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Plays And Lays: Who Are The Juveniles To Side With And Against At Ascot?

It never ceases to amaze how much debate the two-year-old races at Royal Ascot generate each year. A quick scan on racing Twitter over the past few days confirmed as much. 

For all the fascinating puzzles that the royal meeting will serve up this week, including whether Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) can cope with Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the St James's Palace, what will reign supreme in the Prince Of Wales's or if any of the Australian sprinters can land a blow in the King's Stand S., it's the juvenile races that seem to be generating the most chatter.

TDN Europe's Brian Sheerin has taken a look at the main juvenile races to be run at Ascot and tried to decipher who to be on and who to side against this week. 

G2 Coventry S. – Tuesday

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The Coventry features a battle between TDN Rising Stars River Tiber (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) and Asadna (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) and it's hard to argue that the market has not got this one right. 

Favourites have a good record in the Coventry, with five of the past 12 doing the business, and River Tiber does not appear to have many chinks in his armour. 

A 10-length winner on soft ground at Navan on debut, Aidan O'Brien's charge proved just as effective on good ground when carrying a winner's penalty in a conditions event at Naas. 

The form of that race has worked out well since, with the fourth home, Supersonic Man (GB) (Bungle Inthejungle {GB}), now a 16-1 chance for the Windsor Castle after winning nicely at Tipperary last time. 

Wootton Bassett has had a couple of high-class juvenile performers, including Al Riffa (Fr) and Chindit (Ire), and River Tiber has already posted some decent figures. 

It's unoriginal but there's very little not to like about the Ballydoyle colt and he may well prove another winning favourite of the Coventry. 

Lay

Asadna put in one of the most visually impressive two-year-old performances of the season so far when streaking 12 lengths clear of his rivals on debut at Ripon but the case could be made that odds of 7-2 about him in the Coventry look skimpy. 

For all that he was mightily impressive, the form of that race has not worked out, and he obviously hadn't been showing connections that brilliance at home given he was allowed to go off a 4-1 chance on the day. 

Compared to River Tiber, who has gone on and beaten better opposition after his wide-margin debut win, the George Boughey-trained Asadna has not been tested since that emphatic Ripon success. 

Asadna could well be a freak, but River Tiber represents an altogether different test to what he faced on debut and he could be worth taking on at the prices. 

Dark horse

Bucanero Fuerte (GB) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) could be the one who is slipping in under the radar in the Coventry. 

Amo Racing may have had the runner-up in the Derby this year but the modus operandi of the operation has been to unearth classy two-year-olds, and this guy looked just that when winning the opening juvenile maiden of the year in Ireland at the Curragh. 

Not seen since then, Bucanero Fuerte will need to overcome the fact that 11 out of the past 12 Coventry runners had run within a month of Royal Ascot, but fitness shouldn't be a worry given he hails from such a professional operation. 

He's drawn beside the speedy Asadna so should get a good tow into the race. At odds of 16-1, this brother to Wooded (Ire) could represent better each-way value than the Boughey runner. 

G2 Queen Mary S. – Wednesday

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Beautiful Diamond (GB) (Twilight Son {GB}) would appear the one to be on. Karl Burke is operating at a whopping 26% strike-rate with his juveniles this term and he probably doesn't have many more exciting young fillies in his yard than this daughter of Twilight Son. 

Snapped up by Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock for £360,000 at the Goffs UK Breeze-Up Sale from Tradewinds Stud, Beautiful Diamond made a perfect start to her career at Nottingham. 

There was a lot to like about the performance given she won by over three lengths going away at the line without having to be asked for maximum effort. 

Hailing from a stable who won this race last year and carrying the yellow and black silks of Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum, which have been synonymous with Royal Ascot winners, it's hard to get away from Beautiful Diamond in the Queen Mary. 

Lay

Like Bright Diamond, Born To Rock (Ire) (Soldier's Call {GB}) was snapped up from breeze-up sales and made an immediate impact when landing a Yarmouth maiden in good style. 

However, the form of the race has not worked out as well as one might have hoped and, given she was installed as a 10-1 chance immediately afterwards, it's hard to be too enthused by the 9-2 on offer. 

