Acclamation | Horse Racing Free Tips

My Sister Nat To Defend Her Title In Sunday’s Fasig-Tipton Waya

Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown will send out defending champ My Sister Nat along with Orglandes in Sunday's Grade 3, $300,000 Fasig-Tipton Waya, an 11-furlong inner turf test for fillies and mares, at Belmont Park.

The Fasig-Tipton Waya, slated as Race 8, is part of a lucrative 10-race card that includes the Grade 1, $400,000 Frizette [Race 9], a one-turn mile for 2-year-old fillies offering a “Win and You're In” berth to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies; and the Grade 2, $200,000 Pilgrim [Race 4], a 1 1/16-mile turf test for juveniles. First post on Sunday is 1 p.m. Eastern.

Brown will seek his fifth career Waya win and third straight following scores with Goldy Espony [2015], Guapaza [2016], Fools Gold [2019] and My Sister Nat, who captured the 2020 renewal traveling 12-furlongs on the inner turf last August at Saratoga to secure her first win in North America.

A Group 3 winner at Longchamp in her native France, the Peter Brant-owned 6-year-old Acclamation bay joined Brown in 2019 and made her first three starts against optional claiming company before finishing a late-closing second beaten a neck in the Grade 3 Long Island at Aqueduct.

Following her Waya score, My Sister Nat closed to finish second last year in both the Grade 2 Glens Falls at the Spa and the Grade 1 Flower Bowl Invitational at Belmont, finishing a head short of Civil Union.

My Sister Nat enters from a closing third in the Grade 1 Flower Bowl on September 4 at Saratoga where she encountered traffic trouble behind stablemate American Bridge while rallying from last-of-6 to finish 2 1/4-lengths back of War Like Goddess.

Brown said the talented bay, who has hit the board in 3-of-4 starts this year, is training well towards her title defense.

“I certainly love the way she's training and I don't think she got a good trip last time. I felt this filly could have been a lot closer at the finish,” Brown said. “She kind of ran into the other horse we ran [American Bridge], who was sort of in her way when she wanted to make her move on the inside and it really cost her a couple lengths of momentum. At least she could have been closer and made it a little bit more of a race at the end.”

Although My Sister Nat has yet to win on the Belmont turf [6-0-2-3], Brown said he expects a good showing.

“She really runs good here. She's had a couple unlucky trips,” Brown said. “She got beat a head in the Flower Bowl, arguably one of her best races. I love her on Belmont's course.”

Brown said a good effort Sunday could propel My Sister Nat to a start in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf in November at Del Mar.

“If she can go over there and really put in a strong performance and her number comes back legitimate and it looks like she has a shot in there, I'd love to make her final start in the Breeders' Cup, if we can,” Brown said.

Bred in France by Ecurie de Monceaux, My Sister Nat is out of the Galileo mare Starlet's Sister, who produced 2018 Champion Turf Mare Sistercharlie as well as 2019 Group 1 French Derby winner Sottsass.

Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables and Michael J. Caruso's Orglandes, a 5-year-old Le Havre bay, will make her third start of the campaign following sixth-place finishes in both the Grade 2 Sheepshead Bay in May at Belmont and the Grade 2 Glens Falls in August at the Spa.

Last year, the French-bred mare won 2-of-3 starts, including a score in the 11-furlong Grade 3 Red Carpet Handicap in November at Del Mar.

Brown said Orglandes has demonstrated a return to form recently in her morning training.

“Orglandes is a horse that really didn't come back into form this year. I've been disappointed with her,” Brown said. “She's come back this last month and is rounding back into form in her works after I thought maybe we had lost the year with her. I gave her a little breather and I really like the way she's turned it around in her works.”

Brown said a good effort Sunday could see Orglandes target the Grade 3, $400,000 Long Island, a 12-furlong turf test on November 27 at the Big A.

“She got to contend with a layoff now and going that far, but I'm just looking for a positive effort with her, something I can use to the end of the year to get me into the Long Island,” Brown said.

Jose Ortiz will pilot My Sister Nat from the outermost post 7, while Orglandes will emerge from post 4 under Irad Ortiz, Jr.

Christophe Clement will saddle a pair of formidable contenders in R Unicorn Stable's Call Me Love and Moyglare Stud Farm's Beautiful Lover.

