at an increased £20k at Newsells Park Stud. Graham Smith-Bernal, Newsells’ owner, was still bubbling over another sales triumph (3.6 million gns) even though only second of the pile at Tattersalls Book 1 for a son of Frankel, sold of course to Amo Racing.

Zanahiyr collected £120k for his neck success over fellow Irishman, the Gavin Cromwell-trained Ballysax Hank. He’s another versatile type having won the Summer Plate at Market Rasen (a race won the previous year by geegeez syndicate horse, Sure Touch, which also followed up there this week) and collected a 1m6f flat race on home turf before his trip to New Jersey.

Cromwell had fulfilled a long ambition when sending out Stumptown, a regular in good handicap chases, to win the Velka Pardubicka over the fearsome obstacles at Pardubice, Czech Republic, the previous weekend.

In all, Elliott’s five pulled in a total of £300,000. It’s to his credit that he’s come through the dark days and the ban that followed that infamous photo with ever more energy and operational dexterity.

Judged on recent events Elliott, Cromwell and Joseph O’Brien will be ever more visible going for the top UK prizes this winter when the home defence, with one or two exceptions, might struggle to withstand them – never forgetting the imperious Willie Mullins.

I hear a whisper that the champ already has earmarked the horses he intends to line up for the five Grade 1 races that were the fixture for so many years for the opening day at Cheltenham’s Festival meeting next March. One of the stable’s most ardent followers was bemoaning the rearrangement of the four-day programme that as he says dilutes the top races through the week. Maybe it’s a response by bookmakers sick of having their pants down and bottoms smacked every year by Wearisome Willie!

I digressed and did so again. What a day. We saw a proper middle-distance champion in the French gelding Calandagan, too speedy for the rest and ridden with great tactical awareness by Mickael Barzalona, two weeks on from his Arc de Triomphe win on Daryz. An early test of that form was Kalpana’s easy repeat win in Saturday’s Champion Filly and Mare race, soon clear in the straight and never tested in repelling a late thrust from Estrange. That striking grey ran a blinder considering the unsuitably fast ground.

John Gosden seemed more pleased to have ended the three-race tussle with Delacroix (who finished fourth) on the credit side, two-to-one, than worry about Osbudsman’s being beaten by the French raider who, like Daryz, is trained by Francis-Henri Graffard.

In that race I was astonished that Delacroix hadn’t finished in front of outsider Almaqam, trained by Ed Walker, especially as my vantage point was as near to level with the winning line as it can get. Certainly, it’s better than from the Royal Box fifty yards further down the straight!

Again, there was chat about Christophe Soumillon, even after winning the Two-Year-Old Conditions race on Mission Control for the Coolmore team and O’Brien. In the big one, he was ahead of both Calandagan and William Buick on Ombudsman turning for home but then was swamped by a pincer movement from behind, immediately losing his nice pitch. I doubt he would have troubled the winner, but he might have been in another close fight with the Gosden horse had he kept out of trouble. Most of us thought he ought to have done better in the finish for third too, but I’ve talked about his coming unstuck in photos before.

Then again, having had a chip each way (forget which of my old-time friends used to say that!) on Karl Burke’s Holloway Boy in the closing Balmoral Handicap, the one handicap on the day, my eyes again deceived me. I knew Crown of Oaks had won to give yet another big handicap to William Haggas but was sure Holloway Boy, in his first run since Meydan in April, was a narrow outright second.

Once more, I was wrong, the dead-heat announcement being a further surprise. Talking of Holloway Boy he, like the fifth-placed favourite Native Warrior, is trained by Karl Burke, one trainer inexorably moving up the ladder.

A reflection of that is how he’s now winning races overseas, too. Yesterday in the Group 2 Prix du Conseil de Paris at Longchamp he reversed Balmoral Handicap fortunes with Haggas, Convergent getting the better of his rival’s Dubai Honour by a neck.

Native Warrior was one of five Wathnan Racing runners on the day, from four different stables, all ridden by James Doyle. His is a fantastic job and one that can only get better as the owners and Richard Brown extend their tentacles.

There are still a few rungs to go before Karl Burke makes the top three in his peer group. After Saturday’s skirmishes, when O’Brien, Andrew Balding and the Gosdens each had one winner, it’s status quo in the UK trainers’ title race, with Aidan now guaranteed another triumph. If he wins the Futurity at Doncaster on Saturday, he’ll nudge over £8million in prize money.

Finally, after a day with more to mention than space warrants, on the way out I bumped into old pal Graham Thorner, former trainer and Grand National winning rider. I suggested that Ascot remains unique in that it attracts massive crowds for all its dates and that I’d never seen so many young people at a race meeting before. He agreed. Whatever Ascot’s blueprint for success, they should make sure they pass it on to less successful venues.

- TS

Raaheeb sparkles with comfortable victory on Ascot debut

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Raaheeb, a full-brother to the top-class pair of Baaeed and Hukum, made the perfect start to his career with a very smooth debut victory at Ascot.

Trained like Hukum by Owen Burrows, he was beginning life over seven furlongs in the Charbonnel et Walker British EBF Maiden Stakes and drawn in stall one, Jim Crowley was out on a wing slightly before being able to angle in as part of a small group of three.