Not only have the second and third from that Yarmouth maiden disappointed on their subsequent starts but the fourth home, Mantra (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}), who was beaten just over five lengths by Born To Rock, was then beaten by over 15 lengths by Beautiful Diamond at Nottingham.

Given Mantra had the advantage of a run under her belt, one would have thought that she ought to be getting closer to Beautiful Diamond than she did. At roughly the same prices, Beautiful Diamond would have to represent the better value. 

Dark horse

Conrad Allen is not a trainer that one would associate with Royal Ascot-winning two-year-olds and, prior to Princess Chizara (Ire) winning on debut at Brighton, the stable was 0-28 with its juveniles in the past five years. 

Admittedly, that is a small sample size, but the point stands that Princess Chizara is clearly one of the smartest juveniles the trainer has got his hands on in a very long time. 

It may only have been a Brighton maiden but there was a lot to like about how Princess Chizara  accounted for a Richard Hannon-trained 2-9 favourite to win by over four lengths at the line. 

The Cotai Glory (GB) filly was clearly well-produced by Stevie Byrne of Knockgraffon Stables at the Tattersalls Guineas Breeze-Up Sale, where she was knocked down to Allen for 65,000gns after recording one of the fastest times. 

What she lacks for in size, Princess Chizara more than makes up for in ability, and she could well out-run her 33-1 odds in what looks a deep race. 

G2 Norfolk S. – Thursday

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Elite Status (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) looked the real deal when landing a listed contest at Sandown last month and is another high-class juvenile that Karl Burke can look forward to running at the royal meeting. 

Unbeaten in both of his starts to date, Elite Status was described as a 'potential superstar sprinter' by his trainer after Sandown and it was easy to see why given he has such an honest and natural way of galloping. 

Of all the juvenile favourites running this week, Elite Status probably has the most rock-solid credentials, and he looks the one to be on in the Norfolk. 

Lay

In a normal year, American Rascal (Curlin) may well have been expected to go off favourite but the presence of Elite Status in the race means that will be unlikely. 

It's also worth noting that Wesley Ward's runners tend to be over-bet at this meeting, for all that he has enjoyed colossal success down through the years.

American Rascal looked very good when winning on debut at Keeneland but he'll need to be up there with the best of what Ward has targeted at this meeting with to give Elite Status something to think about. 

Dark horse

This is not just about the top two in the betting as Donnacha O'Brien's Devious (GB) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) needs to be respected. 

He showed natural speed and talent when landing the odds on debut over the minimum trip at Naas where he looked a bona fide Norfolk horse and earned a TDN Rising Star in the process. He's smart.

Others to note

It is interesting that Donnacha O'Brien has secured Frankie Dettori to ride Porta Fortuna (Ire) (Caravaggio) in Friday's G3 Albany S. She looked good when winning a five-furlong Curragh maiden on debut and was even better when winning a Group 3 at Naas over a furlong further last month. She's clearly a filly on the up and could well go off shorter than the 8-1 that is available now. 

There are no entries for Saturday's Chesham S. but, if Pink Satin (GB) turns up, which was reported to be the plan after she won on debut at Windsor, she would have to be respected. There was plenty of each-way support around for Pink Satin at Windsor and she put a well-regarded filly to the sword to win going away by just over a length in the finish. 

She will have a relatively quick turnaround to overcome, given that debut win came just last Monday, but Paul and Oliver Cole didn't appear to be too worried about that in the winner's enclosure at Windsor. 

She looks to be another strapping daughter of Churchill (Ire) and, given it is not too uncommon for fillies to pop up in the Chesham every now and again [Maybe (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in 2011 and September (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in 2017], she could be one to keep on side. 

