On the final day of the 2020 Royal Ascot meeting, Alpine Star emulated her half-sister Alpha Centauri (the winner in 2018) when storming to victory in the G1 Coronation Stakes.
The 3-year-old Sea The Moon filly, homebred by the Niarchos Family, was making her first start of 2020 and was off the bridle from some way out. Responding gamely to Frankie Dettori, Alpine Star took up the running entering the final furlong and kept on strongly for a four and a quarter length victory over American challenger Sharing (Graham Motion/Oisin Murphy), who stayed on well from off the pace.
Speaking from her base in County Kildare, Alpine Star's trainer Jessica Harrington said: “It is absolutely amazing because I am sitting here, I can't go racing, and watching it on the telly is very hard. I could not believe it because she was the only horse in the field that hadn't had a run this year, but she is amazing. She is a half-sister to a complete superstar, Alpha Centauri, who gave me my first Royal Ascot winner. She was just amazing today, she did it so easy.”
The Coronation Stakes had been the only Group 1 race at Royal Ascot in which Frankie Dettori did not have a victory, meaning Newmarket's July Cup is now the only British G1 race he has not won.
“It has taken 30 years to win all the Group Ones, but I can say that I have really conquered Royal Ascot now – I am delighted for all the people concerned,” Dettori said. “This was missing, Royal Ascot means a lot to me, the Coronation, I have been riding here for 30 years, but for some reason I have never managed to get on the right horse. Jessica and the Niarchos family offered me this ride a while back.
“I was very excited about the ride, I had a good draw, a good split, the filly was beautifully prepared by Jessica, she showed a good turn of foot, and I am thrilled, thrilled.”
Oisin Murphy, who partnered the second-placed Sharing, commented: “Sharing is a champion on really fast turf and she didn't get her conditions. Everyone should be very proud and hopefully it persuades Graham Motion to have more horses here next year – it was a massive performance. She was the best juvenile filly on turf in America last year and is a huge, physical filly.”
American interests did find success earlier on the card when the Wesley Ward-trained Campanelle won the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes, giving the trainer his 11th victory at the Royal Ascot meeting. Ridden by Frankie Dettori, the 2-year-old daughter of Kodiac came out on top by three-quarters of a length from Sacred after a sustained duel in the closing stages.
It was a fourth Queen Mary Stakes for Ward following Jealous Again (2009), Acapulco (2015) and Lady Aurelia (2016). Like Lady Aurelia, Campanelle won in the colours of Stonestreet Stables. Earlier in the week, Ward had been responsible for two runners-up in Golden Pal (G2 Norfolk Stakes) and Kimari (G1 Commonwealth Cup).
“We are going crazy here,” said Ward, speaking from Keeneland, Kentucky. “She is something and in think that we are going to be heading to the Prix Morny now. I will talk it over with Barbara Banke and the team. We are all real excited – I had all the stables lads here at the barn and they are all jumping up and down.
“There is nothing like Royal Ascot. We didn't have a winner last year and we had a streak going. We've been trying our best, I can't thank everyone enough for giving me such a talented filly from where started at Stonestreet Stables. It is amazing and Frankie Dettori rode such a brilliant race as he always does. I have got my assistant Blake Heap there and we've got a wonderful team assembled in Florida – words just can't describe it right now.”
Saturday's Royal Ascot action began with the Silver Wokingham Handicap, a consolation race for those horses who missed the cut for the Wokingham itself later in the afternoon. It was 7-year-old Chiefofchiefs who came out on top, handing a second winner of the week to both trainer Charlie Fellowes and jockey William Buick.
“For me, Royal Ascot has always been the pinnacle,” Fellowes said. “When I set up training this was always the dream, and I am very lucky to be living the dream. Three winners in two years – a lot of trainers go a lot longer than that without having winners. I am very, very lucky, we have got a beautiful yard. I can't really complain much at the moment, to be honest!”
The third race of the day saw the longest-priced winner in Royal Ascot history when Nando Parrado captured the Group 2 Coventry Stakes at 150-to-1. The 2-year-old Kodiac colt had finished fifth on debut at Newmarket on June 4 and there was no hint of a fluke about his victory today. Always in a prominent position, Nando Parrado and jockey Adam Kirby took the lead just inside the final two furlongs and saw off all challengers to score by a length from Qaader.
“I did back him!” laughed trainer Clive Cox, recording his second winner of the week. “So we are very happy… I don't know what price I got yet. When I saw the price, it was a little bit of an insult to our thoughts on him, so I am delighted.
“Listen, it is all about having winners at Royal Ascot, and to have two like this is so, so special.”
There was no stopping Dettori on day five of Royal Ascot as the jockey brought up a treble when partnering Palace Pier to victory in the G1 St James's Palace Stakes. Trained by John Gosden for owner Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, the 3-year-old Kingman colt is now unbeaten in four starts.
It looked a three way battle between Palace Pier, Pinatubo and Wichita inside the final furlong and it was Palace Pier who found most, lengthening well to score by a length from Pinatubo, with Wichita another head away in third.
Dettori is now on six winners for the week and has enjoyed 73 Royal Ascot winners in total, equaling the record of the late Pat Eddery. He said: “What a day! We always thought a lot of Palace Pier, but he got a bit sleepy on us in the mornings and we were scratching our heads. John [Gosden] did a great job, and he thought, let's start him off in a handicap at Newcastle to see whether he would wake up, and he did. We threw him in at the deep end today, but in the back of our minds we knew that there was a good horse in that big body, and we just were not sure how much of a good horse he was. Today was no fluke.”
Trainer Charlie Appleby said of runner-up Pinatubo, last year's 2-year-old champion: “I am disappointed to get beaten again, but we saw the Pinatubo we saw last year, for sure. From the three to the two there I thought, it's just a matter of pressing the button again. Will [Buick] just said that on that ground, in the last 100 yards the tank was emptying out, but he is so courageous, he has held on for second still.”
Hello Youmzain landed the second G1 sprint of his career when taking the Diamond Jubilee Stakes, handing jockey Kevin Stott a first Royal Ascot winner. The 4-year-old Kodiac colt, owned by Haras d'Etreham and Cambridge Stud and trained by Kevin Ryan, landed the G1 Haydock Sprint Cup in 2019 and was also third at the 2019 Royal Meeting in the G1 Commonwealth Cup.
Today, Hello Youmzain blasted from the stalls and took the 10-strong field along. He was headed by favorite Sceptical entering the final furlong but rallied to regain the lead and held off the late challenge of Dream Of Dreams by a head.
After the Diamond Jubilee, Stott said: “Unbelievable. Listen, fair play to the horse – he dug very deep when I needed him. All credit to him more than me. I am blessed to be put back on him with the change of ownership and I can't describe in words how thankful I am that they put me back on him. It means everything.”
Stott immediately scored his second Royal winner in taking the day's seventh race, the Wokingham Stakes, with Hey Jonesy, also trained by Kevin Ryan.
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