The Fixer is out of the Group 3-placed Kodiac (GB) mare Fixette (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), who was herself fast and early, winning on her 900m debut at Saint-Cloud in April. Her son has followed suit, and has already made four starts, winning twice after being runner-up on debut on March 23. It is a family with which Graffard is already very familiar.

“I trained his dam, and she was very sharp and precocious, and then I had the brother, and he was the same,” he says.

The brother in question is Faro De San Juan (Ire), who became the first winner for his sire Almanzor (Fr) two years ago.

Graffard continues, “It's a very sharp family, and we don't breed horses like that very much in France, so it is hard to find horses of this profile.

“Another aspect is that the [French] premiums are very high on two-year-olds. A lot of people are looking for horses with premiums. On one hand we don't breed this type of horse and on the other hand everybody is looking for premiums. So the early sprint races can be easy for owners to win.”

After failing to reach his reserve in the ring at Arqana's August Sale, The Fixer was bought privately by Graffard and his wife Lisa-Jane for €95,000 and now races for a syndicate which includes the couple under their Stamford Bloodstock banner. The group of fellow owners features Guillaume de Saint-Seine, who is enjoying a particularly good year so far as he is also the part-owner of Angers (Fr) (Seabhac),  the recent winner of the German 2,000 Guineas.

Graffard says, “At the sales with Lisa I always to try to find this type of horse. The Fixer ticked a lot of boxes but he didn't have the premiums, and that makes a huge difference, but we took the risk, and at some stage you need to go for the right horse, not for the premiums only. But if you buy horses on spec without premiums it is always harder.”

The Fixer set about making things easier when, in mid-April, he posted an eight-length victory at Saint-Cloud on his second start. However, things didn't go so smoothly the next time he ventured to Paris. 

“My plan was to aim him towards Ascot, so I organised the programme around that and he ran in a conditions race at Longchamp and was very hot favourite,” Graffard explains. “He knocked himself down in the stalls and shouldn't have run. But they opened the gates, and he completely wasn't in the race. He's usually very sharp and this time he couldn't do it. He finished fourth, and I was very down, but when he came in he had scrapes everywhere, on his knees and all around his head, so there was a reason that he ran so poorly.

“I had the plan to run in the Listed race and fortunately we managed, with the team, to get him right in time for this. We saw the real The Fixer at Chantilly.”

With a trip to Ascot for the G2 Norfolk S. now very much back on the agenda, the decision was taken this week to enter The Fixer for Goffs' boutique auction a week on Monday.

“Everybody was happy again at Chantilly, but after Longchamp, and the experience of how high it can go and how low it can go, we said there was nothing to lose to go to the sales,” says the trainer. “If he is sold, we are happy, and if he is not sold we are happy because we run on Thursday in the Norfolk.”

He adds, “For a French horse to have had four runs already at this time of the year is quite unusual. At Chantilly, we beat those who came to challenge us, but there are very few five-furlong races in the French programme so we have to travel now.”

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Into the final furlong, The Ridler drifted markedly left across the field, hampering the chances of several other runners. Controversially for some, The Ridler kept the race after a steward's inquiry.

During a presentation at Wednesday's Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit, Will Duff Gordon, CEO of Total Performance Data, which provides in-running horseracing data, provided another intriguing way to examine the race.

Duff Gordon presented a chart showing the acceleration and speed of a horse during the race, and how it was impeded by the winner.

“You can see how that horse in blue, how much its velocity was cut off,” said Duff Gordon, pointing to the marked deceleration of a beaten runner at the time of The Ridler's antics.

“That's a much better way of telling the story rather than running the replay 700 times, which is what the TV companies have done to date,” said Duff Gordon. “The stewards can't yet use that information,” he added, “but hopefully they will soon.”

TPD's chart shows the deceleration of the impeded horses in the Norfolk

Duff Gordon was part of a panel looking at some of the data collection technologies forging a new path in equine welfare and performance during racing and training, and racecourse customer experience.

“This is a new frontier,” said Scott Palmer, equine medical director for the New York Gaming Commission, about the StrideSAFE sensor, which TDN has written about here.

Nevertheless, the panelists emphasized how, in many regards, the stamp from data collection on the racing world is still very much a fresh one.

Greater accuracy comes from sheer depth in numbers, and pick-up of these technologies among industry stakeholders at large has been finicky at best.

Correct interpretation of the data is also key. Racing is hardly awash with number crunchers, data analysts and epidemiologists. That's why, said Palmer, “this is baby steps right now.”

Duff Gordon agreed.

“We create in-running odds. That's making 10,000 calculations per-horse, per-second to predict who's going to win the race. We can refine that all the time,” he said.