 

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Churchill’s Blue Rose Cen Completes Rare Treble In The Diane

As Blue Rose Cen (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}–Queen Blossom {Ire}, by Jeremy) dominated the final 300 metres of Sunday's G1 Prix de Diane Longines, there was time for collective appreciation of the arrival of a new starlet for France. In pounding her peers in Chantilly's 10 1/2-furlong Classic by upwards of four lengths, the early gift from the racing gods to Leopoldo Fernández Pujals's fledgling breeding operation entered revered territory as only the fourth to add this prize to the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac and G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches. Doing so in a time second only to that of the great Treve (Fr) (Motivator {GB}), the unstoppable homebred pulled off the treble that places her in French racing's own Sacré-Cœur. Whether anybody truly believed beforehand that Christopher Head's versatile, straightforward and fearless filly was in the same league as the country's past queens Allez France, Divine Proportions and Zarkava (Ire) is questionable, but following this rampage it is a debate with legs.

Granted, she had the ideal draw in one and an almost acting bodyguard in stablemate Wise Girl (Fr) (Recoletos {Fr}) to her left throughout the all-important early hustling stages of this race, but when push came to shove from the top of the straight the 16-5 favourite was all business once again. For a brief period passing the two pole, Ryan Moore looked as if he might make a fight of it on Never Ending Story (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) but that threat was quickly extinguished as Aurelien Lemaitre disappeared into the distance. At the end of a renewal that had looked so strong on paper beforehand, there were notable disappointments such as the 10-3 second favourite Jannah Rose (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) who never entered contention and wound up sixth, but one dominant force whose hogging of all the headlines was throroughly deserved.

With this Spring being a momentous and emotive time for the distinguished Head dynasty, it was even more fitting that Blue Rose Cen was to achieve her landmark 10 years on from the last of the family's Diane winners, the aforementioned Treve. For Christopher, it was a difficult thing to summarise. “I have a lot of thoughts for my grandparents today and I really hope they are looking down on this,” he said. “Blue Rose Cen is magical. Really. She changed my life. I see no imperfection in her–she is perfect overall, strong physically and with a strong mind. She runs with passion.”

Looking nothing like the group 1 star she has turned out to be when well beaten on her debut, ironically at this venue over an inadequate six furlongs last May, Blue Rose Cen spent the next two months building towards a black-type bow with wins at Saint-Cloud and Clairefontaine but met one marginally too good when the time came in Deauville's Listed Criterium du FEE. A short neck ahead of her that day was Victoria Road (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}), Ballydoyle's slow-burner who was on his own progressive course heading to eventual glory moments in the G3 Prix de Conde and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.

Buoyed rather than bowed by that experience, Blue Rose Cen went to ParisLongchamp four times and with each passing visit grew in stature through the varying demands of the G3 Prix d'Aumale, the Marcel Boussac, G3 Prix de la Grotte and Pouliches. It is back there where she could achieve true immortality in October, just as Allez France and Zarkava did before her and her strong-closing final three furlongs in 35.16 suggests she can pack at least most of her formidable punch in the country's great monument which is staged virtually always on the testing ground on which she has already proven so agile.

Head would not be drawn on a possible Arc bid in the immediate aftermath. “We will have to discuss the rest of the season–in a few days we will have a meeting with Yeguada Centurion to discuss her future, as we had a plan up until the Diane. The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a new distance and we will have a discussion and make a plan for the rest of the season.”

The Arc may also ultimately be the target for the third-placed 43-1 shot Tasmania (Ger) (Australia {GB}), Gestut Schlenderhan's stamina-endowed homebred who failed by a short head to get the silver medal and whose final three furlongs were run in an eye-catching 34.75 on a stunning black-type debut. It will also be a race to forget for connections of Running Lion (GB) (Roaring Lion), who faded to be last, TDN Rising Star Pensee Du Jour (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) who also bowed out of the action early and ended up 13th, as well as the Pouliches runner-up Lindy (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) who had a prominent position but no answer to the winner's kick as she backtracked to finish eighth.

