The Major Talking Points From Day Four at Royal Ascot

Hard to keep a rider as talented as Frankie Dettori out of the spotlight and, after a difficult start to the royal meeting, the legendary rider answered his critics aboard Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who produced a stunning performance to win the G1 Coronation S.

From Dettori bouncing back to Perfect Power (Ire) (Ardad {Ire}) confirming himself one of the fastest horses in training, in doing so sparking debate about where he may stand as a stallion, Brian Sheerin discusses some of the main talking points from another hugely entertaining afternoon's racing at Royal Ascot.

Inspiral Another Cheveley Park Superstar

What's the first thing you think about when Cheveley Park is mentioned? Most likely it's outstanding racemares.

From Russian Rhythm (Kingmambo) and Nannina (GB) (Medicean {GB}) to Echelon (GB) (Danehill) and more recently Integral (GB) (Dalakhani {Ire}), the list of high-class racemares to carry the stud's renowned red, white and blue silks has been nothing short of phenomenal.

Add Inspiral to that list. The G1 Coronation S. had been billed as one of the races of the week with the G1 1000 Guineas winner, the G1 French 1000 Guineas scorer and a GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf heroine in the line-up, but Inspiral stamped her authority on the field.

The only filly missing from the line-up was Dermot Weld's brilliant G1 Irish 1000 Guineas winner Homeless Songs (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), who missed the royal meeting due to unsuitably quick ground.

It will be fascinating to see if Homeless Songs and Inspiral lock horns between now and the end of the season, although John Gosden did suggest the latter could well step up in trip.

Regardless of where she goes next, Inspiral looks as though she will be very hard to beat and is another top-class racemare for Cheveley Park Stud to look forward to.

And what about the rider? Frankie Dettori had endured a hellish week up until the Coronation S. but trusted his instincts aboard Inspiral and class came to the fore.

Let's not forget the performance of Spendarella (Karakontie {Jpn}), either. She may have lost her unbeaten record to Inspiral but, if anything, enhanced her reputation in defeat.

Trained by American-based handler Graham Motion, who sent out Sharing (Speightstown) to fill the same spot in this race in 2020, Spendarella ran a cracking race and is a hugely exciting filly in her own right.

Fellow American raider Pizza Bianca (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), owned by Bobby Flay and trained by Christophe Clement, didn't enjoy the clearest passage and never threatened back in eighth.

The attraction of Royal Ascot is underpinned by international competition and the American fillies played a major part in what will go down as a memorable race.

 A Perfect Fit For Power?

It is hard to believe that the G1 Commonwealth Cup was first run in 2015. In eight short years, the race has become one of the foremost stallion-making contests in Europe, with Muhaarar (GB), Caravaggio and more recently Advertise (GB) featuring among the list of winners.

Perfect Power will be in-demand as a stallion after his dazzling display in this year's edition of the race. However, the question remains, where will he stand?

A dual Group 1 winner at two, Perfect Power carried over that brilliance to his 3-year-old campaign, bouncing back from his G1 2000 Guineas defeat to prove himself one of the fastest horses in training.

There will be any number of suitors for Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum's talented sprinter for a stud career.

Given Tally-Ho bred Perfect Power, and the County Westmeath operation's modus operandi is to stand speedy stallions, they may well be the favourites to sign Richard Fahey's star. Time will tell.

Spencer Rolls The Big Dice

Richard Spencer, best known for sending out Rajasinghe (Ire) (Choisir {Aus}) to win the G2 Coventry S. in 2017, was rewarded for rolling the big dice with Ivory Madonna (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) in the G3 Albany S.

Picked up for 150,000gns at the Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up Sale in April, Ivory Madonna ran with credit when third on her only start at Goodwood.

Spencer clearly felt his filly was capable of much better, and was vindicated by running her in the opener on Friday, as Ivory Madonna belied her inexperience to stay on for third, picking up valuable black-type in the process.

She should be a shoo-in to break her maiden status and looks a promising filly for connections.

A Proper Ascot Pedigree

The style in which Candleford (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) landed the G2 Duke Of Edinburgh S. would suggest William Haggas has a Pattern-class performer on his hands.

One might think that Haggas, one of the finest practitioners of his craft, thought as much given he sat on a mark of 91 and charted a path to Royal Ascot without the benefit of a prep race with the gelding.

It proved an inspired decision, with Candleford pulling six lengths clear at the winning line, in doing so, bolstering his family's fine record at the track.