“The last few years has been about acquiring the data, getting onto as many racecourses as possible. The present and the future's all about producing front ends and mining that data, so we're hiring huge numbers of data scientists,” Duff Gordon added. “Any budding data scientists, please do get in touch with me. We can never get enough of them.”

Presided over by New York Thoroughbred Horseman's Association president, Joe Appelbaum, the panel also included Valentin Rapin, managing director and co-founder of Arioneo, a horse performance company.

The technologies that Arioneo produces are geared around morning training, including heart-rate monitoring, locomotion and stride data, and GPS tracking of speed, distance and acceleration.

Broadly speaking, these discreet, easy-to-use technologies can be utilized to gauge things like the overall fitness level of the horse, it's optimum speed, suitable distances and ground preferences.

There's a welfare element, too, explained Rapin, as the heart-rate monitor gives trainers the ability to check for cardiac abnormalities.

“Let's say the horse is about 125 beats a minute every day. If one day you see the heart rate go up to 140, 150, it will probably mean there is something wrong,” said Rapin.

“You can contact your vet directly or your vet can also have access to the data via distance to monitor this for you,” Rapin added.

“It's really in the strike-rate,” interjected Duff Gordon.

“The trainers who have that huge, extra level of insight, their horses are ready to rumble and you have trainers with less horses punching above their weight,” Duff Gordon said, pointing towards the likes of George Boughey, a young UK-based trainer with an English Classic win to his name into just his fourth year with a license.

“He's got less than 50 horses, and [has] no right to be winning [like he is],” said Duff Gordon, adding how the likes of Boughey have harnessed the use of performance monitoring technologies with shrewd purchases at the sales.

StrideSAFE is a technology that fits into a horse's saddle towel with the ability to detect at high speeds lameness invisible to the naked eye. Since last summer, it has been used on thousands of starters across Saratoga, Belmont and Aqueduct.

“What were able to do with this device is actually detect lameness in early stages to provide for timely intervention,” said Palmer.

“We can work with the trainer and say, 'Your horse is not lame today, but the warning signs are clear. You need to get this horse evaluated by a veterinarian. It needs a good diagnostic workout because something's going on here,'” Palmer added.

Hundreds of times a second, this wireless iPhone-shaped device takes an assortment of measurements to capture in minute detail the movement of the horse at high speed.

These measurements include the horse's acceleration and deceleration, the up and down concussive movement of the horse, and its medial-lateral motion–what is, in other words, the horse's movement from side to side.

It works like a traffic light signal, providing a green for all-clear, an amber for possible caution, and a red for possible danger. These ratings are calculated by how many standard deviations the horse is from the norm.

“If they exceed three standard deviations from the mean we have what we call red alert, and that means there's something happening in this race that needs to be investigated,” said Palmer. “There's a change here.”

Palmer told the story of early on into the trial of a horse that finished second in a maiden special weight at Saratoga.

Immediately after the race, the horse appeared healthy and sound. But when Palmer received the StrideSAFE read-out of the race the following day, it showed worrying abnormalities in the horse's balance.

“When I got this data, I didn't know exactly what it meant,” said Palmer, who said that he called the trainer, asked about the horse.

“The trainer said, 'Well, this horse finished the race great.' Jockey had hopped off. Trainer was there in the unsaddling area. Everybody was happy, finished second in a maiden special weight for 2-year-olds at Saratoga,” said Palmer.

By the time the horse had walked back to the test barn and began to cool-out, it became lame–so much so, the horse had to be shipped back to the barn. A subsequent radiograph showed the horse had suffered an acute fracture of the third carpal bone.

“It was a very dramatic example for me that we were measuring something important,” said Palmer.

While researchers are still analyzing the data from the longer study, Palmer shared some numbers showing attrition rates among a small cohort of horses studied at Saratoga: 15 that had received red alerts, 25 with a yellow alert, and 91 with green alerts.

Broadly speaking, the horses with a red alert generally did not make it back to race for a “significant amount of time” as compared to the yellow and green horses, said Palmer.

The red horses didn't compete in as many races as the yellow and green alerted horses during a four-month follow-up period, nor complete as many high-speed workouts, added Palmer.

“Interestingly, only 40% of the horses that had a red classification were able to race at all over the next four months after the analyzed race compared to almost 80% of the greens and the yellows,” said Palmer. “I thought that was powerfully significant.”

In his “zealot's pitch” at the end of the panel discussion, Appelbaum implored the industry to accelerate its adoption of these kinds of technologies.

“There's not a human football player or soccer player at the professional level that's not using a catapult vest. In F1, the drivers all use gloves that track their heart rate and perspiration. Weightlifters are all using push-bands to understand their load,” said Appelbaum.

