Royal Ascot | Horse Racing Free Tips

Oxted Displays Powerful Finish In King’s Stand; American-Trained Extravagant Kid Third

Oxted finished powerfully to give trainer Roger Teal and jockey Cieren Fallon a first Royal Ascot victory in the five-furlong G1 King's Stand Stakes on Tuesday.

The victorious rider roared with delight as he passed the post on the 4/1 winner, waving his whip in the air as he registered his name on the Royal Ascot honor board – a meeting where his father Kieren rode 30 winners.

Last year's G1 July Cup winner had a length and three quarters to spare over runner-up Arecibo (28/1), with US challenger Extravagant Kid (18/1, trained by Brendan Walsh) a neck further behind in third.

Favorite Battaash (11/8) briefly threatened to follow up last year's victory in this race, hitting the front with two furlongs to go, but faded late to finish fourth.

Fallon said: “It's a dream come true – a Group One at Royal Ascot. All credit goes to Roger, Harry [Teal, son and assistant trainer] and the team back home. I've been very blessed and very lucky to sit on a horse like this so early in my career.

“Harry does all the hard work on him behind the scenes, I'm just very lucky to be on him on the racetrack.”

Fallon added missing the horse's last appearance, owing to being in quarantine in France for a ride on a horse that then did not run in the French 2,000 Guineas, is “part and parcel of racing”.

“It's come good today and that's the main thing,” he continued. “I'm glad to get back on board and all credit to the owners to give me that faith and put me back on him.

“Oxted has a lot of speed and can run keen over six furlongs. Dropping back to a stiff five was always going to suit and I took my time on him today.

“I got a lovely trip, they went a real solid gallop early on. I didn't panic, normally he's a horse that can be quite keen, but I just gave him his head, let him get into a nice rhythm and just picked up when I needed to. He's just shown that the July Cup isn't a fluke. He is a proper Group One horse.

“It means a lot to have a Royal Ascot winner. Dad has done what he has done and people always ask me 'are you going to do what he's done, are you going to do this'. It's great to have him behind me as well as my family, my bosses Sheikh Fahad and Mr Haggas and my jockey coach Michael Hills. I've got people round me to help me keep learning and progressing.

“I am just blessed to have all the people around me, to help me and encourage me and motivate me.”

Roger Teal said: ““It's just unbelievable. I mean I'm speechless because we've dreamt about these days for so long, I mean we had it in the July Cup last year, but a Royal Ascot Group One. I mean, come on! A yard of our size, doing this is amazing.

“Harry's done all the work with him. It's just a big family affair. The lads back home are amazing with the hard work they put in. It's just credit to everyone, and the owners for supporting me. Dreams do come true.

“This is obviously his first run back over five furlongs, so I said to Cieren, just keep it simple. Just go straight from your draw, and see how it pans out later on. When we were quite outpaced, I thought oh no, maybe I've done the wrong thing.

“But then at halfway I saw Cieren just revving him up a bit and I saw him react, and then it was like poetry in motion. Stamina kicked in then. We knew there was going to be pace, for sure, with the likes of Battaash. But he's got a great cruising speed; he was a little out of his comfort zone but he was able to use his stamina.”

Arecibo's trainer Robert Cowell said: “To be honest, we weren't totally surprised that he ran so well. He's turned a corner with us recently, and you could just tell that he was in great form leading up to this race. Mentally more than physically – maybe he just feels a million dollars. He looked it, and was squealing round the paddock, and I had a suspicion that he could run well. But when you are taking on the likes of Battaash and Oxted, you think we'll be there, thereabouts, but not win, but he's run a really solid race and I couldn't be more proud of him. He's really improved.”

Jockey Jim Crowley said of 11/8 favorite Battaash, who finished fourth: “He will come on plenty for that run. He just needed it more today.”

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Top-Rated Palace Pier Earns Breeders’ Cup Berth With Queen Anne Victory

The world's top-rated racehorse Palace Pier followed up his St James's Palace Stakes win from 2020 with victory in the opening contest of this year's Royal Ascot, the G1 Queen Anne Stakes over a mile. The win earned Palace Pier an expenses-paid berth to the Breeders' Cup Mile this fall at Del Mar in California.

Sent off a red-hot 2/7 favorite under Royal Ascot's most prolific current jockey Frankie Dettori, the 4-year-old was pushed out for a comfortable length and a half success over Lope Y Fernandez (12/1), with Sir Busker (22/1) another length back in third.

Last year's G1 victory over the round mile was played out in front of empty grandstands, but today 12,000 spectators were able to enjoy a classy performance from Palace Pier. This victory was a 74th at the meeting for the rider, and a first for John Gosden in a training partnership with his son Thady.