As they began to join up, Crowley moved his mount up on the outside stylishly and it just became a question of what he would find off the bridle.

The answer was plenty as Raaheeb (7-4 favourite) just had to be kept up to his work to beat Pompette, who had the benefit of a run, by a length and a quarter.

Paddy Power cut him to 16-1 from 25s for the Royal Lodge at Newmarket later this month but whether he runs there remains to be seen.

Burrows said: “It was a very pleasing debut. He’d done everything nicely at home but he was only just ready for a run and we managed to get him on the grass on Wednesday.

“I’ll be honest, I thought whatever he did today he’d take a massive step forward from as he’s still quite switched off at the moment, which is obviously a nice way to have them.

“I thought he did it very nicely and it was a professional performance as the draw wasn’t ideal, but he handled the soft ground well and Jim was very pleased.

“There’s mixed messages as to what trip he wants, given his brothers were very different. Jim think he’ll be a mile-and-a-quarter horse next year, maybe further but Richard Hills (Shadwell’s assistant racing manager) tells me Baaeed started off over a mile.

“We’ll see how he comes out of it and make a plan then. We’ll see if he switches on at home, if he does then we might step up (in class) but Jim emphasised whatever he did this year is a bonus, we won’t go overboard this year.

“He reminds me a lot of Hukum in his action yet Michael Hills (who works for William Haggas) was there with Richard today and said he looks a bit like Baaeed, but he’s a bigger horse than Baaeed now, he’s bigger than Hukum at this stage as well.”

In the closing Sodexo Live! Handicap, the Oisin Murphy-ridden favourite Excellent Echo appeared to clip heels and fell, bringing down Nordic Norm and Sam James.

A statement posted on X by Ascot read: “Unfortunately, following an incident during the seventh race today, Excellent Echo suffered a fatal injury. His jockey, Oisin Murphy, walked in and was fine.

“Nordic Norm was taken to the stables for further assessment with cuts and scratches. His jockey, Sam James, was conscious and treated by medical teams on the track and has been transferred to the hospital for further assessment.”

Facteur Cheval on course for third Champions Day appearance

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Jerome Reynier’s immediate focus may be on Lazzat’s Sprint Cup quest at Haydock on Saturday, but another of his stable stars, Facteur Cheval, is being prepared to make it third time lucky at British Champions Day next month.

The consistent six-year-old has been a regular visitor to Britain throughout his career and has twice fallen short in Ascot’s showpiece Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, finishing second to compatriot Big Rock in 2023 before chasing home Roger Varian’s Charyn 12 months ago.

Last seen in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot, he will now try to get his head in front for the first time on British soil, with connections seeing his freshness as a positive ahead of the October 18 contest.

Trainer Jerome Reynier (left) with Facteur Cheval
Trainer Jerome Reynier (left) with Facteur Cheval (Andrew Matthews/PA)

“We’re going to wait for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes again and he’s placed in it a few times and always runs well in it, so we’re looking forward to it,” said Barry Irwin, CEO of Team Valor International, who own the horse in partnership with Gary Barber.

“Jerome had to send him off for a month R and R after his run at Royal Ascot as he lost some weight and didn’t look as well as he should. He’s got him back and he looks fine but he’s been unable to do enough with him to race in the Prix du Moulin this weekend, so Ascot is the plan.

“I hope he can run well again at Ascot, he likes the course and it will all depend how the ground comes up. He does want some cut in the ground and if it’s a bog he can handle that too and as long as it’s not really firm I think he can do it.

“He does run well fresh and has shown that before.”

Facteur Cheval at Meydan
Facteur Cheval at Meydan (PA)

Connections are targeting a second win the Dubai Turf next year, willing to forego other valuable events in the Middle East early in 2026 to focus solely on peaking at Meydan on Dubai World Cup night, as they did in 2024.

“Next year we’re going to pinpoint the Dubai Turf again and I think we’ll take him over and run him in that race cold turkey,” continued Irwin.

“We’ll have Jerome do what he did when we went there and won the first time and give him a little afternoon trial at the local racecourse and then show up for the race. That’s a tried and tested plan which a lot of Europeans take and has worked well for this horse before.

“All things considered, he’s still fairly lightly raced and we haven’t hammered him. The biggest campaign he had was earlier this year in the Middle East where we got a little ambitious and ran him on the dirt a few times and I don’t think we’ll be doing that next year.”

Paris or Ascot assignments will come into view for Estrange

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Estrange will set her sights on one of two big autumn Group One prizes after her second-placed run in the Yorkshire Oaks last week.

The four-year-old began her season with a Group Three win at Listed level at Haydock, after which she returned to the same track to take the Group Two Lancashire Oaks.

She continued to progress up the levels on the Knavesmire, facing a stiff task carrying a penalty for her age and facing dual Oaks heroine Minnie Hauk on ground quicker than ideal.

Estrange after finishing second in the Yorkshire Oaks
Estrange after finishing second in the Yorkshire Oaks (Ashley Iveson/PA)

While the latter was ultimately a convincing winner, Estrange was a long way from being disgraced when beaten three and a half lengths for trainer David O’Meara under Danny Tudhope.

“She did very well, we thought she ran a blinder,” said Chris Richardson, managing director of owners Cheveley Park Stud.