“Humans sports are about 10 years ahead of us,” Appelbaum added. “But we can catch up and we should catch up. It's not just for the benefit of the betting public, but it's really for the benefit of the horses.”

The post Data, Data, Data: The “New Frontier” for Horse Racing appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Heffernan was speaking shortly after Paul Hanagan was handed a 10-day ban for careless riding after winning the G2 Norfolk S. at Royal Ascot aboard 50-1 outsider The Ridler (GB) (Brazen Beau {Aus}).

The Ridler (red silks) keeps the G2 Norfolk S. at #RoyalAscot. What do you think? pic.twitter.com/f9hnTLrsT3

— TDN (@theTDN) June 16, 2022

Hanagan, who was recently demoted as Richard Fahey's stable jockey, allowed The Ridler, trained by his former boss, to drift across the track, hampering a number of his rivals in the process.

Despite the fact that an inquiry was called, the stewards found that The Ridler, who had just under two lengths to spare from 7-4 favourite Walbank (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) at the winning line, had not improved his finishing position by veering across his rivals.

However, Heffernan, who has ridden big-race winners all across the globe, including a memorable Breeders' Cup triumph aboard Highland Reel (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in 2016, thinks the prospects of guilty jockeys losing out on prize-money could make the sport much safer.

He said, “There's no consistency in the stewarding in Britain and Ireland. Different stewards take a dislike to different riders and trainers. When they have the power to do them, they'll do them. I have seen it countless times, the exact same incident could generate a completely different result, depending on the stewards and the trainers and riders involved.”

Heffernan added, “The best way of dealing with it is taking away the prize-money. It's a grey area and the stewarding is inconsistent. It's a win-at-all-cost mindset at the moment but I bet if you told some of the riders that they would lose the prize-money if you wiped out another rider they'd think twice. I know I'd think twice about what I was doing.”

The Norfolk S. was worth £65,120 to the winner, of which, Hanagan, who described The Ridler as “babyish” and didn't seem to see much wrong with his efforts in the saddle, received just under 10% of the prize-money on top of his riding fee.

Speaking after the race, Hanagan said, “He's still very green and babyish. I always felt I was clear. I don't think they had to stop riding [in behind], that's the impression I got. There's a lot of emotions going through me at the minute. I'm delighted to ride Richard and the owners this winner, so I'll enjoy the moment.”

One of the constants at Ballydoyle for over two decades, Heffernan, famed for his sense of humour, volunteered another way of policing the sport if the governing bodies failed to examine the careless riding rules following Thursday's controversy.

He explained, “Sometimes I'm guilty and I get done for it. Sometimes I'm guilty and I get away with it. That's just the way it is. It's a game of doubt. It's inconsistent.

“Racing is a dangerous sport. There is a reason two ambulances follow horses around in a race. The minute you swing your leg over a horse, you are in danger and, if we could reduce the risk and keep it safe, then that is the right thing to do.”

Heffernan added, “Do you know the lie detector machines? Maybe they should bring them into the stewards room. If you are in racing, you have to be a very good liar. Stick the lie detector on them and watch them sweat!

“A lot of the stewards are there for the greater good of racing but it would be great if we could get a lie detector on some of the jockeys, trainers and owners.”

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Protagonists in this five-furlong dash for 2-year-olds were spread across the width of the track, but it was the Richard Fahey-trained Perfect Power (14/1) who burst from the pack down the stands' side to prevail.

Go Bears Go (6/1) was beaten a head racing on the far side, with Project Dante (6/1) a nose behind in third on the stands' side rail.

Victory gave Hanagan a fifth Royal Ascot success, and first since 2015, while Fahey was scoring for the eighth time at the meeting.

Hanagan, who returned from a broken back in August, said: “I don't usually get emotional, but I'm probably lucky to be here at all after the accident. It's an amazing feeling just to even get back here, never mind a winner at Royal Ascot. I am pretty lost for words.

“I actually fractured my back in three places in a fall at Newcastle, and it was just touch and go whether I was going to be back. I owe so much to a lot of people – the Injured Jockeys Fund, Jack Berry House in Malton, my family and friends, and obviously Richard Fahey, who has been amazing, Richard Hale and just everyone at the yard.

“The period after my accident was a very character building few months. The accident was a pretty bad one and I'm lucky to be here at all, let alone riding winners, and I'm so grateful. I just appreciated I had a second chance, and I took it with both hands. This is what it's all about – what the comeback means. This tops the lot. It's so nice to see the crowd back, and what a buzz that was, when I eventually found out I'd won – the cheer of the crowd was something special.”