Call Me Love, a 5-year-old chestnut daughter of Sea the Stars, won the Group 3 Premio Verziere Memorial Aldo Cirla at San Siro and the Group 2 Premio Lydia Tesio at Capannelle in 2019 in Italy.

Transferred to Clement for her 4-year-old season, Call Me Love hit the board in both the Grade 3 Beaugay at Belmont and the Grade 2 Ballston Spa at Saratoga last year, before securing her first North American stakes triumph in the 12-furlong River Memories on July 11 at Belmont.

Call Me Love enters from a distant seventh in the Grade 3 Glens Falls.

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Beautiful Lover, a 5-year-old Arch bay, captured the 2019 Boiling Springs at 1 1/16-miles on the Monmouth turf in the care for former conditioner Chad Brown. Transferred to Clement for her current campaign, the multiple graded-stakes placed dark bay finished fifth in the Distaff Turf in March at Tampa Bay Downs ahead of a neck win last out over next-out winner Miss Teheran in a 1 1/16-mile optional-claiming event June 27 on the Belmont turf.

Out of the Quiet American mare American Skipper, Beautiful Lover is a half-sister to New York-bred graded-stakes winning millionaire Zivo.

Manny Franco will pilot Call Me Love from post 5, while Joel Rosario will guide Beautiful Lover from post 6.

Repole Stable homebred Always Shopping, a 5-year-old Awesome Again mare trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, is a graded-stakes winner on dirt and turf.

The versatile bay captured the nine-furlong Grade 2 Gazelle in 2019 on the Big A main track and added a victory in the 11-furlong Grade 3 Orchid in March on the Gulfstream Park turf.

Always Shopping will stretch out from a two-month layoff out of a fifth-place finish in the nine-furlong Grade 3 Matchmaker on July 17 at Monmouth Park.

“We shortened her up in distance where she's not at her best and we're bringing her back at a mile and three eighths. Hopefully, she can regain her best form,” Pletcher said.

Ricardo Santana, Jr. has the call from post 2.

Rounding out the field are Lovely Lucky [post 1, Dylan Davis] and Sister Otoole [post 3, Luis Saez].

The Waya is named in honor of Peter Brant and George Strawbridge Jr.'s champion turf mare, who was a four-time Grade 1 winner in the United States. Waya was a multiple stakes winner in her native France before moving to the United States, where she won six of her nine starts, including against males in the Grade 1 Man o' War in 1978, and was named Champion Older Mare the following year.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the fall meet at Belmont Park on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont Park, and the best way to bet every race of the fall meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

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The Weekly Wrap: Full Mark’s For Top Colt

A fortnight to go, apparently, until England casts aside all restrictions following the 16-month weirdness of the pandemic era. 'Freedom day', as it has been dubbed by those of Boris Johnson's government who are not currently serving time on the naughty step, has unfortunately not come in time for the regular 'July week' festivities in Newmarket. There will be racing with a reduced crowd and a sale taking place pretty much as normal, but without any of the parties and stallion parades that have become the staple of the town's midsummer highlight. As long as there's still an ice-cream stall at Tattersalls this week the bloodstock press bench will be happy.

It is fervently hoped that Ireland is granted similar freedom by its government before too long, for in our own small world the ongoing uncertainty regarding dates and locations of the yearling sales, in particular the Orby, is not helpful at all. The conflicting press releases of last week first clarified then muddied the situation and as much as it provides ongoing headaches for the sales companies, it can also be no fun for the consignors currently trying to line up staff for the season.

The past week's highlight came of course in the Coral-Eclipse, courtesy of the increasingly admirable St Mark's Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}). Last season's champion 2-year-old and the second Classic winner bred by Bob Scarborough from the Galileo (Ire) mare Cabaret (Ire), the colt was apparently oblivious to the lofty, globetrotting reputations of Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) and Addeybb (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) as he strode past them up the Sandown hill. A potential rematch in the Juddmonte International is a thrilling prospect, as is the potential battle between Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}) and Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) in the Sussex S.

It seems crazy to think that up until this weekend there had been the pervading feeling that Aidan O'Brien was having something of a quiet season. He had by that stage won six European Classics, which is hardly slacking, but the overturning of talking horses High Definition (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Santa Barbara (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) and Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), the latter managing just seventh in the Derby as the lone Ballydoyle runner, exacerbated that impression.