“We were in two minds as to whether or not to run because of the ground, but it was only a four-runner race and a Group One at a premier track.

“We wanted to run if we could, I think the public wanted to see her and the racecourse wanted her to run.

“The ground wasn’t ideal, I’d have loved that shower of rain that I imagined was going to happen, but she ran very well and it’s no disgrace to be beaten giving 9lb to a dual Classic winner and probably the best three-year-old filly around.”

Both the Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes at Ascot and the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe are under consideration for the grey’s next outing, as is the prospect of her delaying her broodmare career and returning to training next season.

Estrange after winning on the final day of the season at Doncaster last year
Estrange after winning on the final day of the season at Doncaster last year (Nick Robson/PA)

Richardson said: “We could go straight for the Arc now or we could go to Ascot, I don’t think she’ll have a run in between, it just depends on what happens with the ground. But it has got to rain at some point, so hopefully we can get some soft ground in autumn.

“She’s given us a great deal of pleasure already and we will see how things unravel during the rest of the year, Mrs Thompson hasn’t decided whether she will be retiring at the end of the season or possibly staying in training next year.

“They are a long time in the paddock when they go off to have babies, and she missed out on her two-year-old year so perhaps she could keep going in 2026.”

Jim Goldie favouring Ascot date for American Affair

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Jim Goldie is leaning towards Champions Day at Ascot over the Breeders’ Cup for his stable star American Affair.

The King Charles III Stakes victor was one of the most popular winners at Royal Ascot and had Goldie dreaming of a trip to America.

However, a setback in the days after Ascot put plans on hold for the five-year-old and he is still only in light work, which makes Goldie think he should target just one race.

“We’re still in pre-season mode with him, if that makes sense, we’re planning towards October time so we’ve eight to 10 weeks,” said Goldie.

“We haven’t made a final decision about America yet, but I think it’s more likely that we go to Ascot with him as I don’t want to do both as that would mean rushing him.

“Obviously the Ascot race is six furlongs and he might just be a five-furlong specialist, but if he’s not that’s another string to his bow.”

Goldie finished second in the 2012 British Champions Sprint with Hawkeyethenoo while Jack Dexter was beaten just a neck the following year, so the handler is eager to finally secure the title.

“The point about Ascot is I’ve seen it, been there and done it but not quite won it! I’ve come close a few times and we’ve had horses run well there whereas going halfway around the world, it could be too firm for him,” he said.

“The option is there next year if we need it. We know how his form is stacking up as the horse we beat easy twice this year (Jm Jungle) is now going for the Nunthorpe after winning at Goodwood.

“I do like Champions Day. Jack Dexter won the race after Frankel there but nobody remembers as everyone was still talking about Frankel!

“I had it in my head we were going to America but I wanted a prep-race and I could only see two. The Ayr Gold Cup or Ascot, and Ascot was only 10 days or so before.

“I spoke to Tadhg O’Shea who rides all over the world and he said you want to ideally get them over there in plenty of time to acclimatise, so it then became one or the other so that’s where we are. I’d think it’s Ascot but I’ll sit on the fence as long as I can.”

Ascot run might not add up for Haggas’ Economics

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William Haggas fears Champions Day at Ascot on October 18 will come too soon for Economics, with winter targets in the Middle East now more likely.

Last year’s Dante and Irish Champion Stakes winner was being readied for a Royal Ascot return but met with a setback.

It has been a slow recovery for the four-year-old, and Haggas is almost on the verge of admitting defeat in him running in Europe this year.

“He had an injury in the run up to Ascot and he’s not going to make Ireland, I’ve taken him out of Ireland but I’ve left him in the Champion Stakes,” Haggas told Sky Sports Racing.

“I suspect he might not even be ready to run his best by then, so somewhere in the Middle East in the winter could be his first port of call.

“I’m delighted to say his sporting owner has confirmed he’s going to stay in training next year and I hope we’ll get a clear run with him then.

“It’s been a sensationally frustrating time for us with him.”

Maureen Haggas urges improvement in Shergar Cup jockeys

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Maureen Haggas has called on Ascot to improve the overall quality of Shergar Cup jockeys, saying she felt the standard of riding was not “as high as it should be” during Saturday’s competition.

Haggas, who is assistant trainer to her husband William, saddled a winner for the yard at the fixture as Tenability was steered to a neck victory by French rider Delphine Santiago in the 12-furlong Classic.

Teams representing Great Britain and Ireland, Europe, Asia and the Rest of the World took part and Haggas believes some competitors were “inexperienced” for the task.

She told ITV Racing: “It’s a great experience for them all and it’s good money here today and we’re running nice horses. I just think there are some very good riders here but there are some riders that are inexperienced in this country, or inexperienced internationally.

“It is good money so it attracts nice horses and this horse (Tenability), for instance, is a very nice, young, progressive horse.

“It’s a great concept and you’d like to see more of the higher profile jockeys supporting it because it is a good concept and it’s good money and it’s good fun, but I’m just not sure that the standard of riding is as high as it should be.

“There are some very good riders here and Mirai (Iwata) who works for us is a lovely rider but young and very inexperienced and you can just see the way the races are run, they’re spread out all over the track.

“Everyone has got to learn and get experience and it’s all about experience but for this money, you need to keep the standard of horses up so you need to keep the standard of riding up as well.”