Candleford's half-brother Atty Persse (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) won the King George V S. at the royal meeting in 2017 and was second on his only other start at the track.

Speaking of Ascot-loving families, the Jessica Harrington-trained Discoveries (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) had a hard act to follow in the G1 Coronation S. given her sister Alpha Centauri (Ire) and half-sister Alpine Star (Ire) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) feature among the roll of honour.

Discoveries ran a hugely respectable race to finish third, looking much more comfortable on a flat track like Ascot than she did at Newmarket in the 1000 Guineas, and there should be more to come from her this season.

And let's not forget Ivory Madonna for this segment, who we have already mentioned, as her dam Clem Fandango (Fr) (Elzaam {Aus}) finished third in the G2 Queen Mary S. in 2016.

Magnier Makes An Important Appearance

John Magnier made an increasingly rare appearance at Royal Ascot on Friday but for good reason.

The Coolmore boss, who hasn't been seen on a racecourse for some time, made the hugely significant trip to the royal meeting to see Meditate (Ire) (No Nay Never) land the G3 Albany S. before Changingoftheguard (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) ran out a fortuitous winner of the G2 King Edward VII S.

That double brought Aidan O'Brien's tally of Royal Ascot winners to 80, an amazing achievement, and one that went some way to explaining Magnier's presence on the day.

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Bobby Flay: ‘Royal Ascot is the Pinnacle for Me’

Celebrity chef Bobby Flay is excited to swap his apron for a top hat and tails at Royal Ascot and described his bold bid for G1 Coronation S. glory with Breeders' Cup-winning homebred Pizza Bianca (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) as “an experience of a lifetime.”

The Coronation S. has been the main aim for Pizza Bianca ever since she stormed to victory in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar last November and Flay has said that next week's royal meeting is the pinnacle.

“I feel like I have won already just by participating in a race like this,” the television star told TDN Europe on Thursday. “It's one of the things that I love about this game, being able to participate in big races, and no matter what, we are going to have a great time.

   “We have big races at home in our back yard worth a lot of money but Ascot is the experience of a lifetime and we're so excited,” – Bobby Flay

“Royal Ascot is the pinnacle for me. The pageantry of it all, the quality of the horses, the food and beverage, the building itself and the royal family. It has everything that you could possibly want at a horse racing event.”

Flay didn't become one of the most successful owner-breeders in America by simply wanting to take part. He bought White Hot, a half-sister to G1 Derby winner Pour Moi (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}), for 1.25 million gns out of the 2014 Tattersalls October Book 1 Sale. Pizza Bianca is her first foal.

She has proved an outstanding addition to Flay's broodmare band, which is said to have numbered only 10, with Pizza Bianca flying the flag for the family with that Breeders' Cup success representing an important first for her trainer Christophe Clement.

Flay said, “Christophe is incredibly talented and extremely knowledgeable. He's got a great team and is meticulous. They love what they do and are great communicators. It's been such a fun experience having a horse with him and I was so happy for Christophe to win his first Breeders' Cup race with Pizza Bianca. We have big races at home in our back yard worth a lot of money but Ascot is the experience of a lifetime and we're so excited.”

He added, “Pizza Bianca has an incredibly rich pedigree and it's mostly European. To be able to showcase her talents on the biggest stage in Europe is a privilege. I have 10 mares. The philosophy behind the operation is that we try to breed the best to the best. We try and leave mediocre to the side and everything we breed is of a very high quality.

“My bloodstock agent, James Delahooke, is a bit of a legend in European racing and helped create a lot of the good Juddmonte families. If you look through some of their great horses, James would have picked out the third or the fourth dams in the pedigree, so having somebody who can see into the future is a huge help.”

Flay has surrounded himself with some of the brightest minds in racing in order to give himself a fighting chance of succeeding but he does a lot of the matings himself and selected Fastnet Rock for White Hot, with the resulting foal turning out to be the now famous Pizza Bianca.

He explained, “Fastnet Rock has been an amazing sire in Australia and when he shuttled to Europe he got a lot of good horses over there as well. Galileo might be the best sire of all time but, the problem with him is, he has a lot of sons at stud. When you have a Galileo mare, the choices are not there at the highest end, and when I was looking at what stallion to go with for White Hot, Fastnet Rock just seemed like he would be a really good choice.”