We've come to expect the Ballydoyle colts to dominate, but so far this year the stable has been largely carried by the fillies. Love (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) made a sensational belated return at Royal Ascot and she is backed up by a strong Classic generation that includes the mightily impressive Oaks winner Snowfall (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), English and Irish 1000 Guineas winners Mother Earth (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) and Empress Josephine (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), and Prix de Diane heroine Joan Of Arc (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).

That is, of course, apart from St Mark's Basilica, who emulated Shamardal, Lope De Vega (Ire) and Brametot (Ire) in winning both the Poule d'Essai des Poulains and Prix du Jockey Club since the latter was reduced in distance to 10.5 furlongs in 2005. Beating a pair of seasoned older horses, even in a small field for the Eclipse, puts him to the head of his generation for now, until we see how Poetic Flare fares at Goodwood and Adayar at Ascot, in what could be a King George for the ages.

Also of significance for St Mark's Basilica, whose future lies at Coolmore, will be the early stud careers of his aforementioned half-brother and of Sottsass (Fr), who is bred on the same Siyouni-Galileo cross.

Sweeping The Board

In the mix for the King George among the older brigade is the quiet achiever Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}), who secured a memorable international Group 1 double for Aidan O'Brien over the weekend when landing the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud. The 5-year-old, who became his sire's fourth Group 1 winner, has been a model of consistency this year, winning at each stakes level up to Group 1 since the opening day of the season, as well as being beaten a short-head when second in the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup and finishing runner-up to Wonderful Tonight (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) in the G2 Hardwicke S. at Royal Ascot.

While Australia's season is gathering a head of steam, credit must also be given to Broome's dam Sweepstake (Ire), who was a member of the first crop of Acclamation (GB) and became his second black-type winner in a matter of days when landing the listed National S at Sandown in May 2007.

Though she visited Galileo in 2012, her best results to date have come from her two matings with his son Australia, with Broome's full-brother Point Lonsdale (Ire) adding further lustre to the family by winning the listed Chesham S. The 2-year-old is also the most expensive of her yearlings to have passed through the sales. He was bought at Book 1 last year for 575,000gns, while the mare's 3-year-old Malathaat (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) was a €500,000 purchase by Shadwell from breeder Croom House Stud at the previous year's Orby Sale.

Acclamation's first crop also included Dark Angel (Ire), who became his first group winner and has done more to enhance the line than any of his paternal half-brothers–though he may yet be challenged for that accolade by Mehmas (Ire).

While his male line is thriving, Acclamation is also enjoying a decent season as a broodmare sire. In this field he had three winners at Royal Ascot, with Point Lonsdale being joined by Perotto (GB) (New Bay {GB}) and Rohaan (Ire) (Mayson {GB}), who is to be supplemented for Saturday's G1 Darley July Cup.

High On The Hill

The weekend's results also provided the second stakes winner of the season–in fact, in eight days–for Tiana (GB) (Diktat {GB}), the pride of Fiona and Mick Denniff's broodmare band.

Racing in Fiona's own colours, Tiana's 3-year-old daughter Auria (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}) landed the listed Coral Distaff at Sandown the Saturday after her elder half-sister Chil Chil (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) had won the G3 Chipchase S. The latter will line up again this coming Saturday in the July Cup.

The pair are the second and third stakes winners for their dam following the hugely talented Beat The Bank (GB) (Paco Boy {Ire}), who notched five Group 2 wins as well as a Group 3 and listed success among his nine victories for Andrew Balding. He was also an important first group winner for his late owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha of King Power Racing, who was then emboldened to give 500,000gns for Chil Chil at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

Tiana was herself also bred by Denniff from the second mare she purchased, Hill Welcome (GB), back in 2001. The daughter of Most Welcome (GB) was bought as a 3-year-old at Doncaster having placed just once in seven starts for Barry Hills. Despite an underwhelming race record, she owned a decent pedigree as a half-sister to the G1 Middle Park S. winner Stalker (GB) (Kala Shikari {Fr}), but she was overlooked at the sale by all bar Denniff, who picked her up for just 3,000gns. The breeder will undoubtedly view that sum as money very well spent.

Hill Welcome went on to produce 10 winners from her 12 foals, with the Oh So Sharp S.-placed Tiana being one of three black-type performers along with the G3 Molecomb S. runner-up Mary Read (GB) (Bahamian Bounty {GB}) and the 103-rated Aboyne N Beyond (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}).