In response to Haggas’ comments, Ascot director of racing and public affairs Nick Smith said: “We’re really pleased with the new format and it’s great for awareness of the event that Asia won, given the media coverage in India and Japan in the run-up. Suraj (Narredu) winning ride of the day will only enhance that further.

“Once again both the team and jockey competitions went to the wire thanks to the draw formula that James Willoughby provides.

“As always with these things, there will be cases where lack of track experience and such like can play a part. We are sympathetic to that and will take all comments on board.”

Team Asia lift Shergar Cup in thrilling finish

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Team Asia shaded victory in the 2025 Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup as they triumphed by just one point from Europe in an exciting finish to the Ascot contest.

The teams were slightly different this year with the Ladies side no longer featuring, although there were leading female jockeys on three different squads.

Hollie Doyle captained Great Britain and Ireland, leading Joanna Mason and Robbie Dolan, but they finished six points off the top in third, with the Rest of the World fourth.

Team Asia won two races, with Indian jockey Suraj Narredu successful on Fireblade (13-2) in the Stayers and Ryusei Sakai of Japan winning on Prince Of India (100-30 favourite) in the Sprint.

However, it was Mirai Iwata’s second on Cerulean Bay in the closing Mile which clinched the trophy.

Team Asia’s Ryusei Sakai (left), Suraj Narredu and Mirai Iwata (right) celebrate
Team Asia’s Ryusei Sakai (left), Suraj Narredu and Mirai Iwata (right) celebrate (Adam Davy/PA)

Captain Narredu said: “I am absolutely delighted. To win the Shergar Cup on my debut is the icing on the cake after my winner. I know this is a new team that was introduced this year. I am sure in future they will be a force to be reckoned with.

“The Asian team deserves to get recognition and I am proud to captain the team. It was a fabulous for us to get two winners and some place points from the six races.

“We all enjoyed ourselves and it is a big deal to have come. It will be big back home in India.”

Australian Hugh Bowman, riding for the Rest of the World team, won the opening Dash on Richard Fahey’s Vintage Clarets (5-1) and claimed the Silver Saddle trophy which recognises the leading jockey, chalking up a total of 32 points and finishing ahead of Europe’s Per-Anders Graberg on 26.

Hugh Bowman after victory in the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Dash with Vintage Clarets
Hugh Bowman after victory in the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Dash with Vintage Clarets (Adam Davy/PA)

“I’ve had a good afternoon, obviously I won the first race and had a couple of others that have run very well,” said Bowman.

“It’s my second Silver Saddle, actually, in three attempts. It’s a lovely afternoon, it’s good fun.

“It’s more of a relaxed environment than your normal raceday, particularly when you’re riding against jockeys from different corners of the world. It’s usually a major race and the stakes are very high and it’s very important for everyone so this is, important as it is, it’s a little more relaxed and it’s been a great afternoon.

“It’s a good afternoon and I’m very proud to have won the Silver Saddle again and it’s great to see the raceogers come and support the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup because it is a wonderful annual event and it is recognised globally and it’s great to be a part of it.”

Team Europe jockey Per-Anders Graberg celebrates after winning on Ebt's Guard
Team Europe jockey Per-Anders Graberg celebrates after winning on Ebt’s Guard (Adam Davy/PA)

Each of the six Ascot races were won by different riders, with Graberg landing the Mile event on Ebt’s Guard (13-2) while his fellow Team Europe rider Delphine Santiago struck on 7-4 favourite Tenability in the Classic.

Dolan, who moved to Australia almost 10 years ago and sprang to prominence as the ‘singing jockey’ on TV show The Voice, broke into a chorus of “We Are The Champions” after guiding 11-4 favourite Night Breeze to a popular victory in the Challenge.

Katie Davis looks to Frankie Dettori for Shergar Cup advice

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Katie Davis will look to Frankie Dettori for some sage advice as she prepares to make her Shergar Cup debut at Ascot.

The 33-year-old shot to international fame after featuring in the Netflix series ‘Race For The Crown’ and the multiple US stakes-winning rider is eager to capitalise on any advantage she can gain for her British debut.

Dettori, who famously went through a seven-race card at Ascot in 1996 and is now riding in the US, offered his help to Davis when the pair crossed paths at Saratoga and Davis will have him on speed dial.

She said: “My plan is to walk the track at least twice. It was nice to hear from Frankie Dettori because he’s riding in Saratoga and he’s like ‘Katie, when you get your entries out, you better call me’.

“I said ‘don’t you worry, I’ll call you’, obviously I’m not that stupid. I’m trying to win a race here!

“I breezed two for Wesley (Ward, trainer) on the grass with Frankie, and I was telling Wesley and Frankie and Wesley’s like ‘you’re gonna have a blast, you have to go’. I go ‘I wanted to pick your brain’ and he said ‘I’m not the right person to pick, you gotta pick Frankie’.

“I’ll probably What’s App him (Dettori), kind of send the photos, let him analyse it. It’ll be really nice. I’m really lucky to have him behind me too in this.”

Davis rides in five of the six races in the team competition, with the Andrew Balding-trained Miss Information – winner of the Kensington Palace Stakes at the Royal meeting – seemingly her best chance of victory.

She said: “I’m super excited. I’m not nervous at all, it feels right so I’m just looking for a great opportunity and a great experience, and just go from there.

