Bringing It Back Home In The Platinum Jubilee

Tuesday's G1 King's Stand S. was a reminder, if it was needed, that Antipodean sprinters operate at an elevated level compared to the majority of their European counterparts and the G1 Platinum Jubilee S. which dominates the closing day of Royal Ascot 2022 could serve to underline that. While he may have been lucky to defeat stablemate Nature Strip (Aus) (Nicconi {Aus}) in the Feb. 19 G1 Black Caviar Lightning, Home Affairs (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}) who had earlier captured the G1 Coolmore Stud S. also at Flemington still represents exalted form as he bids to complete a landmark double for Chris Waller.

“I feel with Home Affairs, after his dominant win in the [G1] Coolmore Stud S., that he is very good over 1200 metres provided he settles and we have done a lot of work with him on that,” his trainer explained. “I loved his jump out at Flemington before getting on the plane–he relaxed very quickly which is what he will have to do to win.”

A Match Made In Heaven

Australia also has last year's G1 Blue Diamond hero Artorius (Aus) (Flying Artie {Aus}), who has 3 1/2 lengths to make up on Home Affairs from the Coolmore Stud S. but is tailor-made for this stiff six furlongs. One of the most familiar sights at Royal Ascot is that of Jamie Spencer sitting chilly behind a wall of horses long after most would dare and his unique style appears the perfect accompaniment to this raider.

“He's a hold-up horse who is usually a bit slow out of the boxes and wants a good strong tempo. He's probably more of a 1400-metre horse, but that should hold him in good stead at Ascot,” Sam Freedman said. “His last 100 metres will be excellent, but his problem is that he can give himself too much to do. He always hits the line hard and just needs to stay in touch. Hopefully Jamie can get him out of the gates a bit better and hold a spot a little closer. We went for him for a reason.”

Getting Reacquainted

One of the intriguing factors in the major sprints is the amount of interplay between the protagonists, with such fine margins separating them and raceday conditions paramount to the outcomes. There was hardly a more dramatic event at last year's Royal meeting than the tussle in testing conditions in the G1 Commonwealth Cup between the dominant pair Dragon Symbol (GB) (Cable Bay {Ire}) and Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), with the latter being awarded the race by the stewards. 'TDN Rising Star' Dragon Symbol went on to dance many of the dances in Britain for the remainder of 2021 and it is to be hoped that this season's early form is not a reflection of a decline. Campanelle, who also beat Sacred (GB) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) in the 2020 G2 Queen Mary S., heads here possibly with higher confidence following her cruise in the Apr. 16 Giant's Causeway S.

A Baptism Of Fire

This is an ideal race for fast seven-furlong performers, given the perpetual incline to the line which can find out the pure speedsters and one who looks just quick enough to cope is Cheveley Park Stud's scarcely-seen Sacred. Remarkably, given that she was a busy 2-year-old, she was seen only three times last term and this is her seasonal debut but there is a sense that she has the potential to be as much of a force over six as over that extra furlong. Her defeat of Saffron Beach (Ire) (New Bay {GB}) in Newmarket's G3 Nell Gwyn S. on her 2021 bow stands up to inspection, as does her smooth G2 Hungerford S. win when last seen in August. Fast-ground-dependant, the heatwave has come in time for her and William Haggas has her primed.

“It will be nice to see her again. They're going to go hard, so she will be finishing off well but it's whether they can draw the sting out of her by going so hard–we don't know,” he said. “There isn't a seven-furlong Group 1 until October. There are three seven-furlong Group 2s and they are all within a month, the Lennox, the Hungerford and the City of York, so it's not very helpful.”

Lane One

Saturday also sees the return of the accomplished Hurricane Lane (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), who is unpenalised in the G2 Hardwicke S. despite his trio of victories in the G1 Irish Derby, G1 St Leger and G1 Grand Prix de Paris. Asked to race on ground faster than he has encountered so far in his career, Godolphin's Arc-bound luminary is the first of the Charlie Appleby stable's big Frankels to reappear with the comeback of Adayar (Ire) frustratingly stalled. Both were spoken of last season as being potential improvers at four and there is nothing in their pedigrees to suggest otherwise, so this first sighting of Hurricane Lane is one of the key moments of the meeting.

“What we've seen since he worked on the July Course, we've been very pleased with,” Appleby said. “His constitution as a 3-year-old was phenomenal and on what we've seen early in his 4-year-old career, hopefully we're going to be dealing with the same horse. It's always a question mark, whether it's two to three or three to four, their first run of the season you are hoping you see the same horse but the signs have all been good. We know that his preferred ground is on the easy side of good but it was pretty quick when he won the Irish Derby. If anything, he looks sharper than last year and the team are very excited to see him have his first outing of the year. His programme is working back from the Arc.”