Tiana is not the only daughter to have established her own successful branch at the Denniffs' Nottinghamshire farm as Mary Read's treble-winning daughter Dubai Bounty (GB) (Dubai Destination) is the dam of the late Kachy (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}), whose nine wins included the G3 Molecomb S.

Now a black-type winner herself, Auria will be an exciting returnee to Denniff Farms eventually, but her next task looks likely to be the G3 Atalanta S. back at Sandown in August.

Tiana's current 2-year-old by Dubawi (Ire) could broaden the family's success as she is now in America having been bought last October by Mike Ryan. The agent is pleased with her progress and told TDN that she has been given some time to mature before she heads into training this autumn, most likely with Chad Brown.

Breakthrough Success For Isfahan

Sisfahan (Fr) may have been bred in France but he brought about a notable breakthrough for his German-based sire Isfahan (Ger) when emulating his father by winning the G1 Deutsches Derby on Sunday.

It was not only an important first-crop Classic winner for the Gestut Ohlerweierhof stallion but it also makes Isfahan the only one of the second-crop sires in Europe to have been represented by a Group 1 winner this season. Of that group, Mehmas was the only sire to achieve that feat last year.

Isfahan was bought by Holger Faust for owner Stefan Oschmann's Darius Racing for €35,000 at the BBAG Yearling Sale of 2014 and, following a racing career which saw him win the German Derby, G3 Bavarian Classic and G3 Preis der Winterfavoriten, he was retired to stud by the owner. Oschmann has supported Isfahan not just with his own mares but also at the sales, and was last year rewarded with the stallion's first group winner, Isfahani (Ger), who landed the G3 Premio Guido Berardelli in Rome on debut.

Isfahan was the second-busiest stallion after Soldier Hollow (GB) in his first year at stud, but German covering numbers are significantly lower than those recorded by some stallions in Britain, Ireland and France. He covered 67 mares in 2018, followed by 46, then 35 in 2020.

Sisfahan, who is the first winner of Germany's most prized race for the country's champion trainer Henk Grewe, is also yet another feather in the cap of Guy Pariente's Haras de Colleville. Pariente is currently the leading breeder in France–ahead of such luminaries as Wertheimer & Frere and the Aga Khan–and so much of his success rests on his stallion Kendargent (Fr), the broodmare sire of Sisfahan.

Now 18, it is perhaps remarkable that Kendargent only notched a first Group 1 winner this season with Skalleti (Fr), who was also bred by Pariente, as was his Group 2-winning brother Skazino (Fr).

He had, however, already been represented with a top-flight winner as a broodmare sire when Sealiway (Fr) won last season's Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere. That result was doubly pleasing for Pariente as not only was the colt another Haras de Coleville graduate but he is by Kendargent's young stud-mate Galiway (GB).

In France this season, Pariente has already celebrated 38 wins from 65 starters bred at his Normandy farm, which has now also supplied the toast of Germany.

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Acclimate Makes It Look Easy, Takes Marathon San Juan Capistrano For Second Time

As Yogi Berra once famously noted, “It's déjà vu all over again.” Such was the case in the 81st running of the Grade 3, $100,000 San Juan Capistrano Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., as 7-year-old California-bred gelding Acclimate skipped to a 3 ¾-length victory, replicating his gate-to-wire score in the 2019 San Juan. Trained by Phil D'Amato, who collected his third consecutive win in Santa Anita's signature turf marathon, Acclimate was ridden by Ricky Gonzalez, who coaxed 1 3/4 miles out of the son of Acclamation in 2:49.74.

With a traditional hillside start, Acclimate went right to the front and had his ears up as he made the dirt crossing at the top of the lane. With a two-length advantage around the clubhouse turn, Acclimate was running easily while pursued by Ward 'n Jerry and Pillar Mountain in the run up the backside.

With three furlongs to run, Gonzalez stepped on the gas, but eventual runner-up Astronaut was about to make an eye-catching run of his own around the far turn. Although he loomed into contention a quarter mile out, Astronaut was unable to sustain his bid and Acclimate made it look easy as he widened his margin late.

“Just get him in front, nice and comfortable is where he likes to be,” said Gonzalez, who had ridden him to a close second place finish going a mile and one quarter on turf in the G2 Charles Whittingham Stakes on May 29. “Just keep the other horses away from him and he's as happy as he could be. I was really happy.

“We barely got beat last time. It was just the head bob, but after the wire he was in front again, so in knew the distance wasn't going to be a problem for him. Today, I'm just relieved that he got it done so easy.”