“It looks tough, but I would like to win a race. It’s what I said the first year I went into Saratoga and I won seven – I’m not saying I’m going to win the whole thing, but I’d like to win one, think positive!”

Davis will compete as part of the Rest of the World team, joining captain Karis Teetan and Australian Hugh Bowman, who previously led the side to victory in 2007.

“I asked why Hugh isn’t the captain because he’s won one of them and we all started laughing,” said Davis. “I said ‘we’re all gonna have fun. let’s enjoy it, bring the best out of each other and kind of see where it goes’.

“There’s no pressure, it’s nice to have teams so you can kind of follow and talk when you’re out there and you’re next to each other going full speed.”

This year’s Shergar Cup has undergone a shake-up, with the Ladies team no longer featuring, leaving the Rest of the World to compete with squads from Great Britain and Ireland, Asia and Europe.

Female riders will still take leading roles though, with France’s Delphine Santiago in the Europe side, while Joanna Mason and Hollie Doyle will both fly the flag for Great Britain and Ireland.

Davis’ sister Jackie is also a jockey and after her sibling previously met Doyle, she is particularly keen to make a connection with Britain’s most successful female rider.

She added: “My sister Jackie has met her, I think she was overseas one year and she raced my sister, and she said ‘you’re gonna love her, she’s just like us’. I really wanted to meet her and obviously I’m going to, so I hope we hit it off.

“It’s always nice that there’s people in the industry that you can talk to and it’s tough being a women.”

Waardah far from certain to go to York

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Waardah looks set to bypass the Yorkshire Oaks on the Knavesmire and head straight to Qipco British Champions Day should the drying weather continue for Owen Burrows’ star filly.

The three-year-old daughter of Postponed stepped up to a mile and six furlongs for the first time with ease as she held off Danielle to secure the Lillie Langtry at Goodwood last week.

That success put her in the conversation for the Group One contest during the Ebor Festival at York, but the lack of cut in the ground has cast doubt over Waardah’s participation.

However, the Farncombe Down trainer is unfazed at a potential three-month wait for her return at Ascot, if she does not get her preferred conditions.

“She’s come out Goodwood well,” Burrows said. “She’s in the Yorkshire Oaks, that might come a bit quick to be honest and looking at the weather she does like to get her toe in a little bit.

“There’s no significant rain anywhere through until the end of next week and I think the Fillies & Mares at Ascot is tailormade for her with near enough guaranteed soft ground, so I’ll probably work my way back from that.

“If she’s having to go straight there, then so be it. If we can get another one into her then great, that’s a bonus.”

Star-studded cast in the making for British Champions Day

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Many of the best horses in Europe have been entered for Qipco Champions Day at Ascot on October 18.

This year the card has been extended to seven races with the addition of a two-year-old contest, while with the upgrade of the Long Distance Cup to Group One status there will be five top-level events for the first time and a record £4.35million in prize-money.

The feature Qipco Champion Stakes sees recent King George winner Calandagan, Delacroix, Ombudsman, Los Angeles and last year’s winner Anmaat among the 38 entries.

Calandagan was second 12 months ago and his trainer Francis-Henri Graffard has also entered 2024 King George winner Goliath and the unbeaten Daryz.

Calandagan has a good record at Ascot
Calandagan has a good record at Ascot (John Walton/PA)

Karl Burke’s Royal Champion was last seen impressing in the York Stakes, a win which has taken him up to a lofty rating of 120.

“He is now the highest-rated horse I’ve ever trained,” said Burke. “Hopefully he can live up to that, he wouldn’t want the ground too slow but if he remains in good form we’ll head to Ascot for the Champion Stakes.”

One name missing from the Champion Stakes is Field Of Gold, although he is one of the 38 in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.

Queen Anne Stakes winner Docklands, Lockinge victor Lead Artist, Sussex Stakes winner Qirat and Sunday’s Prix Rothschild heroine Fallen Angel are all QEII possibles.

Fallen Angel’s trainer Burke has a trip to Ireland in mind for her next, but Ascot is firmly in his sights.

“Fallen Angel has come out of her latest race in perfect condition. There’s a good chance we head to Champions Day for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes,” he said.

“She’ll have a trip to the Matron (Leopardstown) first, then to Newmarket for the Sun Chariot and then we could take on the big guns if she continues in good form. We’d fancy our chances if the ground came up on the slow side.”

John and Thady Gosden’s Gold Cup hero Trawlerman is one of 29 in the British Champions Long Distance Cup for an increased pot of £500,000. Stablemates Courage Mon Ami, Sweet William and French Master also feature.

Recent Goodwood Cup one-two Scandinavia and Illinois as well as Jan Brueghel are all possibles for Aidan O’Brien who struck last year with Kyprios.

There are 53 in contention for the British Champions Sprint Stakes with Royal Ascot winner Lazzat topping the bill.

Lazzat was a Royal Ascot winner in June
Lazzat was a Royal Ascot winner in June (John Walton/PA)

He could be joined by fellow French-trained entries such as Beauvatier, Daylight, Topgear and Woodshauna.

Dockland’s trainer Harry Eustace has entered Commonwealth Cup winner Time For Sandals after her good effort over five furlongs at Goodwood last week.