He added: “The race itself – they went quite hard and I just had to sit and suffer on him. I'm glad I did, because he didn't half power home and really ran through the line. I must have passed about 10 jockeys pulling up who [thought they] had won, and I wasn't quite sure because it was so far away the other side. I think the way I finished the race I had every chance, because he really powered home.

“You couldn't really get a horse with a better attitude. He takes it all in and has a great temperament. I think that's what got him beat first time, because we were all expecting him to win. First day at school – I think he just had a bit of stage fright, but he's come out of that race so well, and as we saw at Hamilton, that race brought him on again.”

Fahey said: “The Norfolk Stakes has been a bogey race for me. I have been second in it a few times and as they flashed past I thought we got beat. I'm just glad we got there. I got emotional for a couple of seconds, I'm getting soft in my old age.

“It's a fantastic result. Me and Paul have been together for such a long time. He left us for around 18 months, but it's been such a long relationship and it's great to have another Royal Ascot winner together.

“We were very sweet on Perfect Power. We haven't had him very long and he missed the kick first time out when third and that probably helped us. He won well at Hamilton and we were quietly confident coming here.

“We discussed going up to six furlongs but after chatting it through with the team, we came here. He was bought to win a Norfolk and it's great when a plan comes together.”

The post Perfect Power Scores Breeders’ Cup Berth In Norfolk appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The Breeders' Cup Challenge Series is an international series of 84 stakes races whose winners receive automatic starting positions and fees paid into a corresponding race of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, which will be held at Del Mar racetrack in Del Mar, California on Nov. 5-6.

As part of the benefits of the Challenge Series, Breeders' Cup will pay the entry fees for the Norfolk Stakes winner to start in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, which will be run at 5 furlongs at Del Mar. Breeders' Cup will also provide a travel allowance of US$40,000 for all starters based outside of North America to compete in the World Championships. The Challenge winner must be nominated to the Breeders' Cup program by the Championships' pre-entry deadline of October 25 to receive the rewards.

The Norfolk Stakes is the third of four Breeders' Cup Challenge Series “Win and You're In” races to be conducted during the Royal Ascot meeting. The race will be televised live on NBCSN and TVG.

Andrew Farm, For the People Racing Stable, and Windmill Manor Farm's Lucci, a Kentucky-bred son of Not this Time, won a 5-furlong maiden special weight by 3 lengths over the Widener turf course at Belmont Park on May 9 under jockey John Velazquez, who has the mount again for the Norfolk.

Qatar Racing, Marc Detampel and David Howden's chestnut Kentucky-bred gelding Nakatomi, by Firing Line, broke his maiden by 2 ¼ lengths over a sloppy track in a 4 ½-furlong race at Keeneland on April 14.

“At home, we have been working Lucci and Nakatomi together,” said Ward, who has 11 victories at Royal Ascot coming into the 2021 meeting. “Nakatomi was coming out on top, but then they had a workout in Newmarket on the Limekilns and Lucci turned the tables. He just bounced straight through to the front and would not give up the lead.”

Last year, the Ward-trained Golden Pal finished second by a neck in the Norfolk Stakes before going on to capture the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Keeneland. Ward saddled Norfolk winners No Nay Never (2006) and Shang Shang Shang (2018).

Trainer Aidan O'Brien plans to start a son of No Nay Never in the Norfolk with Cadamosto (IRE), owned by Derrick Smith, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Westerberg. Cadamosto broke his maiden on April 10, winning the 5-furlong Irish Stallion Farms EBF maiden by 3 ½ lengths.

O'Brien has saddled three Norfolk Stakes winners in Johannesburg (2001), Waterloo Bridge (IRE) (2015), and Sioux Nation (2017).

Amo Racing Limited and Peter Waney's Go Bears Go (IRE) has a maiden victory over the Ascot course. Trained by David Loughnane, Go Bears Go, a son of Kodi Bear (IRE), won a 5-furlong Novice stakes at May 8 by 1 ½ lengths.

Another winner first time out is Isa Salman Al Khalifa's Instinctive Move (GB). A bay son of Showcasing (GB) out of Peach Melba (GB) by Dream Ahead, Instinctive Move earned a 2 ¼-length victory in a 5-furlong EFB maiden race at Bath on May 12.

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In total, NBC Sports will present nearly 25 hours of coverage over the five days.

Royal Ascot is Britain's most valuable race meeting and features more than 30 races, including eight at the world championship “Group One” level. Highlighting this year's American contingent are Extravagant Kid and Maven, a son of Triple Crown-winner American Pharoah, who are both expected to run in tomorrow's G1 King's Stand Stakes.