Flay added, “He was a very fast racehorse and I felt like White Hot needed some speed. As everyone knows, 95% of these things are guesswork, but one of the things that I really believe in is, if you have a mare with good blood, it will show up at one point. You don't know when, but if you breed well, she is going to produce something special. I just didn't think it would be with her first foal! White Hot has an Uncle Mo colt yearling and a Not This Time colt foal. She is in foal to Into Mischief so hopefully there is a lot to look forward to.

“I spend a lot of time on matings and have a couple of rules that I follow. I don't go to unproven stallions. I just don't do it. When I think about sires in the United States, I think Curlin, Uncle Mo, Quality Road and Into Mischief–the top of the food chain. Not This Time and Constitution, they are going to take the lead at some point, but I am very careful with my breeding choices.”

Not only has Flay enjoyed a great deal of success with Pizza Bianca in recent times, he remains a shareholder in GIII Pimlico Special S. winner First Captain (Curlin), a horse he bred, and recently bought into GI Belmont S. contender We the People (Constitution).

An unrelenting ability to make good and informed decisions has led to Flay's outstanding run of success, according to Clement, who says he is no such believer in luck.

Clement said, “I am a realist and Bobby is an optimist–and thank God he is an optimist because this is a tough game and he has done very well. When I was an assistant trainer for Luca Cumani, we trained horses for Gerald Leigh, and Bobby Flay will be the next Gerald Leigh.

“He has a small broodmare band, is very disciplined, sells his colts well and keeps his mares in  training.”

The trainer added, “The main thing that makes him successful is that he is amazingly disciplined. He has a wonderful broodmare band and you need to give him credit. Many people have tried to do it but not many have done it as well as he has.

“Bobby has surrounded himself with very good people in his own business and in racing as well. He has bought into some of the top pedigrees and is now involved in racing at the top level.

“I don't believe in luck whatsoever and Bobby is successful because he had a good plan and it's working well.”

Flay's yellow and orange silks will be carried by Pizza Bianca in a race that features Homeless Songs (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), representing Moylgare Stud in Ireland, the Cheveley Park-bred Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and a host of Coolmore-bred blue bloods. It may seem daunting, but Flay is relishing the challenge.

He said, “I don't buy a lot of horses because I don't have the resources that some of these people I am competing against have. Some of these people own countries. I mean, they have extreme wealth and can just fire away as they please, but I have to be very clever and save my powder for the moments when something special comes up.

“When White Hot was in the sales, I knew she wasn't going to be cheap, but it's like buying a piece of real estate to me. I would never buy a colt like that. I can't afford to try that. If White Hot was a colt, she'd be worth zero [once she never raced] but, the fact that she's a filly, you still have a chance.

On the race itself, he added, “William Hill has Pizza Bianca at 10-1 but everyone else has her odds at 16-1 so maybe the guys at William Hill took a bet.”

Pizza Bianca is not the only horse that Clement runs at the royal meeting with the rapidly-progressive sprinter Slipstream (More Than Ready) due to line out in the G1 Commonwealth Cup as well.

Speaking about his chances of landing a royal winner at the first attempt at travelling horses to Britain, Clement, who was once based in the United Kingdom, said, “I worked in England for four years as assistant to Luca Cumani and have been lucky enough to train for Her Majesty in America. To have runners at Royal Ascot is a lot of fun and I actually like that they are not favourites.”

He added, “Slipstream was very impressive when he won at Keeneland in April. He has a good mind and has a lot of talent. He is still improving.

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Hammer Blow as Hukum Ruled Out For Season With Leg Fracture

Owen Burrows has been dealt a hammer blow with the news that brilliant G1 Coronation Cup winner Hukum (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) will miss the rest of the season after fracturing his hind leg. 

Hukum made the breakthrough at the highest level when storming to Coronation Cup glory at Epsom on Friday and now his racing career hangs in the balance. 

For Burrows, Friday's win also represented a memorable first at Group 1 level, with the trainer describing the success as “massive” at the time. 

However, just three days after Hukum's greatest day on a racecourse, Angus Gold, racing manager for owners Shadwell Estate, revealed the 5-year-old may never grace the track again.

He said, “He's got a fracture in his hind leg so we've had to put some screws in it. Obviously he'll be out for the rest of this year. It's a shame as he'd just won his first Group 1 with a career-best.

“We haven't got as far as deciding if he will return to training as it's early days. From one point of view he just seemed to be hitting his best form so with that in mind you'd say yes, but at the same time he'll be a back-end 5-year-old this year.”

