“He's probably going to be aimed at the Breeders' Cup now in November,” Murray said. “He will more than likely run before then but having talked to the owner he is keen to go there, so that will be our big target for him.

“He's a horse with a lot of speed, so I would say we will stick to five furlongs for the time being.”

Murray sent out three runners during the Royal Ascot meeting, including Bucanero Fuerte (GB) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), who was third in the G2 Coventry S. He is also owned by Amo Racing.

“He's a really nice horse and I think he's going to be a really good horse down the road, there's lots of improvement to come from him yet,” Murray said. “He might go for a Group One at the Curragh, but we will need to sit down and have a discussion. He's entered for a couple of Group Ones but it might be the Phoenix Stakes for him. He's entered in all the good races anyway, but we're not going to rush him though.”

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UNBELIEVABLE! Valiant Force is a 150/1 winner of the Norfolk at #RoyalAscot! #WinAndYoureIn @BreedersCup pic.twitter.com/4zPcBT2c6s

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 22, 2023

As it turned out, the Marble Hill was the race to concentrate on ahead of this much-anticipated renewal with The Curragh's staging post featuring not only the winner but also Ballydoyle's His Majesty, who had been involved in a three-way go in that six-furlong contest. Left stranded on his own up the centre of the track on that day as the remainder crossed towards the stands' side, Valiant Force was still in front a furlong from the finish and had quicker ground as well as company to aid his cause this time. His Majesty was clear of the disadvantaged stands'-side pack here in fourth, becoming the fourth Ballydoyle juvenile to represent the stable with major credit this week.

Kia Joorabchian owns the winner alongside Rachael O'Callaghan and Giselle De Aguiar and said, “We've been trying for a long time and we kept getting beaten, but kept getting up. I'm just delighted for these guys. We've loved this horse all the time and he was on his own last time at The Curragh, so we knew he could do it.”

Adrian Murray, who hit the board in Tuesday's juvenile feature, added, “We knew he was a nice horse and we couldn't believe the price. He was only beaten half a length by His Majesty first time out and he was 150-1 today, it just didn't make sense! I knew he was much better than that. We were third here in the Coventry Stakes on Tuesday and I wondered if that would ever happen again. It's the stuff of dreams. It's great for the small man.”

Malc's trainer Richard Fahey was almost completing a third consecutive success in this race and commented, “Coming here I thought I had a real nice bunch of two-year-olds, but the way the others had run I couldn't be confident. Today everything did go right, he sticks his head down and he has a go. To be honest we think he's a six-furlong horse, but at Ascot you almost want a six-furlong horse over five. In the mid-part of the race, I'm not saying that's where we lost it, but he got a little outpaced and the winner got first run.”

Karl Burke said of the beaten favourite, “A furlong out I thought we might catch the leader, but he just couldn't get there. The Prix Morny was always our target before today. I'll go and have a word with Sheikh Obaid, but I imagine we'll step him up to six. He's not the finished article yet, but he's a lovely horse.”

Pedigree Notes
The winner is the first foal out of the unraced dam Vigui's Heart, a daughter of the triple stakes scorer Blue Heart (Exchange Rate) and half to the GIII With Anticipation S. third Joyful Heart (Kitten's Joy). Blue Heart is kin to four other stakes performers including the dam of the GIII Gulfstream Park Sprint S. winner C. Zee (Elusive Bluff). Also connected to the triple graded-stakes place-getter Katie Baby (Curlin), Vigui's Heart's filly foal is by Mitole.

Thursday, Royal Ascot, Britain
NORFOLK S.-G2, £110,000, Ascot, 6-22, 2yo, 5fT, :59.75, g/f.
1–VALIANT FORCE, 129, c, 2, by Malibu Moon
1st Dam: Vigui's Heart, by Quality Road
2nd Dam: Blue Heart, by Exchange Rate
3rd Dam: Flawless Diamond, by Saint Ballado
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. ($75,000 Wlg '21 KEENOV; $100,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Amo Racing, Mrs R O'Callaghan & G De Aguiar; B-Ramon Horta Rangel & Spendthrift Farm (KY); T-Adrian Murray; J-Rossa Ryan. £62,381. Lifetime Record: SP-Ire, 3-1-1-0, $89,328. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Malc (GB), 129, c, 2, Calyx (GB)–Bereka (GB), by Firebreak (GB). 1ST BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (34,000gns Ylg '22 TATSOM; 140,000gns 2yo '23 TATBRE). O-Middleham Park Racing LXVI; B-Bearstone Stud (GB); T-Richard Fahey. £23,650.
3–Elite Status (GB), 129, c, 2, Havana Grey (GB)–Dotted Swiss (Ire), by Swiss Spirit (GB). 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (56,000gns Wlg '21 TADEWE; 325,000gns Ylg '22 TATOCT). O-Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum; B-Whitsbury Manor Stud (GB); T-Karl Burke. £11,836.
Margins: 1 1/4, HF, 3/4. Odds: 150.00, 66.00, 1.75.
Also Ran: His Majesty (Ire), Thunder Blue (GB), Devious (GB), Reveiller (Ire), Mon Na Slieve (Ire), No Nay Mets (Ire), The Fixer (Ire), Toca Madera (Ire), Shayekh (Ire), American Rascal, Noche Magica (Ire). Scratched: Baheer (Ire), Hala Emaraaty (Ire).