 All Eyes On Alfred Munnings

Aidan O'Brien has made a point of singling out one of his brighter future prospects for the Listed Chesham S. in recent times and it is no different on Saturday, with the easy May 13 Leopardstown maiden winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Alfred Munnings (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) the focus in the day's opener. The half-brother to Snowfall (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) has a big reputation which his trainer has so far not played down, so his performance in a renewal that looks full of potential from elsewhere should provide interesting insight. Amo Racing and Omnihorse Racing's £900,000 Goffs London acquisition Crypto Force (GB) (Time Test {GB}) looked a smart colt when beating Alfred Munnings's unlucky stablemate Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in a Curragh maiden over this seven-furlong trip at the start of June and bids to turn around the fortunes of Kia Joorabchian and trainer Michael O'Callaghan at the meeting.

In The Image Of The Iron Horse

The unusual combination of Shadwell and Saeed bin Suroor is represented in the G3 Jersey S. by the intriguing Monaadah, one of the last of the Giant's Causeways who has impressed so much in his three winning starts at Meydan, Newcastle and Kempton.

Operating under a double penalty in the latter race over this seven-furlong trip at the start of the month, the chestnut shrugged it off to beat 'TDN Rising Star' Audience (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}) with ease and he is one of the meeting's most exciting 3-year-olds. Last year's Listed Flying Scotsman S. winner and G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere runner-up Noble Truth (Fr) (Kingman {GB}) looked to  be clicking with a six-length success allowed to bowl along in front in Newmarket's Listed King Charles II S. Apr. 29 and a repeat of those tactics will be effective on the fast surface.

“Noble Truth is a very headstrong horse and gelding him since he won at Newmarket seems to have settled him down slightly,” trainer Charlie Appleby said. “He won't mind the quick ground and should hopefully be a live player.”

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Knavesmire Action!

She may be named after a key character in a Marx Brothers film, but Emily Upjohn's “day at the races” is no laughing matter on Wednesday as the daughter of Sea the Stars (Ire) is concerned as she goes through the gears again in York's G3 Musidora S. at York. The Gosdens' latest 'TDN Rising Star' has already shown form good enough to make her presence felt in most renewals of the Epsom Classic and barring surprises here will be on the Downs with bells on on the first Friday in June. This extended 10-furlong test on the flat Knavesmire was actually threatening to become irrelevant as an Oaks trial prior to the romp of Snowfall (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) 12 months ago and it is a boon that it has attracted the current ante-post favourite. John Gosden sees her as more than just a now horse and said, “She's one of those fillies who will get better with age, because she certainly has the scope and frame to do it.”

 

Family Ties

In 2014, Madame Chiang (GB) (Archipenko) emerged on top in the Musidora for Kirsten Rausing and David Simcock and so the circle is complete as her daughter Ching Shih (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) takes part in her race for the same connections. She is every bit as unexposed as anything entered in the Oaks at present based on her four-length success in a mile Newbury novice in October. “She doesn't look anything like her mother, but she will probably be campaigned down a similar line,” Simcock commented. “Is Ching Shih similar? Probably the biggest similarity is she's going to be better when she gets softer ground. She is a relentless galloper.”

 

Setting the Tone

It's another big week for Shadwell and the G1 QIPCO British Champions Sprint S. third Minzaal (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) could set things rolling in the G2 1895 Duke of York Clipper Logistics S. on the card. Owen Burrows has been patient with the 2020 G2 Gimcrack S. winner and this year could be when he sees the reward for it. “Physically, he has really strengthened up this year and I've had a good preparation with him,” he said. “Obviously he was impressive in the Gimcrack at York and I think that proved he was certainly a quality horse.” After all the twists and turns of fate against Yoshiro Kubota's 'TDN Rising Star' Dragon Symbol (GB) (Cable Bay {Ire}) last term, a win on this debut for the Roger Varian stable could springboard him to new heights where he can leave all the bad fortune long in the past.

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Adayar Heads Star Cast of Champions

Godolphin's June 5 G1 Epsom Derby and July 24 G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. hero Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) will be one of the 10 starters in Saturday's G1 QIPCO Champion S. at Ascot after Charlie Appleby pushed go on Thursday morning.

Fourth in last Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at ParisLongchamp, the homebred has given all the right signals in the interim period and adds substance to a renewal robbed of Snowfall (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) who has been re-routed to take the place of the absent Love (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G1 QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares S. Drawn in nine, Adayar is set to re-engage the King George runner-up Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB})–who has stall two–with only Mohamed Obaida's supplemented Aug. 14 G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano and Oct. 2 G2 Prix Dollar scorer Dubai Honour (Ire) (Pride of Dubai {Aus}) wider out.