Gold added, “We haven't had a chance to discuss that and won't make a rushed decision as he'll be in his box for a bit. We'll make a decision on that later in the year.”

“It's a real shame, sadly, especially for Owen as Friday was a huge result for him, but you've got to take the rough with the smooth.”

 

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Oisin Murphy Bounces Back To Win Royal Ascot’s Coronation Stakes On Alcohol Free

On Friday at Royal Ascot, Oisin Murphy bounced back from losing a G1 in the stewards' room by winning the G1 Coronation Stakes 40 minutes later aboard Alcohol Free (11/2).

The Andrew Balding-trained filly was fifth in the QIPCO 1000 Guineas on her latest start, but turned the tables on the winner that day, Mother Earth (9/2), who finished third. Second place went to Snow Lantern (14/1), a length and a half behind the winner.

Alcohol Free – racing in the famous Jeff Smith silks – gave Balding a 109.5/1 Friday Royal Ascot double, and a third winner of the week. Murphy was also scoring for the third time this week, joining Frankie Dettori at the head of the leading jockey standings.

Murphy said: “I didn't get a chance to stress ahead of Alcohol Free. I had a plan and I don't know if Andrew agreed me, but he filled me with confidence when I told him what I was going to do.

“She jumped normal and what worried me was the clerk of the course decided to put the stalls on the far rail. That was fine, but then everyone wants to get to that rail, so it is congested and I was worried it was going to get congested.

“Alcohol Free relaxed, I stayed on the bit for as long as I could and given her pedigree, she was always going to handle the ground.”

On losing the G1 Commonwealth Cup in the stewards' room, Murphy said: “I am disappointed for the connections of Dragon Symbol. There was a massive Japanese interest, he finished the race in front, but it wasn't meant to be.

“I didn't give it much thought, I went in the stewards' room, I told them I was on the best horse, Frankie said I was on the best horse, but it didn't go my way.

“Sorry to the Japanese fans and to Archie Watson's team, and well done to Wesley Ward.”

Speaking about coming out for the Coronation Stakes straight after the outcome of the stewards' enquiry, he added: “I said to my valet when he put his hand around me: 'there's no place for tears in here. There are far worse things going on in the world, we're in the entertainment industry, and I'm steering these marvelous animals and keep looking forward to the next one'.”

Jeff Smith said: “It was very emotional because we felt we were very unlucky in the Guineas and there's only one Guineas.

“The whole team at Kingsclere have just done a wonderful job. They've trained her for this race, after the Guineas, as a specific target and what a delivery. It's just absolutely fabulous.”

Balding said: “Alcohol Free is very classy. We had heavy hearts after Newmarket because it isn't often you go into a Classic expecting to win it. For whatever reason it didn't pan out that day and she was below-par, but she was back to her best today, and she looked pretty good.

“We were a bit concerned when all the rain came, because her stamina wasn't guaranteed, but full credit to Oisin – it's the measure of the man to have the disappointment he had five minutes before they go in the stalls, and to give her such a good ride takes some doing.

“We have worked her at home plenty of times on soft ground, it doesn't inconvenience her and she travels very strongly; it was just whether she would see out the final furlong, and I was very grateful that she really powered home.

“Today was the first time ever she has got some cover, and it's been through ill-luck rather than design that she hasn't before. The slightly awkward draw turned into a really good draw when they started to race down under the trees, and she got some cover and switched off beautifully.

“She did win a G1 last year, so there's never been any doubt about her ability, but she needed a bit of luck and everything to drop right.

“She's in the July Cup and the Sussex Stakes – whether she does both or one I don't know, but I think we'll stick to Britain this year.”

Reflecting on the week so far, Balding added: “This is the reason we do it. We have been looking forward to this meeting and had such high expectations. We had plenty of horses to run here and we thought we should have one winner with the number of horses we've got; two winners is fantastic, but three is cloud nine. We'll have a bit of fun tonight.

“It's great to do it for Jeff Smith – ask any of his trainers: he's loyal, patient and he loves racing. He loves his horses and there is never any pressure; it's just fabulous when any of us can get results for him.”

Trainer Richard Hannon said of Snow Lantern: “Her day will come and she's run a super race. We had a point to prove after York. She is an aeroplane. In terms of what I came here wanting, she's done – she was so much less keen.”

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