3 minute read
Even allowing for the rain on the two opening days of Royal Ascot 2019, the iconic event has not disappointed with some marvelous achievements to date.
TUESDAY
The best day of the week for aficionados, with three cracking G1s. The weather got worse as the afternoon progressed, but the racing was as fabulous as ever.
The much anticipated rematch between Blue Point and Battaash in the King's Stand was the highlight for many.
The result was the same, but the manner in which it was achieved was quite different, for Godolphin's Blue Point, who arrived late last year, was always forcing it this time. He reappears in today's Diamond Jubilee in a bid to emulate Choisir, whose double in 2003 opened the floodgates for Australian challengers.
There was drama in the opening Queen Anne when last year's winner Accidental Agent planted himself in the stalls, leaving his connections - and backers - wondering what might have been, as Lord Glitters, whom he had beaten in 2018, came from last to first for David O'Meara and Danny Tudhope.
It was a minor shock when the supplemented Derby sixth Circus Maximus beat King Of Comedy and last year's champion two-year-old Too Darn Hot in the St James's Palace Stakes, but Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore, who had already won the G2 Coventry with Arizona, didn't seem too surprised.
WEDNESDAY
Frankie Dettori and Sir Michael Stoute lit up a miserably wet afternoon when Crystal Ocean took the G1 Prince Of Wales's Stakes, but there was disappointment for William Haggas and Blue Point's rider James Doyle when last year's Arc runner-up Sea Of Class failed to handle conditions and trailed in a well-beaten fifth.
Compensation awaited for Haggas when Move Swiftly took the G2 Duke Of Cambridge, ridden by Tudhope, who had also ridden the stable's Listed Wolferton Stakes winner Addeybb on Tuesday and so moved briefly to the top of the jockeys' standings.
THURSDAY
As memorable a Royal Ascot afternoon as many could remember, with the sun shining at last and Frankie Dettori putting on a bravura show that for a while threatened to eclipse even his 'Magnificent Seven' at the late September meeting of 1996.
With an increasing sense of inevitability Dettori won race after race - on A'Aili in the G2 Norfolk, Sangarius in the G3 Hampton Court Stakes, Star Catcher in the G2 Ribblesdale Stakes and Stradivarius in the G1 Gold Cup.
The 'awesome foursome' combined at odds of 449/1 and had bookmakers running for cover, and while Harry Bentley came to their rescue when 28/1 chance Biometric beat Dettori's mount Turgenev in the Britannia, the Italian gave them a huge scare by leading until well inside the final furlong.
If the excitement over Dettori overshadowed Stradivarius' achievement as a back-to-back Gold Cup winner it shouldn't have done. In overcoming traffic problems to beat Dee Ex Bee, the five-year-old confirmed himself one of the great stayers of modern times.
FRIDAY
Hayley Turner stole a big slice of Dettori's limelight when her 33/1 win on Thanks Be in the Sandringham Handicap bridged a 32-year chasm for females since Gay Kelleway won the Queen Alexandra on Sprowston Boy.
There was no keeping Dettori out of the news however, as his G1 Commonwealth Cup success on Martyn Meade's Advertise took him to seven winners for the week, equalling his previous best of 1998 with a day to go.
There was no fluke about the 20/1 success of Watch Me in the G1 Coronation Stakes, as she beat dual 1,000 Guineas winner Hermosa in style for Francis-Henri Graffard and former French champion Pierre-Charles Boudot.
She was impressive, but not quite so impressive as Derby third Japan for O'Brien and Moore in the G2 King Edward VII Stakes. Japan could be the best three-year-old colt we've seen this season and looks a worthy contender for next month's King George VI and Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes back at Ascot.