Appleby revealed that connections were buoyed by an impressive piece of work on Wednesday.

“It was an easy piece of work to confirm his wellbeing and he did it so well,” he explained. “We discussed it with His Highness Sheikh Mohammed and the decision was taken to run. We are all looking forward to the rematch with Mishriff, particularly over this trip. Adayar beat Mishriff comfortably in the King George and then Mishriff came out and dominated the Juddmonte International at York over the distance of Saturday's race. We are happy to meet him over the mile and a quarter, which is the trip where we believe Adayar's potential lies next year.”

Aidan O'Brien revealed that Love returned an unsatisfactory blood result on Thursday, leading to the shift of the June 4 G1 Epsom Oaks, July 17 G1 Irish Oaks and Aug. 19 G1 Yorkshire Oaks heroine Snowfall to the Fillies & Mares which has attracted a field of eight. Ballydoyle's May 2 G1 1000 Guineas and Aug. 3 G1 Prix Rothschild heroine Mother Earth (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) will take on Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum's five-times group 1-winning Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}) and the Sept. 5 G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp hero Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in the 10-runner G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. sponsored by QIPCO.

There will be 20 runners in a wide-open renewal of the G1 QIPCO British Champions Sprint S., where Yoshiro Kubota's 'TDN Rising Star' Dragon Symbol (GB) (Cable Bay {Ire}) bids to atone for a series of top-level near-misses, while the opening G2 QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup sees the G1 Prix du Cadran one-two Trueshan (Fr) (Planteur {Ire}) and Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) square up again. The latter has been given the green light by the Gosdens and owner-breeder Bjorn Nielsen to attempt to repeat his 2018 win in the race which saw Moyglare Stud's Search For a Song (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) left out of the reckoning by Dermot Weld. Other high-profile absentees alongside her and Love are the Fillies & Mares-targeted La Petite Coco (Ire) (Ruler of the World {Ire}) and Free Wind (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).

William Haggas has already had a season to savour and the barometer for his stable's health is the fact that he has a trio engaged in the Champion, headed by last year's winner Addeybb (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}). Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum's title-holder is coming back off a 105-day absence, having finished runner-up in the G1 Eclipse S. at Sandown July 3.

“Addeybb's ideal ground is when it passes an inspection on the morning of the race and he sloshes through that,” Haggas said. “This is going to be soft, but I'm not sure it will be soft enough for him. He stays well and his record right-handed is fantastic, but this is a hugely competitive, fantastic race. We weren't able to get a prep into him, but he's taken a lot of graft this year and his record fresh is excellent. We think we've got him pretty ready.”

Shadwell's Al Aasy (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) has suffered three defeats since his impressive wins in the Apr. 18 G3 John Porter S. and May 15 G3 Aston Park S. at Newbury, with a latest fourth in that venue's Sept. 18 G3 Dubai Duty Free Legacy Cup his most deflating. His trainer has long held him in the highest affection and said, “We all know that Al Aasy doesn't find as much under pressure as it looks like he might, so I hope his jockey waits a bit. At Newbury, he went three and a half from home and it exposed him. The horse is much better than that, he should have won there and we'll see what he has to offer as he's a strong stayer at a mile and a quarter. He may not be good enough, but he's talented and he's no mug even in a race of this quality. I love him and he's a very good horse who has been rubbished by everyone, so I'd love to see him run a good race.”

Of Dubai Honour, who is one of six 3-year-olds in the feature, he added, “He won really easily in the Guillaume d'Ornano, but they went really hard there whereas in the Dollar they went slow and he showed a real turn of foot. There's nothing else for him until Hong Kong in December and when I suggested it, the owner nearly bit my hand off. He's an intriguing runner, but Mishriff was awesome at York and I could do without Adayar. He's a bloody good horse and I'd be frightened of him, even over a mile and a quarter. He'll be hard to pass. This year we have nine runners on the day, when we normally have one or two, so we are blessed to have so many nice horses and we've hopefully got them in good shape.”

All bar the retired Wonderful Tonight (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) return to defend their crowns in their respective races this year, with Trueshan and Addeybb joined by the Sprint winner Glen Shiel (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) and Al Asayl France's The Revenant (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), who heads back to the QEII. It is in the latter contest that Haggas saddles what could be his leading contender on the fixture in the unbeaten Baaeed, who could arguably be the most exciting of the eight Group 1 winners in the line-up for what looks the strongest race on the card and the mile championship decider of 2021. Despite his profile, the head of Somerville Lodge is not getting carried away.