Throughout the week, coverage of The Royal Meeting features four live “Breeders' Cup Challenge Series – Win and You're In” races: The Queen Anne Stakes (Tues., June 15), Prince of Wales's Stakes (Wed., June 16), The Norfolk Stakes (Thurs., June 17), and The Diamond Jubilee Stakes (Sat., Jun 19).

The Royal Meeting is the center of the British social season and a pivotal week in the calendar of the Royal Family. Queen Elizabeth II has attended Royal Ascot every year since 1945, except for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

NBC Sports' Nick Luck will host Saturday's coverage.

Following is NBC Sports' schedule for the Royal Ascot this week:

Date Time (ET) Network
Tues., June 15 8:30 a.m. NBCSN
Wed., June 16 8:30 a.m. NBCSN
Thurs., June 17 8:30 a.m. NBCSN
Fri., June 18 8:30 a.m. NBCSN
Sat., June 19 9 a.m. NBC
Sat., June 19 11 a.m. CNBC

The post NBC Sports To Present Daily Live Coverage Of Royal Ascot Meeting appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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It will be Bell's first Breeders' Cup runner.

“In all his races his last furlong has been his best, which suggests he's worth a try over further,” Bell told racingpost.com. “His pedigree doesn't say he will definitely stay, but his style of racing suggests he might, especially going around a two-turn mile like they have at Keeneland.”

Owned by Qatar Racing Ltd., The Lir Jet is out of the Green Desert mare Paper Dreams. He was a $9,775 yearling at Goffs, and owns a record of two wins and two seconds from five starts for earnings of $116,914. Other top finishes this year include a second in the G2 Prix Robert Patin at Chantilly and a second in the G1 Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh.

Read more at the Racing Post.

The post Royal Ascot Winner The Lir Jet To Step Up In Trip, Give Michael Bell First Breeders’ Cup Runner appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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After a runner-up effort by a neck in his turf debut last out in the Group 2 Norfolk on June 19 at England's Royal Ascot, Golden Pal shipped back to the United States and entered the sixth running of the Skidmore off three strong breezes at Saratoga. That momentum carried over into the afternoon, where Golden Pal broke sharp from the outermost post 6 with Irad Ortiz, Jr. aboard, leading the field through an opening quarter-mile in 21.99 seconds and the half in 44.37 on the Mellon turf course labeled firm.

Out of the turn, Golden Pal opened up even more while never seriously challenged, completing 5 ½ furlongs in a final time of 1:00.88 [challenging the track record of 1:00.21 set by Carotari in August 2019].

Golden Pal, the 2-5 favorite, returned $2.90 on a $2 win wager and improved his career earnings to $73,056. Trainer Wesley Ward said the effort could set up the Uncle Mo colt for a spot in the Grade 2, $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint going 5 ½ furlongs on November 6 at Keeneland, where Ward is primarily stabled.

“He's something special, this guy. I think we just got a little peek at it,” Ward said. “From everything we've seen here, they're coming into his homecourt like Michael Jordan in the United Center in the Breeders' Cup this year. He's a very, very nice colt. I'm very thankful for the owner.

Bred in Florida by Randall E. Lowe, who operates under the nom de course Ranlo Investments, Golden Pal made his career debut on April 17 over Gulfstream Park's main track, running second to Gatsby before traveling to the prestigious Royal Ascot meet two months later, where he led the field before The Lir Jet won in the final jumps. He is out of 11-time stakes-winning turf sprinter Lady Shipman, who was also bred and campaigned by Lowe.

“[The owner] afforded me the time that myself and my team has needed, and this horse had some issues and my team has really worked hard on this guy,” Ward said. “He's so fast and he's so gifted. To get him to this point is special.”

Ward trained the exacta, with Fauci finishing four lengths clear of Sky's Not Falling for second. Sunny Isles Beach, also trained by Ward, ran fourth, followed by Kentucky Knight and Baytown Bear.

“My horse broke good but the other horse [Golden Pal] had more speed, so I wasn't going to go up there and battle head and head,” said Fauci jockey Tyler Gaffalione. “He settled nicely and put in a nice run down the lane, but the other horse was much the best today.

“He's [Golden Pal] pretty quick. He's a nice horse,” Gaffalione added. “I rode him in his first start and he's a really fast horse, but it seems like he's starting to get the mental side of it now.”

Live racing resumes Saturday at Saratoga with a 10-race card that includes the Grade 1, $400,000 Fourstardave for 3-years-old and up going one mile on the inner turf in Race 9 at 5:46 p.m. Eastern. First post is 1:10 p.m.