“Time For Sandals won over six at Ascot, so it makes sense to give her an entry,” he said.

“How she runs next time out will determine if she goes, she’s had quite a long season, because we prepped her up like she might be a Guineas filly, so she’s not a definite just yet.

“However, if she wins her next start, it will be really hard not to go there. Having one horse going there is a proud moment, but having two would be extremely exciting.”

Field Of Gold to miss International assignment at York

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Field Of Gold will bypass York’s Juddmonte International Stakes as he continues his recovery from the setback sustained when suffering a shock defeat at Goodwood last week.

John and Thady Gosden’s Irish 2,000 Guineas and Royal Ascot hero was discovered to be lame after tasting defeat for just the second time this season in the Sussex Stakes and although there are encouraging signs in his recuperation, a step up to 10 furlongs on the Knavesmire has been ruled out by his team.

The son of Kingman will undergo X-rays on Wednesday which will give a clearer indication of the prognosis, with Juddmonte’s European racing manager Barry Mahon saying: “The horse is doing well and was back sound, which is good.

Field Of Gold on his way to post at Goodwood
Field Of Gold on his way to post at Goodwood (Andrew Matthews/PA)

“He’s got a little bit of swelling in his fetlock but John and Thady are much happier with him so the plan is to do the X-ray on Wednesday – they’ve just pushed it back a day, as the longer you can leave it, the clearer the picture is.

“That will give us some more insight and if the X-ray is clear, we can hopefully start back into some light exercise towards the end of the week or early next week.

“York though is definitely not going to happen at this stage.”

Having dazzled when claiming Classic honours in Ireland and scorching to St James’s Palace Stakes victory at the Royal meeting, there has been plenty of conversation over whether Field Of Gold will try to repeat those heroics up in trip or continue to be the stand out performer of the year at eight furlongs.

The Juddmonte star holds entries in both the Prix du Moulin (ParisLongchamp, September 7) and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (Ascot, October 18) at a mile later in the campaign, while he could yet test the waters up in distance in Leopardstown’s Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes on September 13.

Field Of Gold dazzled in the St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot
Field Of Gold dazzled in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot (John Walton/PA)

However, the colt’s name was notably missing from the entries for the Qipco Champion Stakes over further on the same afternoon as his engagement in the QEII, with race planning currently taking a backseat until one of the season’s top performers returns to full fitness.

Mahon added: “It was the plan pre-Goodwood to stick at a mile for the time being and obviously there has been no chat about potential races since Goodwood, we’re just going to have to let the dust settle and let him get back into exercise and then when he is fit make a plan from there.

“You are getting into that time of year when there is not an abundance of opportunities and there is the Moulin, QEII or you go up to a mile and a quarter for the races at that distance.

“So I wouldn’t say there is a huge amount of options, but we’ll just wait and see and let the horse tell us.”

While the Gosdens might not have Field Of Gold in the Juddmonte International, they still have a very strong contender in Ombudsman.

Ombudsman impressed in the Price of Wales's Stakes
Ombudsman impressed in the Price of Wales’s Stakes (David Davies/PA)

“He won the Prince of Wales’s first time in a Group One and showed he’s up to that level. The Eclipse, again he ran a very good race, beaten by a top-class three-year-old (Delacroix) coming through,” said Thady Gosden.

“He’s come out of that race well, had a little freshen up and (is) heading to the Juddmonte International hopefully.

“He’s such a genuine horse, has got the speed required and hopefully can run a good one there.

“It’s a career-defining race for a lot of horses. If you win the Juddmonte International it certainly means a lot – depth of the field and the quality to it. And then, of course, York’s a very fair track; so often the best horse wins and it’s something that everyone aspires to.”

Palmer considering Deauville or Newmarket for Fitzella

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Hugo Palmer is weighing up his options with Fitzella after her impressive victory in the Princess Margaret Stakes at Ascot last month, with France and Newmarket on the radar.

The daughter of Too Darn Hot broke her maiden at Haydock and was not disgraced in the Albany Stakes at the Royal meeting when fourth behind Karl Burke’s smart Venetian Sun.

But she came out on top on her return to the Berkshire circuit when beating Staya by a length and Palmer is now plotting where to send her next before a trip to the Breeders’ Cup.

The Malpas-based handler said: “We were very pleased with that. She seems to have come out of it in very good order.

“She’s already had four starts. It’s a question of how many more times do we want to run her this season. She’s kind of grown and changed all year and I think she is a filly with a future, I don’t think she is just a two-year-old.

“In my mind there will probably be no more than two more goes this year. She is potentially a filly for the Breeders’ Cup, so that possibly means just one more European run. We want to do everything we can to make sure that’s a winning European run before we go to California.

“In my head I thought maybe the Prix du Calvados (at Deauville on August 24), which is where Simmering went last year after winning the Princess Margaret and I thought that looked quite a nice fit.

“Predicting and reading the ground in France is tricky and she does want top of the ground, but it’s very hot in August in Deauville and it dries out very quickly being by the beach and by the river and we’ll just have to be on weather watch.

“If that didn’t work I thought probably the Rockfel (at Newmarket on September 26) would be an obvious target, it’ll be another month later but the Cambridgeshire meeting tends to throw up quite quick ground, still being relatively early.