“Whilst I've been very impressed with what he's done in such a short space of time, he's got a big task on Saturday,” he said of the Shadwell homebred. “Not only is there Palace Pier, who is a remarkably consistent and tough horse, but there's Alcohol Free, Mother Earth, The Revenant and Benbatl–it's a hell of a strong race with lots of good horses. Without undermining those behind him in the Moulin, we'd had a little hiccup and a rushed preparation for that and I'm pretty sure we didn't see him at his best. The bit none of us know is what he's got left, but Jim [Crowley] is very fond of him and he's a lovely horse to deal with. He's as fit as we want him and ready to go in what is probably the best mile race of the season.”

Nick Smith, Ascot's director of racing and communications, is keen for the 10th Champions Day to play out to an expected crowd of around of 25,000.

“You couldn't have asked for a lot better,” he said after the declarations were made on Thursday morning. “The weather is pretty sound, so it will probably be the best renewal we've had since Excelebration and Frankel kind of bookended the card early on. The final declarations are great. The stayers' race is looking like the race of the year over that trip, which is slightly unexpected after a strong Cadran, but great to see. The Champion S. and the QEII are probably joint highlights with Adayar running now against Mishriff–the King George one and two. You've got to say that now has become the outstanding clash. It's not bad to have Baaeed and Palace Pier as the appetiser, so we're really thrilled. It's going to be a great day.”

On the climax to the close race for the Flat jockeys' championship between Oisin Murphy and William Buick, Smith added, “It will probably go to the wire now. It's an intriguing added dimension, especially if it ended up going to the Balmoral [H]. It's fascinating really. The declarations didn't need another story, but it certainly is another thread. We'll have a crowd of about 25,000 with the weather looking set. It will still seem reasonably comfortable. It will be a tremendous day and a fantastic way to see the season out with a real bang.”

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Oxted Faces 22 in July Cup Defence

A total of 23 horses have been confirmed for the July 10 G1 Darley July Cup at Newmarket, including Roger Teal's 2020 victor Oxted (GB) (Mayson {GB}). Second in the G3 Abernant S. at HQ on Apr. 15, the entire was third behind the reopposing Starman (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) in the G2 Duke Of York S. on May 12, prior to doubling his Group 1 tally in the G1 King's Stand S. at Royal Ascot on June 15. Dual group winner and last out June 19 Wokingham S. hero Rohaan (Ire) (Mayson {GB}) and listed winner Line Of Departure (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) were both supplemented.

“It feels like a real championship race, you have all the best horses of the generation in there, but it's a shame not to have the Diamond Jubilee winner there alongside the King's Stand winner,” Starman's trainer Ed Walker said. “Starman has got an opportunity to be the sprinter of his generation because he's only got the one blip on his record, I'd love to think he could be the next Muhaarar.

“He's done absolutely nothing wrong bar that run on bad ground, I just don't know how much is up his sleeve–only he can answer that question and hopefully he does answer it on Saturday.”

Group 3 winner Chil Chil (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) is “at the top of her game” according to her trainer Andrew Balding and is trying the Group 1 level for the first time. The King Power Racing 5-year-old is lining up for the July Cup. A half-sister to four-time Group 2 winner Beat The Bank (GB) (Paco Boy {Ire}), Chil Chil saluted in a May 1 handicap at Newmarket and earned a career high when saluting in the G3 William Hill Chipchase S. at Newcastle on June 26.

“She will go for the July Cup if the ground is good or faster,” said Balding. “She showed some pretty useful form last year when conditions were right and she was a little bit unfortunate on a couple of occasions. Beat The Bank, her brother, got better with age and it appears she is. It is a big step up in class but she likes the track at Newmarket and I don't see why she won't like this one, so why not have a go?

“She travelled strongly at Newcastle and I was impressed with the way she picked up in the second half of the race. She is clearly a filly at the top of her game. It would be nice if she could prove up to this level.”

First past the post in the G1 Commonwealth Cup S. at Royal Ascot, but disqualified for interference, Dragon Symbol (GB) (Cable Bay {Ire}) returns for trainer Archie Watson. Watson also sends out G1 QIPCO British Champions Sprit S. winner Glen Shiel (GB) (Pivotal {GB}), who was second to the now-injured Dream Of Dreams (Ire) (Dream Ahead) in the G1 Diamond Jubilee S. also at Royal Ascot.

Among the other entrants as of Monday are: G3 Jersey S. winner Creative Force (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) for trainer Charlie Appleby, G1 Middle Park S. hero Supremacy (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) for trainer Clive Cox, Joseph O'Brien's Thunder Moon (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) who won the G1 National S., the group winner Art Power (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) for Tim Easterby and G1 Queen Anne S. second Lope Y Fernandez (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) for Aidan O'Brien.

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