A relieved John Gosden said: “It was a slowly run race over a straight mile and he's a very relaxed horse — you saw how he cantered down, he hack cantered down.

“I think we were very aware that there was no pace in the race. Frankie said, 'I'm drawn where I am so I'll stay on the wing' because we suspected a slow pace, which is what we got – a slow pace and a slow time – but then, don't sit out the back when they kick, with two and a half, three to run. He has done it really smoothly; he has come through, won his race, and is exactly like his father [Kingman], as soon as he gets there, he has done enough. And if I worked him at home with a very ordinary horse, he'd just stay with them – that's his game.

“If you are odds-on like that, it would be a bit odd if you weren't nervous, because your only thing round the corner is a banana skin, so it can happen. He had a normal blow afterwards – he has done more in his work at home than he did today. I've been second in this race three times – it took [son] Thady to get me over the line!

“It's wonderful – those people who have come and had a test, it's fantastic and there's a gorgeous atmosphere because it's not crowded, it's very comfortable, and it's a gorgeous day. To that extent, full marks to people who made the effort.

“Palace Pier's options are the Sussex Stakes, the Jacques le Marois in Deauville, which he won last year. And obviously you can step him up a trip if you wanted to, for the Juddmonte International, something like that. He is a grand horse, great attitude, good looking, nice scope.”

Dettori said: “Wow, wow. What can I say? He has shown again that he is the best miler around.

“You can rely on Palace Pier. It is like getting one of the proper guys to take the first penalty and they will put it in the back of the net.

“He is one of the best horses in the world and everything went right. 31 years ago I rode my first Royal Ascot winner on Markofdistinction in the Queen Anne. A lot of water has gone under the bridge since then.

“I am still getting the same kick and I am pretty relieved that everything went smooth. It makes a big difference [to have an early Royal Ascot winner]. I have a lot of big rides this week and it takes the pressure off.

“Palace Pier is the best miler around the world. He goes on any ground, he is very kind, does what you ask him to do. He comes from behind, can be up there and he is a great partner to have in these races. It's not just me, he should take the credit.

“You cannot imagine to see the colors, the people screaming. It is a mirage – I'm so pleased to have the crowd back. It's great. What can you say? Royal Ascot with people is amazing and this meeting is a big part of my life. I couldn't ask for anything more.”

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10 Things to Know About The World Pool at Royal Ascot

Edited Press Release

In advance of the five-day Royal Ascot meeting kicking off on Tuesday, below are 10 things to know about the World Pool, which will be utilised for the third year at the historic event.

World Pool was created by Hong Kong Jockey Club and brings together racing fans from over 20 nations so everyone is effectively betting into one pool creating huge liquidity. It's like the EuroMillions version of the lottery.
World Pool in the UK is operated by the Tote. You can bet with the Tote at tote.co.uk, on the Tote App, at a racecourse, or with a bookmaker as most offer Tote bets in shops and online.
Without bookmakers' commission to pay, the Tote can offer the best value to their direct customers via the Tote website. Here they operate Tote+ (Tote Plus), giving an extra 10% on every winning dividend–that means a £100 win becomes £110 on tote.co.uk. In addition Tote Guarantee ensures the Tote win price will also match or exceed the industry SP, so Tote customers will never feel short-changed on winning bets.
The pool betting model means the Tote is agnostic about results so welcomes winning customers and will not restrict bet sizes.
The international nature of World Pool means there is some great value to be found across markets. For example, Hong Kong racing fans will tend to over bet on jockeys they know so shorten their price, meaning other runners are over-priced respective to their chances.
There are currently five bet types included in World Pool. These are Win, Place, Trifecta (first, second and third in correct order), Quinella (first two in either order) and Swinger (two in the first three).
This is the third year of World Pool at Royal Ascot with pools growing to £137 million in liquidity last year, compared to £19 million before World Pool.
The 2021 Derby was a World Pool event for the first time and saw the pool grow from £1.7 million to over £26 million with winners paying more on the Tote. For example, Adayar paid £20.24 on the Tote compared to 16-1 with bookmakers.
After Royal Ascot there are another 10 more World Pool days on British racing in 2021, including Coral-Eclipse Day, QIPCO King George Diamond Day, first three days of the Qatar Goodwood Festival, Shergar Cup Day, the first three days of the Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival and QIPCO Champions Day.
World Pool means bigger financial returns to British racing through increased media rights payments to racecourses and more revenue generated via pool betting.

For all the latest information on World Pool during Royal Ascot follow @ToteRacing.