Off as the 2-1 favorite in a field of six 3-year-olds and up, Acclimate paid $6.00, $3.80 and $2.60.

Bred by Old English Rancho and Sal and Patsy Berumen, Acclimate is out of the Boundary mare Knows No Bounds. He is owned by the Ellwood Johnston Family Trust, Timmy Time Racing, LLC and Ken Tevelde and had been winless since winning the G2 Del Mar Handicap nine starts back on Aug. 17, 2019. With his third graded stakes win in-hand, Acclimate is now 25-7-4-4 and with the winner's share of $60,000, increased his earnings to $557,872.

“This horse, he's been through the highs and lows and he's bounced back,” said an emotional D'Amato, Santa Anita's leading trainer with 50 wins, 15 of them stakes, second to Bob Baffert's 17 stakes victories. “He's just an old warrior and he gave it his all today. It's just a beautiful thing to watch. … Ricky did a masterful job of maintaining the distance and setting those comfortable fractions to have enough horse left. It's a credit to him and the horse. To dial those fractions in the way he did, Ricky rode like a seasoned veteran at this distance.

“The San Juan Capistrano was my favorite race growing up. When I was a kid coming to the races, this is the race I always came to see. I thought this was an “A” performance for him today and this is a horse I would target for the Del Mar Handicap. He has been lightly raced. We gave him a short break and he has come back better than ever.”

Off at 8-1 with Victor Espinoza up, Astronaut finished 1 ¼ lengths in front of 2020 San Juan winner Red King and paid $8.20 and $4.20 while off at 8-1.

Trained by D'Amato and ridden by Umberto Rispoli, Red King was the second choice at 2-1 and paid $2.40 to show while finishing three lengths in front of Ward 'n Jerry.

Fractions on the race were 48.19, 1:11.56, 1:35.48 and 2:00.30.

With four stakes on tap, first post time for an 11-race card on closing day Sunday is at 1 p.m. PT. There will be mandatory payouts in all exotic wagers, including the 20 cent Rainbow Pick Six, which has a Jackpot carryover of $188,751 heading into tomorrow.

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A Royal Line Thriving

Near the entrance to The Royal Studs at Sandringham is a magnificent bronze commemorating the Prince of Wales's homebred Persimmon (GB) (St Simon {GB}), whose racing record highlights the fact that things were done a little differently back in the 1890s. Very differently, in fact.

The Coventry S. winner of 1895 went on to win the Derby and the St Leger and, kept in training, he returned to Royal Ascot to win the Gold Cup, which had been his principal 4-year-old target.

Exactly a century later, the horse who was prophetically named to triumph at the meeting, Royal Applause (GB) (Waajib {Ire}), landed the Coventry S.–then a Group 3–on his second start and continued unbeaten through his juvenile season, adding victories in the G2 Gimcrack S. and G1 Middle Park S.

The Derby would certainly not have been on the mind of Royal Applause's trainer Barry Hills, who was correct in his publicly-aired doubts following the Middle Park that his colt would even see out the mile of the 2000 Guineas. A son of the 1988 Queen Anne S. winner Waajib, himself representing Try My Best's branch of Northern Dancer's male dynasty, Royal Applause has a thoroughly speedy bottom line which prevailed not just in his own genetic make-up but also in his precociously fast elder sister Lyric Fantasy (Ire) (Tate Gallery). Known as the 'Pocket Rocket', she became the first 2-year-old filly to win the G1 Nunthorpe S. in its then 70-year history in 1992.

With her own triumph at the Royal Meeting coming in a record-breaking romp in the Queen Mary S., Lyric Fantasy prompted the transfer of her dam Flying Melody (GB) (Auction Ring) to the broodmare band of Sheikh Maktoum Al Maktoum's Gainsborough Stud while carrying Royal Applause. If he'd been born these days, Royal Applause would have been an obvious candidate for the G1 Commonwealth Cup at Ascot but, having finished tenth in the 2000 Guineas, he was then sixth to Pivotal (GB) in the G2 King's Stand S. and managed just one win that season in a conditions race at Doncaster.

Happily, the imperious nature of his debut season was recaptured at four, with Royal Applause adding the Cammidge Trophy and G3 Duke of York S. to his winning record before landing the G3 Cork and Orrery S. back at Royal Ascot. The following year the race was upgraded to Group 2 status before becoming a Group 1 with a name change in 2002 to make the Golden Jubilee. Currently known as the Diamond Jubilee S., the race will presumably undergo a further rebranding to mark The Queen's Platinum Jubilee next year.