“She is in the Moyglare as well. But the Moyglare being that jump to Group One company might be the hardest way to keep her unbeaten, to make sure her next run is a winning one.

“Any Group winning two-year-old from this point of the season onwards, you’re thinking about the Guineas. There’s a lot of water to throw under the bridge between now and then but that’s what we’d like her to be.”

Monday Musings: Wokism

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There was a race at Thirsk on Friday which has given me at least a double pause for thought, although the first of them was barely a pause, just a momentary operational stalls malfunction which brought a ridiculous decision from the course stewards, writes Tony Stafford. Indeed the worst in the history of racing in this and probably any other country.

The 4.35 race was a handicap over 1m4f. Post-race, the stewards stuck their heads together and were satisfied that the berth occupied by the grey, Red Force One, had opened after the others, and declared the horse a non-runner. Presumably they came to that conclusion at least in part as he would not have qualified for any prize money, which he didn’t, finishing tailed off.

I had reason to look at the race a couple of times, still having no clue that anything had been amiss. As the stalls opened, you could see the grey horse was a stride or so behind the others at the outset, ambled along for the first 20 strides easily into the leading group and after a furlong was right in the hunt.

Flat racers probably go around 30 strides to a furlong, so somewhere near 360 strides in a mile and a half race. Thus, if he was inconvenienced at all by the blink of an eye slower exit, it represented one of the 360 strides of the race – 0.28% of the full distance. No wonder he was a non-runner!

Would the stewards still have declared him thus if he had won the £5k plus first prize or even been placed? Wokism, or rather Jokism. Racing is going to the dogs if we have people like these administering the Rules in this way.

The race itself threw up a winner for my great friend Wilf Storey, 85 I believe and still going strong, or rather, strongish, given that the stable strength at Grange Farm stables, Muggleswick is down to a handful. But the team with granddaughter Siobhan Doolan also to the fore, had five wins last year and now two this season, both with the ex-Charlie Fellowes filly Idyllic, from just 13 runs.

I went to see the then three-year-old after Siobhan had successfully bid 9,000gns for her at Newmarket’s HIT sale last backend. Once a winner for Fellowes from ten runs after her 62k yearling purchase, she is by Bated Breath, who stands at £8,000 at Juddmonte, so was hardly excessively priced when Siobhan pounced.

But here comes my bone of contention. She was ridden with rare judgment, strength and skill by the 3lb claiming Paula Muir, who after Friday has ten more wins to go before she loses her claim. If you seem to think Scots lass Paula has been around for a while still to be claiming, you would be right.

In the two years 2018 and 2019 she rode first 22 winners from 216 rides and then 15 from 257. So far this year, she has had the grand total of 13 rides. That’s right, 13, coincidentally the same number as Wilf has sent out with the same horse providing both successes. And ten of those have been for Wilf, who also contributed five of last year’s seven victories, although she did have a more credible 82 rides in 2024.

Chatting to Wilf after the win, he said, “I can’t understand it. Here’s a girl who had had more than 1,000 career rides and now 85 wins. She does a light weight, and she’s really strong and can claim 3lb, yet she can’t get a ride.”

Wilf told me she rides out for Kevin Ryan. “I understand it’s usually on the difficult ones, or those two-year-olds coming up for a first run. She gets a fair bit of knocking about and told me she might pack it all in at the end of the season.”

Investigating this apparent statistical oddity I found that, apart from the ten rides for Storey, she has had one each for another Durham handler in David Thompson - a horse that won its previous race but was 4th of eight when she rode it and did not keep the mount next time, Barry Murtagh and Ryan. Murtagh put her on a 150/1 chance which ran entirely to expectations finishing last of 15 while Kevin Ryan entrusted her with a 50/1 debutant that again didn’t confound the betting market in last of eight.

Before Saturday, Ryan had sent out 40 winners this year from 308 runners, with 33 individual winners from the 94 horses he had raced. You might have thought he could have found her a ride or two more with chances of doing something. A win for his powerful stable would undoubtedly give Paula’s career that little bit of help she needs to help push her back into the limelight.

Every horse she rides gets a proper go as you will see if you watch the video of Friday’s win. Having got Idyllic back on terms with the favourite Ancient Myth, ridden by Mark Winn (ten wins from 138 rides this year) for David O’Meara, that had swept past her at the furlong pole, she pushed her mount back on terms and, confidently with hands and heels, took control for a comfortable neck win.

As I said, watch the race and tell me why she shouldn’t be riding every day of the week rather than the twice a month of 2025. It was planned for her to renew her acquaintance with last year’s dual winner Edgewater Drive at Ayr today, but the ground has dried up too much for him.

Back to Idyllic. Having raced at 1m3f in her previous three races, Idyllic was now up another furlong at Thirsk. Somehow the Wilf Storey horses, especially the females, over the many years of his career and our friendship, always seemed to become more stamina oriented as they developed. It will not shock me to see Idyllic winning over even two miles later in the year.

**

Admittedly, the five-runner field that divvied up the best part of £1.5 million for the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot on Saturday, did comprise a field of Group 1 horses. But it left a sour taste that 2023 St Leger winner Continuous – tailed off after playing a significant role in the majority of the race - could cop forty grand for last place as the Aidan O’Brien second-string. It was £110k for a below-par Jan Brueghel, Coolmore’s number one, in fourth. It would be understandable if most racegoers found that to be money hardly well spent.