The post Golden Pal To Target Breeders’ Cup After Easy Skidmore Victory appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Varian has hit a real streak over the past two days and is looking at a potential trainers’ title at the meeting. “We felt it was a bit tight running in the Pavilion at Newcastle beforehand and liked the idea of getting him to Ascot as a fresh horse,” he said. “We’d have loved to have got a prep run into him in May, but he’s not a horse I wanted to go ‘bang-bang’ with and so we took the decision to try and get him cherry-ripe for Ascot. He’s probably got to overcome a little bit of inexperience, but he is a very natural horse and he won in group company after a four-month lay-off on only his second start. Hopefully, his ability will shine through and he will be streetwise enough for the big day. He’s got to prove himself at the top level, but he’s got the gears, definitely, and I think he now has the strength.”

While Pierre Lapin lacks experience, AlMohamediya Racing’s Golden Horde (Ire) (Lethal Force {Ire}) has plenty under his belt as he prepares to provide trainer Clive Cox and jockey Adam Kirby with another big afternoon at the Royal meeting. Successful in the G2 Richmond S. at Goodwood at the start of August, the imposing chestnut came up against Earthlight (Ire) (Shamardal) on two occasions with a third placing in Deauville’s G1 Prix Morny later that month followed by a neck second to that Godolphin heavyweight in the G1 Middle Park S. at Newmarket in September. “He has done very well over the winter and carries a real level of form into the race,” Cox said. “I believe he’s done as well as any horse possibly could from two to three. With the sprinting brigade, in particular, it’s all about maturity and strength. Once you’ve got that natural speed and ability, maturity is the curve you hope and pray continues upwards. I’m hoping we go there with a good chance.”

Like many others, Wesley Ward would not have wanted Thursday’s rain for Ten Broeck Farm’s Kimari (Munnings), although she did perform to a high standard on easy ground when a neck second to Raffle Prize (Ire) (Slade Power {Ire}) in the G2 Queen Mary S. over five furlongs at this meeting 12 months ago. Her win on sloppy going in the Purple Martin S. at Oaklawn Park on Apr. 4 was a perfect warm-up and she meets several opponents without that kind of race-sharpening experience. “Not all my horses do well from two to three, but she really has, which is why we’re bringing her back,” Ward explained. “My team tell me she is in really good form. Kieren Fallon has been riding my horses in Newmarket and out of them all she is his pick for the week. It would be fantastic if she can go one better than last year.”

Aidan O’Brien drops Lope Y Fernandez (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) back to six furlongs, having looked to run out of stamina late when third in the G1 Irish 2000 Guineas at The Curragh a week earlier, while further Irish representation is provided by last year’s G1 Cheveley Park S. winner Millisle (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) who also reverts to sprinting having been tried in the G1 1000 Guineas at Newmarket June 7. In a blow to the race, Al Shaqab Racing’s G3 Prix Texanita winner Wooded (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) was taken out on Thursday by connections due to the ground.

Charlie Appleby supplies a live outsider in Royal Crusade (GB) (Shamardal), who raced at seven furlongs at two and was runner-up in Doncaster’s G2 Champagne S. in September and in the G3 Prix Thomas Bryon at Saint-Cloud the following month. “I am looking forward to him dropping back in distance to six furlongs. He is a typical Shamardal in that he has got stronger and quicker as he has got older,” his trainer commented. “This could be an ideal target for him as it is a stiff six furlongs at Ascot and we know he gets seven. He has a big chance.”

Supporting action involves the G2 Hardwicke S., in which Elarqam (GB) (Frankel {Ire}) looks to prolong Shadwell and Jim Crowley’s purple patch. Trying a mile and a half for the first time, the son of Attraction (GB) (Efisio {GB}) was staying on stoutly when third in the G1 Juddmonte International over an extended 10 furlongs at York in August and when runner-up behind Wednesday’s impressive G1 Prince of Wales’s S. winner Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the G3 Brigadier Gerard S. at Haydock on June 7.

Mark Johnston’s son and assistant Charlie said he is hoping that Shadwell’s golden run continues in the mile-and-a-half feature of the meeting. “Sheikh Hamdan left it in our hands to make the decision and we felt it was the right race,” he explained. “We’re not ruling out going back to a mile and a quarter and his big midsummer target will be the Juddmonte at York–a track at which he goes so well. In the short-term, though, we’re interested to try a mile and a half because there are signs he could improve for it and if he does it opens up a lot more doors going forwards. He will improve a little for Haydock. He was built up in March and then again in May, so he’d done plenty of home work before that. Like in that race, he’s not exuberant–he only does what he has to do and is quite laid-back.”