Sent off as favourite for the G1 July Cup, Royal Applause couldn't match the finishing burst of 50/1 outsider Compton Place (GB), but he bounced out of his second place at Newmarket to land his second Group 1 success in the Haydock Sprint Cup, prevailing by a length and a quarter over Danetime (Ire).

One hundred years after Persimmon retired to stud, Royal Applause made his way to Sandringham, replacing the retiring Derby winner Shirley Heights (GB) on the royal roster. He lives there still in retirement, at the age of 28 but looking a decade younger, with his last two registered foals having been born in 2017. In 19 crops, he only hit the 100-mark five times, with his 110 foals of 2006 being his largest output. But nevertheless, Royal Applause is becoming an increasingly significant influence in a modern-day breeding world which values precocity over more Classic attributes, notwithstanding the fact that speed is a vital component of a top-class racehorse irrespective of the distance at which he competes.

The GI American Oaks and GI Queen Elizabeth Challenge Cup winner Ticker Tape (GB) remains Royal Applause's sole winner at the top level. Battle Of Hastings and Whatsthescript also excelled in America, and they are two of his nine Group/Grade 2 winners, along with Acclamation (GB), his stand-out son from his first crop, who is doing most to keep the line not just alive but thriving.

Almost a quarter of the field for Tuesday's Coventry S. are male-line descendants of Royal Applause, the quartet being by his grandsons Dark Angel (Ire) and Mehmas (Ire), both by Acclamation. Another of the latter's sons, the late Harbour Watch (Ire), was responsible for an unusual double on Oaks day when Pyledriver (GB) won the G1 Coronation Cup at Epsom and Baron Samedi (GB) claimed the GII Belmont Gold Cup in New York.

Acclamation and Dark Angel will of course both be well represented this week, and more notably so will last season's record-breaking freshman sire Mehmas, who has maintained his lead in the second-crop sires' table and has eight group entries at Royal Ascot. Dark Angel has a growing number of sons at stud, with freshman Birchwood (Ire) currently topping the list for 2-year-old winners in France. It's not hard to imagine that sons of Mehmas will soon follow.

Another of Acclamation's sons, the dual G1 King's Stand S. winner Equiano (Fr), has recently moved to the Irish National Stud but has played his own part in extending the success of this line at the Royal Meeting in particular through the G1 Diamond Jubilee S. winner The Tin Man (GB). Equiano is also the sire of GI Breeders' Cup Turf sprint winner Belvoir Bay (GB).

Birchwood is not the sole representative of Dark Angel's branch in France as Gutaifan (Ire) is now at that country's most reliable source of fast horses, Alain Chopard's Haras des Faunes. The July Cup winner Lethal Force (Ire) is another to have relocated and is now at Haras de Grandcamp, while his smart juvenile son and G1 Commonwealth Cup winner Golden Horde (Ire) is at Haras de Montfort et Preaux under Nurlan Bizakov's Sumbe banner.

A reliable broodmare sire, Royal Applause also features in that category for the young stallions Blue Point (Ire) (Shamardal), Adaay (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) and Cappella Sansevero (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), and for the G3 Winter Derby winner Forest Of Dean (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}), who is set to run in Tuesday's Wolferton S.

As Royal Applause himself closes in on his third decade, he lives in splendour at Sandringham, alternating between the stallion box he has inhabited since 1998 and his sizeable paddock within the shelter of the walled garden.

His eyes are as bright as they have ever been, and if his slightly flat, unshod feet don't relish a momentarily rough surface, as soon as he's on the grass he walks with a swagger indicative of the supreme athlete that he once was. Best of all though is his temperament. There's not an ounce of sourness in the old stallion.

“He's never been the type of horse who has to have the same person look after him,” says David Somers, manager of The Royal Studs. “Everyone here loves him because he's so easy, he's an absolute gentleman.”

The esteemed old gentleman is no longer troubled by the hubbub of a race meeting or the covering shed in his quiet corner of Norfolk. His excitement these days is in working out which of his visitors has a packet of Polos in their pocket. But there will be plenty of royal applause ringing out at Ascot this week, and no doubt some of it will once again be for his descendants. Long may they run, and long may he reign.

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