Ascot’s Nick Smith did his best to justify this 20% rise from last year’s figure which meant that Francis-Henri Graffard, who won both races, last year with 25/1 shot Goliath and now with 11/10 favourite Calandagan, is well over £1.5 million in stable earnings from the two victories.

The obvious rejoinder to Smith’s case was the standing still in money of many other races around Ascot from top to bottom level. This race is the jewel in the course’s crown, but it is no coincidence, that neither winner will ever be on show in their own country’s biggest event, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in October, from which geldings are excluded.

One who will presumably have booked her place having finished runner-up only a length behind the winner is the Andrew Balding-trained filly, four-year-old Kalpana, who looked sure to win when Oisin Murphy sent her past the one-paced Jan Brueghel. He, with Continuous, did not help Rebels Romance’s cause as the second string raced on leader Jan Brueghel’s girth until the action heated up in the straight.

Ascot is legion for trouble in running up its short straight even in small fields. That seems absurd given the wide expanse of the track – two handicaps on Saturday were scheduled to field 22-runner races and there were little noticeable hard-luck stories in them. At the Royal meeting, some handicaps accommodate 32 runners. The Godolphin horse was the one that was hamstrung as Kalpana sneaked through between horses and Calandagan came widest of all after lobbing along in last place for the first ten furlongs of the race.

Calandagan clearly found Ascot an easier track to handle than Epsom where Jan Brueghel beat him narrowly in the Coronation Cup. If he didn’t already have it with a series of previous near-misses at the top level, it was cemented that day at Epsom in which he earned the reputation among many (including me) of being a little wimpish.

There was no sign of a wimp from him now though, as he followed up an easy Group 1 score in France last time by reeling in Kalpana, unlike those Thirsk stewards the day before. The BHA should announce an investigation and with seemingly no possible argument to the contrary, turf out the culprits!

- TS

Graffard ‘never had any doubts’, as Calandagan shows his true colours

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If there was any doubt about Calandagan’s resolution in a battle, then his King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes tussle with Kalpana firmly answered the question.

Narrowly beaten in four top-level contests since scoring at Royal Ascot last summer, some had looked at the four-year-old’s thirst for victory as a reason why the talented son of Gleneagles was yet to strike at the highest level.

Francis-Henri Graffard never had any doubts and although relief may have been the overriding emotion when Calandagan opened his Group One account in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud last month, this was a moment of sweet vindication for the Aga Khan team who have stood steadfast behind their star middle-distance performer.

“I never had any doubts about his willingness to win and every time he has been beaten he has had excuses,” said Graffard.

“He was really far back in the Juddmonte International and he quickened really strongly, just too late, and in Dubai he again finished strongly when beaten by a very good horse. At Epsom, I had plenty of excuses, but I could never say it was because he didn’t want to try.

“Mickael (Barzalona) knows him better now and he loves good ground and the mile-and-a-half distance. I think there can’t be any more doubt about his willingness to win.”

Having caused a 25-1 shock with Goliath 12 months ago, Graffard this time had the 11-10 favourite on his side and a horse who could quite rightfully class Ascot as his second home.

A regular at British passport control, he once again displayed his liking for crossing the Channel, this time around taking home £850,650 after Barzalona delivered his mount with precision to deny Andrew Balding’s top-class filly.

Graffard added: “I thought the filly might have got away and when she quickened I thought ‘oh my god, I’m going to be beaten a neck again’.

“But Mickael said he was waiting and he really helped him to balance. He said the last 200 metres are long here and he knew he was going to catch her.

“The way he can quicken is very impressive, he’s a very good horse and now we know whatever tactics the opposition have we can be competitive in these top races.”

For Graffard, a second win in one of the season’s key contests cements his position as one of the leading trainers in the world.

Having shown himself to be a powerhouse on home soil, he is now proving it on the global stage, again displaying his willingness to venture into enemy territory and make a daring raid on the spoils.

“I love the sport and competition and when you have a top horse in good form, I think it is important to challenge yourself against the best possible opposition,” said Graffard.

“That is how you can really level-up the quality of your horses and English racing is so strong. I came to Royal Ascot with a really strong team of horses and left disappointed, so it is not easy. When you win, it makes it even more joyful.

“The season has been very strong for me so far, we’re just starting the second half now and I’ve just had a week off to recharge and the stats have been very strong for the stable, so we need to keep bringing the winners and we are working very hard.”

By emulating the achievement of countryman Maurice Zilber – trainer of 1973 and 1974 winner Dahlia – he has now done what many of his contemporaries, including even the great Andre Fabre, have so far failed to achieve.

Dahlia and Zilber were of course thwarted in ‘the race of the century’ when seeking a King George hat-trick 50 years ago.

But on the day next year’s Ascot feature was boosted to a swelling £2million prize-pot, the lure of one of the sport’s greatest races is sure to prove a tempting proposition once again.

“Hopefully. It’s an amazing race and I’m not sure why it is not on the agenda for more horses and stables,” said Graffard when asked about seeking a third win in the race.

“It’s a fantastic race and of course you don’t just come for the prize-money. If my horses are in good form I would definitely come back again.”