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Last seen in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Keeneland when she was fourth to Meditate (Ire) (No Nay Never), the bay filly was a debut winner at Doncaster in July and followed that with a victory in the G3 Oh So Sharp S. at Newmarket in October. Fahey will have her skip the G1 QIPCO 1000 Guineas in favour of middle distances this summer, as she looks bred to stay in excess of a mile.

“I'm very pleased with her at the moment, she's wintered very well and she's going nicely,” said Fahey. “I was a little bit frustrated at the Breeders' Cup that she didn't bounce and run and get the place we wanted her to be in, but that's racing. It was only the third run of her life and she's bred to be a better 3-year-old. I was pleased we learned a bit more about her. I'm going to skip the Guineas and all that. I'm going to step her up to a mile and a quarter and start her off in something like the Musidora. I think I'd take her straight there, I just haven't rushed her this year and let her mature, which she has done, and we'll have a second-half of the season campaign.”

Another 3-year-old filly in the yard who will head for a Guineas trial is Barefoot Angel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), winner of the G3 Firth of Clyde S. and who was fourth in Redcar's Two Year Old Trophy under a penalty.

“She was another who didn't bounce and race that day at Redcar, but we'll run her in a Guineas trial and see what happens,” said Fahey. “She's in both Guineas and we'll play it by ear after her trial to see what we want to do. It will be Newmarket or Newbury for a trial.”

Fahey hit the bullseye at Royal Ascot last season with The Ridler (GB) (Brazen Beau {Aus}), a 50-1 winner of the G2 Norfolk S., but the juvenile colt was last behind Blackbeard (Ire) (No Nay Never) in the G1 Prix Morny S. at Deauville in late August.

“The Ridler is good and he'll start off in the [G3] Greenham [S.] and see where we go after that,” said Fahey. “He just didn't come back as I'd have liked after France, but he's done extremely well over the winter, so we're still undecided whether he's a sprinter or whether we can stretch him out.”

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Additionally, the connections will receive a $25,000 equine travel stipend.

“1/ST RACING is thrilled to announce this new global partnership with Ascot Racecourse,” Aidan Butler, Chief Executive Officer, 1/ST Racing & Gaming, said. “Gulfstream Park is honored to host two automatic qualifiers to challenge the world's best at this year's Royal Ascot meeting,”.

Royal Ascot will be held this year from Jun. 20-24.

“We're thrilled to be partnering with 1/ST RACING on this initiative and building on the already solid foundations of success that American juveniles have at Royal Ascot. Hopefully the incentives will attract a quality field and we look forward to welcoming their connections at Ascot,” Nick Smith, Director of Racing and Public Affairs, Ascot Racecourse, said.

The six juvenile races during the June Royal Ascot meeting are:
June 20
-The G2 Coventry, 6 furlongs
June 21
-The G2 Queen Mary, 5 furlongs, fillies
-The Windsor Castle, 5 furlongs, listed
June 22
-The G2 Norfolk, five furlongs
June 23
-The G3 Albany, 6 furlongs, fillies
June 24
-The Chesham Stakes, listed

Nominations for the Royal Palm Juvenile and Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies close Apr. 30.

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Anchored early behind the leaders up the centre, The Ridler produced a strong run to overhaul TDN Rising Star and 7-4 favourite Walbank (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) with half a furlong remaining en route to a 1 3/4-length score. That was only half the story, however, as the winner had seconds earlier drifted markedly left and significantly hampered Crispy Cat (GB) (Ardad {Ire}), who ended up a neck behind in third having had his momentum checked at a crucial stage. The fourth, Brave Nation (Ire) (Sioux Nation), also met with major interference as a result of the winner's drift but the stewards opted relatively quickly to leave the order as it finished.

Hanagan, who was handed a 10-day ban, was convinced he had won fair and square before he had the opportunity to watch a replay. “The Ridler pricked his ears in front and I always felt he was clear,” he explained. “I don't think they had to stop riding. He is still very green and a baby. I put my stick down to get him straight, so I could not have done much more.”

Fahey said, “That was a bit of a surprise–I know we were mad about the second horse [Walbank] in the breeze-up, but he made a little bit too much than we wanted to pay. I didn't think The Ridler was a 50-1 shot. He's a good hardy horse. We had him in the Coventry and had a long chat about it all, then decided to go here. You need a good six-furlong horse to win, especially the pace they went, so we're delighted.”