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Win And You’re In: Palace Pier, Order Of Australia Headline Tuesday’s Queen Anne At Royal Ascot

Palace Pier (GB), one of the world's top milers, and Order of Australia (IRE), the reigning FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) winner, headline Tuesday's US$563,000 Queen Anne Stakes (G1) in the opening race of the Royal Ascot meeting at Ascot Racecourse. The winner of the Queen Anne will secure an automatic berth into this year's US$2million FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile through the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series.

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 Queen Anne winner to start in the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile, which will be run over the Del Mar turf course. 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 Queen Anne, run over a straight mile, is the first of four Breeders' Cup Challenge “Win and You're In” races to be conducted during the Royal Ascot meeting. The race will be televised live on NBCSN and TVG.

First run in 1840, the Queen Anne Stakes is named for the monarch who established racing at Ascot in 1711.

Palace Pier, owned by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed al Maktoum and trained by father and son John and Thady Gosden, has won seven times in eight starts, including last year's St. James's Palace (G1) at Royal Ascot and the Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois (G1) at Deauville. A 4-year-old son of Kingman (GB), Palace Pier has won both his starts in 2021, taking the 1-mile bet360 at Sandown on April 23 by 8 lengths, and the 1-mile Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes (G1) at Newberry on May 15 by 1 ½ lengths. His only defeat came in last October's Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (G1) at Ascot, when he finished third over soft ground.

“He is a lovely horse who has done everything right in his life,” said John Gosden. “He only missed the autumn of his 2-year-old career. He prepped in a Newcastle race last year and came out and won the St. James's Palace Stakes (G1). He did everything right last year until the end when he ran on very soft autumn ground (in the Queen Elizabeth II). He hated that, lost a shoe and got left.”

“He's come back well this year. He did handle that ground (good to soft) in the Lockinge and I've got to be clear that maybe a horse like Lope Y Fernandez did not. Back now on summer ground I think you will see a lot more horses come into play that maybe weren't happy on the ground.”

Frankie Dettori, who leads all jockeys with six Queen Anne wins, has the mount aboard Palace Pier.

Derrick Smith, Mrs. John Magner, Michael Tabor and Mrs. A.M. O'Brien's Order of Australia came off the also-eligible list and won last November's FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile at 73-1 at Keeneland. Order of Australia was the first of three Aidan O'Brien-trained runners across the wire, with Circus Maximus (IRE) a neck behind in second and Lope Y Fernandez (IRE) finishing third. A 4-year-old son of Australia (GB), Order of Australia will be making his first start since finishing sixth in last December's Longines Hong Kong Mile (G1) at Sha Tin.

Lope Y Fernandez, a 4-year-old son of Lope De Vega (IRE), started the year well by winning the listed 1-mile Heritage Stakes at Leopardstown on April 14. He went off as the 5-1 second choice in the Lockinge but was caught behind horses with a furlong remaining and wound up eighth.

The 8-year-old Lord Glitters (FR), who won the 2019 Queen Anne Stakes at 14-1, is also coming out of the Lockinge, where the roan/gray son of Whipper finished fourth. Trained by David O'Meara and ridden by Daniel Tudhope, Lord Glitters has won nine races, including two 1 1/8-mile scores at Meydan this year in the Jebel Hatta on March 6 and in the Singspiel Stakes on Jan 21. He also finished sixth in the Dubai Turf (G1) at Meydan on March 27.

“He ran fine in the Lockinge,” said O'Meara. “There were a few younger horses ahead of him and Palace Pier looked unbeatable, but Lord Glitters likes the straight track at Ascot so hopefully he runs his race again. He is better at Ascot than at Newbury.”

Saeed Manana's 5-year-old Top Rank (IRE) finished third in the Lockinge. Trained by James Tate, Top Rank, a gray son of Dark Angel, has won six of nine starts, and has a victory this year in the listed Unibet Doncaster Mile on March 27. Last September, he won the Betfair Superior Mile Stakes (G3) at Haydock. Top Rank will be ridden by P.J. McDonald.

Also entered is the Mrs. R.F. Johnson Houghton's 7-year-old gelding Accidental Agent (GB), who won the 2018 Queen Anne Stakes. Trained by Eve Johnson Houghton and ridden by Charles Bishop, Accidental Agent finished fourth in last year's race.

In addition to the Queen Anne, there will be three other Breeders' Cup Challenge Series races at the Royal meeting: The Prince of Wales's Stakes (G1), held on Wednesday, June 16, will award the winner a free berth into US$4 million Longines Breeders Cup Turf (G1); the Norfolk Stakes (G2), which will be run on Thursday, June 17, offers a “Win and You're In” starting position into US$1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G2); and the Diamond Jubilee Stakes (G1) on Saturday, June 19, which gives the winner an automatic berth into the US$1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1).

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