Pedigree Notes
Blue Rose Cen, who was providing her emerging-force second-season sire with a third Classic, is the only known foal to date out of the G3 Park Express S. and GIII Santa Barbara S. winner Queen Blossom (Ire) (Jeremy), a daughter of the G3 Silver Flash S.-placed Mark Of An Angel (Ire) (Mark Of Esteem {Ire}). She in turn is a granddaughter of the 10-times-winning South African mare Grey Angel (GB) (Kenmare {Fr}), whose career included two of those at group 3 level and a runner-up finish in the G1 Gosforth Park Fillies & Mares Challenge H. This is also the family of the GI Arlington Washington Futurity hero Well Decorated and the prolific sire Distinctive.

Sunday, Chantilly, France
PRIX DE DIANE LONGINES-G1, €1,000,000, Chantilly, 6-18, 3yo, f, 10 1/2fT, 2:05.09, g/s.
1–BLUE ROSE CEN (IRE), 126, f, 3, by Churchill (Ire)
1st Dam: Queen Blossom (Ire) (GSW-Ire & US, $220,859), by Jeremy
2nd Dam: Mark Of An Angel (Ire), by Mark Of Esteem (Ire)
3rd Dam: Dream Time (GB), by Rainbow Quest
O/B-Yeguada Centurion SLU (IRE); T-Christopher Head; J-Aurelien Lemaitre. €571,400. Lifetime Record: 9-7-1-0, €1,250,730. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Never Ending Story (Ire), 126, f, 3, Dubawi (Ire)–Athena (Ire), by Camelot (GB). O-Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Westerberg; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. €228,600.
3–Tasmania (Ger), 126, f, 3, Australia (GB)–Tusked Wings (Ire), by Adlerflug (Ger). 1ST BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. O/B-Gestut Schlenderhan (GER); T-Francis-Henri Graffard. €114,300.
Margins: 4, SHD, HF. Odds: 3.20, 16.00, 43.00.
Also Ran: Wise Girl (Fr), Elusive Princess (Fr), Jannah Rose (Ire), Lady Ewelina (GB), Lindy (Fr), Romina Power (Fr), Caroline Street, Novakai (GB), Left Sea (GB), Pensee Du Jour (Ire), Khahira (Fr), Running Lion (GB). Video, sponsored by TVG.

 

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TDN Rising Star Ramatuelle Pulverises Prix du Bois Rivals

Breaking the juvenile track record at Chantilly on Sunday, Christopher Head trainee Ramatuelle (Justify–Raven's Lady {GB}, by Raven's Pass) justified 6-4 favouritism in the G3 Prix du Bois Longines by dominating her nine rivals with a spectacular display in the six-furlong contest.

The eventual winner was positioned in a handy second as market rival Zorken (Fr) (Goken {Fr}) set the tone up front. Inching into second at halfway, she quickened to the fore entering the final furlong and powered clear in highly impressive fashion to easily outclass her rivals by five lengths and more. Zorken kept on well to finish second, 1 3/4 lengths ahead of 'TDN Rising Star' Les Pavots (Ire) (No Nay Never) in third. Ramatuelle became sire Justify's fifth 'TDN Rising Star' when delivering a taking display in her Apr. 11 unveiling over five furlongs at this venue, but was narrowly denied by fellow 'TDN Rising Star' Beauvatier (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) when returning in a May 28 six-furlong conditions heat at Saint-Cloud in her only other start. Ramatuelle's time of 1:08.05 eclipsed the prior best of 1:08.31 set by Blackbeard (Ire) (No Nay Never) in last year's G2 Prix Robert Papin.

“We have some great partners, we're creating some great relationships and we feel very blessed,” commented part-owner and NBA All-Star Tony Parker. “We had a great experience with [G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches winner] Mangoustine last year and here we are winning another big race. It's unbelievable. It's all you can ask, to have a horse that allows you to dream, and we are really excited after this win. There was no panic and we weren't disheartened by her defeat last time and, hopefully, she recuperates well and is ready to go for her next target. [Trainer] Christopher [Head] told me in February her programme will include the [G2] Prix Robert Papin and the [G1] Prix Morny and maybe we can now go for those big races.” Head added, “The plan is going exactly as we wished, so we will do our best to take her to the Papin now.”