Of the change in the jockey situation at Musley Bank, the trainer added, “Paul is happy, I'm happy. We haven't really had a change around of jockeys, it was just bringing a young guy [Oisin Orr] in and Paul would still ride for us and has ridden for us today. You've got to look to the future, though. We will get Ascot out of the way before we think about the future, but we'd think about a flat six furlongs. He's quite a quick horse–you'd like to think of something like the Prix Morny, because if you've got a group 2, you've got to think of a Group 1.”

Steve Bradley said of his pride and joy, “The Ridler has got a reverse question mark on his face and The Riddler on every outfit has loads of question marks, including in reverse. As soon as he was born, it was a no-brainer. Weatherbys didn't like it with two 'd's, so we settled for one and the rest is history. My son Leigh is a Batman fan more than me, but it's been around for a long time, more than 60 years. Weatherbys were worried about the copyright–they didn't want to take on whoever owns Marvel Comics these days and they got a sweat on about that. I think Marvel Comics have got more money than I have! We use the National Stud to breed most of our horses and I have been involved heavily in the last 10 years in racing. It's amazing. This is the best day of my life, along with getting married and having children.”

Walbank's trainer David Loughnane was finishing runner-up for the second year in succession having missed out with Go Bears Go (Ire) (Kodi Bear {Ire}) and said, “Deja vu! The horse has done very well. He has run his race and I don't think he could have done anything different. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't heartbroken, but that's racing. We were out in front and he has probably got a little bit lonely. The winner has come down the outside and a long way across the track.”

Michael O'Callaghan was convinced the winner's move cost Crispy Cat the race. “He should have won. It is plain and simple,” he stated. “Silvestre [de Sousa] said he would have won. He never had a clear run through the race, even from the mid part of the race, and then he got wiped out by the winner when he was coming through. It wasn't the first time he had to check and he has run on again, so he should have won, unfortunately.” Brave Nation's rider James Doyle said, “He ran with a lot of credit–he would have been third without the interference.”

The Ridler, who had given little indication that he was about to deliver a performance such as this when getting off the mark at Ripon May 6 prior to finishing behind Wednesday's Listed Windsor Castle S. fourth Chateau (Ire) (Havana Gold {Ire}) at Beverley, hails from the family of the G3 Prix Corrida winner Trumbaka (Ire) (In the Wings {GB}) and last year's G1 Haydock Sprint Cup hero Emaraaty Ana (GB) by Lope de Vega's sire Shamardal. Colorada's yearling colt is by Time Test (GB).

Thursday, Ascot, Britain
NORFOLK S.-G2, £110,000, Ascot, 6-16, 2yo, 5fT, 1:00.50, g/f.
1–THE RIDLER (GB), 129, c, 2, by Brazen Beau (Aus)
1st Dam: Colorada (GB), by Lope de Vega (Ire)
2nd Dam: Isabella Glyn (Ire), by Sadler's Wells
3rd Dam: Questina, by Rainbow Quest
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. O-Steve Bradley; B-Smarden Thoroughbreds (GB); T-Richard Fahey; J-Paul Hanagan. £65,120. Lifetime Record: 4-2-0-1, $90,774. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Walbank (Ire), 129, c, 2, Kodiac (GB)–No Lippy (Ire), by Oasis Dream (GB). 1ST BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (525,000gns 2yo '22 TATBRE). O-Amo Racing & Omnihorse Racing; B-Tally-Ho Stud (IRE); T-David Loughnane. £24,629.
3–Crispy Cat (GB), 129, c, 2, Ardad (Ire)–Mara Grey (Ire), by Azamour (Ire). 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (7,500gns Wlg '20 TATFOA; £105,000 Ylg '21 TATIRY). O-Amo Racing Ltd; B-Saeed Nasser Al Romaithi (GB); T-Michael O'Callaghan. £12,309.
Margins: 1 3/4, NK, 1. Odds: 50.00, 1.75, 7.00.
Also Ran: Brave Nation (Ire), Bakeel (GB), Pillow Talk (Ire), The Antarctic (Ire), Thunder Moor (Ire), Redemption Time (GB), Jungle Fever (Ire). Scratched: My First Rodeo (Ire). Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

A 50/1 winner in the opener of the third day at Royal Ascot. The Ridler wins the G2 Norfolk Stakes but a stewards enquiry has been called. pic.twitter.com/sB7SuzlhXi

— TDN (@theTDN) June 16, 2022

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“We were obviously thrilled with the horse, especially after going so close at Royal Ascot,” said trainer David Loughnane.

“We've got six weeks until the Phoenix and I think that's where we'll go. He's had a busy 10 days now, so we'll give him a quiet couple of weeks and then we've got three and a half to four weeks to get him ready for the Phoenix. That's the most logical step, I think.”

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