Aidan O’Brien would not have welcomed the change in going for last year’s G1 Epsom Derby hero Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who is looking all the time a genuine fast-ground specialist. His 2 1/2-length second to the sensational Ghaiyyath (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the G1 Coronation Cup at Newmarket on June 5 would give him the edge had the rain not come. One who will benefit from the ease underfoot is King Power Racing’s Morando (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}), who beat Kew Gardens (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) by eight lengths in Chester’s G3 Ormonde S. last May and garnered the course-and-distance G3 Cumberland Lodge S. in October on two of the three occasions he encountered soft ground.

In the G2 Queen’s Vase, William Haggas pitches the Tsui family’s Born With Pride (Ire) (Born To Sea {Ire}) against the boys tackling 14 furlongs. On the face of it, last year’s Listed Montrose Fillies’ S. winner was disappointing when seventh in the 10-furlong G3 Classic Trial at Kempton on June 3 but there were several mitigating circumstances that conspired against her in what has turn out to be a warm race and she has everything in her favour here. “We just felt the ground might not be soft enough in the Ribblesdale and we thought we’d wait until later in the week with some rain forecast,” her trainer said. “Her debut form looks very good now, obviously, but that was a long time ago. I think she’ll get the trip alright–she might even want it.”

Godolphin’s Listed Pat Eddery S. winner Al Dabaran (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) is tried in blinkers by Charlie Appleby and he is an intriguing contender on his second in Chantilly’s G3 Prix de Conde in September. “Al Dabaran’s preparation has gone well and we expect the step up to a mile and three-quarters is going to suit,” his trainer commented. “We were contemplating putting headgear on him last year and he is wearing blinkers this time, which we hope will also see some improvement. This will be his first start of the year but he is fit and ready to go.”

In the G3 Albany S., last year’s winning trainer Roger Varian Setarhe saddles the June 4 Newmarket maiden winner Setarhe (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}), as well as Cheveley Park Stud’s Undertake (GB) (Kodiac {GB}) who was off the mark at Lingfield’s Polytrack on June 6. Ballydoyle’s Mother Earth (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), who was second in an extended five-furlong maiden at Navan on June 10, is a half-sister to last year’s G2 Premio Dormello winner Night Colours (Ire) (Night of Thunder {Ire}) who operated on heavy ground, while it is guesswork as to how CJ Thoroughbreds’s impressive May 21 Gulfstream Park maiden special weight winner Flying Aletha (Tiznow) will react to this slow surface.

Wesley Ward said of Flying Aletha, “I see she’s favourite on the book and she is a filly with true quality–she’s not just a fast filly, which is why we think she can stretch out a little further. She did some eye-opening breezes prior to her first run. She ended up running on the dirt because the turf races were cancelled and still won really well, even though she’s a turf horse rather than a dirt horse. She isn’t a big, robust filly. She’s quite light and frail, which is keeping me a little grounded about her chances, but I’m still hopeful she’ll run a big race.”

The following G2 Norfolk S. sees Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum’s Eye of Heaven (GB) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) look to build on his debut success over this five-furlong trip at Newmarket June 4. He had Wednesday’s Listed Windsor Castle S. scorer Tactical (GB) (Toronado {Ire}) two lengths back in third and looks a ready-made juvenile group winner. Qatar Racing’s The Lir Jet (GB) is bidding to emulate the success of his sire Prince of Lir (Ire) in this in 2009 following his authoritative success at Yarmouth June 3, while Ballydoyle’s Lipizzaner (Uncle Mo) received a major form boost on Thursday as his stablemate Battleground (War Front) took the Listed Chesham S. He had been fifth when Lipizzaner was second over six furlongs at Naas on June 8.

At Chantilly, the G2 Prix de Sandringham sees the May 31 Listed Prix des Lilas one-two-three Miss Extra  (Fr) (Masterstroke), Golden Crown (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) and Porcelaine (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) re-oppose. They are met by the impressive May 18 Marseille-Borely maiden winner Like a Charm (Fr) (Charm Spirit {Ire}) from the G1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches-winning stable of Frederic Rossi. In the G3 Prix Paul de Moussac Longines also over a mile, Rossi also saddles last year’s G3 Prix la Rochette winner Kenway (Fr) (Galiway {GB}) who was fifth in the G1 G1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains at ParisLongchamp on June 1. One of the unexposed types in the line-up is Robert Ng’s unbeaten Natural Path (Ire) (Toronado {Ire}), but the Henri-Francois Devin-trained bay needs to improve off his May 28 Clairefontaine conditions win at this distance. In the six-furlong Listed Prix Marchand d’Or, one who would not have been out of place in the Commonwealth Cup is ‘TDN Rising Star’ Hurricane Ivor (Ire) (Ivawood {Ire}), who was so impressive over this course and distance on May 13. At Gowran Park, the Listed Irish Stallion Farms EBF Victor McCalmont Memorial S. over an extended nine furlongs sees Ballydoyle’s $1.2-million Keeneland September graduate Elfin Queen (American Pharoah) take on her elders after her 6 1/2-length June 8 Naas maiden success.