Pedigree Notes
Ramatuelle, full to a weanling colt and half to a yearling filly by Uncle Mo, is the first of three foals produced by G2 Goldene Peitsche and G3 Summer S. victrix Raven's Lady (GB) (Raven's Pass), herself out of an unraced half to G1 Prix d'Ispahan-winning sire Best Of The Bests (Ire) (Machiavellian), G2 Dante S. third Dunhill Star (Ire) (Danehill) and the dam of MGSW G1 Melbourne Cup runner-up Prince Of Arran (GB) (Shirocco {Ger}). The February-foaled chestnut's third dam, G3 Fred Darling S. winner Sueboog (Ire) (Darshaan {GB}), is a half-sister to the dam of GSW G1 Grand Prix de Paris and G1 Prix Jean Prat runner-up Shaanmer (Ire) (Darshaan {GB}) and stakes-winning GI Garden City Breeders' Cup H. second Nordican Inch (GB) (Inchinor {GB}).

Sunday, Chantilly, France
PRIX DU BOIS LONGINES – FONDS EUROPEEN DE L'ELEVAGE-G3, €80,000, Chantilly, 6-18, 2yo, 6fT, 1:08.05 (NTR), g/s.
1–RAMATUELLE, 122, f, 2, by Justify
1st Dam: Raven's Lady (GB) (GSW-Eng & Ger, $238,499), by Raven's Pass
2nd Dam: Pivotal Lady (GB), by Pivotal (GB)
3rd Dam: Sueboog (Ire), by Darshaan (GB)
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. (€100,000 Ylg '22 ARQAUG). O-Infinity Nine Horses, Arthur Hoyeau, Ecurie des Monceaux, Hollymount Stud France SC, Mme Ilse Smits & Clement Tropres; B-Yeguada Centurion SLU (KY); T-Christopher Head; J-Aurelien Lemaitre. €40,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0, €81,800. Werk Nick Rating: C+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Zorken (Fr), 126, c, 2, Goken (Fr)–Zorra Chope (Fr). 1ST BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (€6,500 Wlg '21 ARQDEC; €3,500 Ylg '22 ARQOCT). O-Ecurie Jean-Louis Bouchard & Bruno de Montzey; B-Werner Neumann (FR); T-Bruno de Montzey. €16,000.
3–Les Pavots (Ire), 122, f, 2, No Nay Never–Sparrow (Ire), by Oasis Dream (GB). 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. O-Craig Bernick & Haras d'Etreham; B-Coolmore Stud (IRE); T-Francis-Henri Graffard. €12,000.
Margins: 5, 1 3/4, 3/4. Odds: 1.50, 2.80, 4.80.
Also Ran: Balon D'Or (GB), Antifona (Fr), Dubai Hills (GB), Dance Sioux (Ire), Gotta Skedaddle (Ire), Ziggy's Dream (Ire), Royal Mylea (Ire). Video, sponsored by TVG.

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‘Seeing Familiar Things Entirely Afresh’: The Work of John Reardon On Show in London

If you are in London over the coming weeks with a few hours to spare, that time would be well spent by taking a trip to a retrospective exhibition of the work of John Reardon, entitled (After) Whistlejacket, at the MMX Gallery.

Reardon, who died in 2018, was a revered photographer and picture editor of the Observer, but this exhibition covers some of the work undertaken in the later years of his life when commissioned by his former colleague Jocelyn Targett to photograph the Darley stallions.

This is stallion marketing reimagined. Reardon's collaboration on the project, which would last for 16 years, came at a time when the Darley operation was expanding globally, looking to make an impact across the Thoroughbred industry. That it did, through Reardon's use of medium-format cameras and monochrome, his images featuring in lavishly produced brochures and head-turning advertising, both in print and on the racecourse.

In an accompanying essay by Targett, he says of his old friend, whose work prior to the equine sphere ranged from war zones to celebrities, “Racehorses, and the people in their realm, turned out to be his ideal subjects. Reardon's eye found the elegance, power, and plaintive vulnerability of whatever settled before his camera, and the thoroughbred is abound with elegance, power and vulnerability.”

The exhibition, in New Cross in south-east London, runs until July 1.

 

 

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