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The Breeders' Cup Challenge Series is an international series of stakes races, whose winners receive automatic starting positions and fees paid into a corresponding race of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, which is scheduled to be held at Keeneland Race Course, in Lexington, Kentucky, on Nov 6-7.

As part of the benefits of the Challenge Series, Breeders' Cup will pay the entry fees for the winner of the Norfolk to start in the Juvenile Turf Sprint, an open race for 2-year-olds, which will be run at 5 ½ furlongs over the Keeneland turf course on Nov. 6 as a part of the “Future Stars Friday” program. Breeders' Cup also will provide a travel allowance of US$40,000 for all starters based outside of North America to compete in the World Championships. The Challenge winner must already be nominated to the Breeders' Cup program or it must be nominated by the Championships' pre-entry deadline of Oct. 26 to receive the rewards.

Eye of Heaven, a bay son of Exceed and Excel (AUS), has attracted early wagering interest among the contenders. Trained by Mark Johnston and ridden by Frankie Dettori, Eye of Heaven broke his maiden in the EBF Betway Stallions Novice Stakes at 5-furlongs on June 4 at Newmarket as the even-money favorite. He passed Get It (GB) with one furlong remaining and went on to register victory by three-quarters of a length.

The Lir Jet (IRE), trained by Michael Bell, made an even bigger splash in his debut, breaking the all-aged 5-furlong track record at Yarmouth in his June 3 debut. The colt, from the first crop of 2016 Norfolk Stakes winner Prince Of Lir (IRE), was subsequently bought privately by Qatar Racing.

“The track record was a surprise but it wasn't a surprise that he won because he had been showing up well at home,” Bell said last week. “The conditions were very favorable that day, quickish ground and the wind was helping.

“To break an all-aged track record on debut, carrying 9st 2lb (128 pounds), is not easily done. It was an eye-catching performance which caught the attention of Sheikh Fahad [al Thani of Qatar Racing] and hopefully he will be rewarded.”

Ward describes the Royal Ascot meeting as “The Breeders' Cup in June.” A 10-time Royal Ascot-winning trainer, Ward could be formidable in the Norfolk with Ranlo Investments LLC's Golden Pal. Bred in Florida by Randall E. Lowe, Golden Pal is a bay son of 2010 Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Uncle Mo, out of Lady Shipman by 2008 Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Midshipman. Golden Pal is the first foal from Lady Shipman, an 11-time stakes winner.

In his lone start, Golden Pal finished second in a 4 ½-furlong maiden race on dirt at Gulfstream Park on April 17. After being bumped out of the gate, Golden Pal rushed to the lead and gave way grudgingly to finish three-quarters of a length behind Gatsby. Golden Pal will be ridden by Andrea Atzeni.

Ward has won the Norfolk Stakes twice, with No Nay Never in 2013 — who still holds the 2-year-old track record — and the filly Shang Shang Shang in 2018.

Aidan O'Brien, who has trained three Norfolk Stakes winners with Johannesburg (IRE), who also captured the 2001 Breeders' Cup Juvenile, Waterloo Bridge (IRE) and Sioux Nation, sends out Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith and Mrs. John Magnier's Lipizzaner. Bred in Kentucky by Irish Lights Syndicate, Lipizzaner, a bay son of Uncle Mo out of Irish Lights (AUS) by Fastnet Rock (AUS), has finished second as the favorite in both his starts at Naas. He was defeated by a half-length to Poetic Flare (IRE) in an EBF Maiden on March 23 at Naas, and was headed at the wire by Lucky Vega (IRE) in a 6-furlong maiden on June 8. Ryan Moore has the mount.

Also of interest is M A R Blencowe's Imperial Force (IRE), trained by Andrew Balding. A bay son of Camacho (GB), Imperial Force was beaten by 1 1/4 lengths in his debut in a 6-furlong EFB maiden at Newmarket on June 4.

The Norfolk Stakes is the third of four Breeders' Cup Challenge races to be run during the Royal Meeting. On Tuesday, Circus Maximus (IRE), earned a “Win and You're In” berth into the TVG Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) by winning the Queen Anne Stakes (G1) On Wednesday, Lord North (IRE) won the for an automatic starting position into the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1) by taking the Prince of Wales's Stakes. On Saturday, an automatic berth in to the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint will be on the line in the 6-furlong Diamond Jubilee Stakes (G1).

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