lord north shows his regal side
‘Aristocratic’ theme as the Queen cheers home her winner
PRINCE OF WALES’S STAKES
LORD NORTH “did a Halling” by going from a top handicapper to winning this Group 1 contest.
The four-year-old Dubawi gelding (5-1) demonstrated an outstanding turn of foot to come home comfortably by three and three quarters lengths from Addeybb (7-2).
Trainer John Gosden made comparisons between Lord North and Halling who captured the 1994 Cambridgeshire Handicap, before landing the 1995 and 1996 G1 Coral-Eclipse, 1995 and 1996 G1 Juddmonte International and 1996 G1 Prix d’Ispahan.
Gosden said: “Lord North was gelded and he needed to be. He was tormenting himself. Testosterone is the most dangerous drug in the world, and he is a lovely horse to be around now.
“Halling had a hock injury as a threeyear-old and it messed his career up. This boy just became aggressive at the gate and was becoming a danger to himself, let alone others.
“Lord North has got better and better. He is very powerful and, for a gelding, he has a great body to him.
“I was toying between this race and the Listed Wolferton under a penalty as you want to have a winner at Royal Ascot. I said no, let’s go for this.
“I would say give him a week, 10 days and see how we are. He has had two very quick races. He blew up at Haydock. Rab (Havlin) said at the furlong pole, he went for his girths, so he did well to hang on there. He has had two hard races, so we’ll freshen him up and then make decisions.”
WINDSOR CASTLE STAKES
THE Queen may have missed the meeting for the first time in her reign, but TACTICAL (7-2 Fav) handed Her Majesty a 24th Royal Ascot success when taking the Listed Windsor Castle Stakes. I
It was a sixth Royal Ascot success for trainer Andrew Balding and a 15th for jockey James Doyle, who was recording a 26-1 double following the earlier success of Lord North in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes.
Balding said: “Tactical was showing a fair bit at home before we ran him first time out. He ran a nice race and learnt plenty, and James gave him a lovely ride today, but we were quite hopeful, especially when it looked like the draw was more of a help than a hindrance.
“I think he will be better over six furlongs, and we stuck at five because we thought the Coventry Stakes would be a much stronger race, but he will certainly be going six furlongs and looks up to Group class, anyway.”
SILVER ROYAL HUNT CUP
William Knight saddled his first Royal Ascot winner when SIR BUSKER (12-1) landed a three-quarter length success in Wednesday’s opening race, the Silver Royal Hunt Cup for horses who were cut from the Hunt Cup.
Knight said: “I was quite confident when I saw Oisin Murphy had him settled early on. I think it took us through last year to work out how the horse needs to be ridden. If you put him into the race too early he will be too keen. It suits him on this course to be ridden that way – it’s a hold up track here, the mile, isn’t it, in these big handicaps anyway.
“It was important to run him at Newcastle on the first day back. He’s a big burly horse and to get that blow into him there really brought him on.
“That was my first runner from the new yard, and my father died that morning, so he means quite a lot to me, this horse.”
HAMPTON COURT STAKES
A strong run in the final furlong saw RUSSIAN EMPEROR (100-30) get up and deny The Queen’s runner First Receiver (9-4 Fav) by half a length.
Russian Emperor was a second winner of the week for both trainer Aidan O’Brien and jockey Ryan Moore, following the success of Circus Maximus in the G1 Queen Anne Stakes. It was also a landmark 60th success at the Royal Meeting for Moore.
Moore said: “He is a lovely colt, straightforward and with a good attitude. He was very professional; he has had the benefit of a couple of runs this year and let us see if he will keep progressing. He has a very good
pedigree – his dam was exceptional in Australia. I think he will be a nice horse going forward for the rest of the year.
Asked about the Derby, he said: “That will be decided. He will give himself a chance to stay, anyway.”
KING GEORGE V HANDICAP
Jockey Jim Crowley rode his fourth winner of the week when delivering Hukum (12-1) with a perfectly timed challenge to take the mile and a half King George V Handicap by half a length from 9-2 joint-favourite
Kipps.
It was also a fourth win of the week for owner Hamdan Al Maktoum while it was a first ever Royal Ascot success for trainer Owen Burrows.
Owen Burrows said: “Hukum has always been a horse we have liked. He does enough at home without blowing you away.
“He had options this week, but off 90 I thought we would come here. It is a big step up for a horse who has only had a couple of runs, but he travelled nicely and stuck to it well.
“Jim said he was slightly lugging left, but he can do that a bit. We will get him back and see where we go after.
“Hukum has got the profile and the breeding to be better than that. I am sure he will get further, he travelled well there.”
ROYAL HUNT CUP
DARK VISION, winner of the G2 Vintage Stakes at Goodwood in 2018, bounced back to form when landing the ultra-competitive Royal Hunt Cup.
Running the famous blue silks of Godolphin, Dark Vision was a 46th Royal Ascot win for trainer Mark Johnston and a 24th for jockey William Buick. Returned at 15-2, Dark Vision scored by a length and a quarter from Montatham (8/1).
Mark Johnston said: “It is a drop in class to handicap company, but the best of handicaps, and he’s done it so well.
“William said he just left the horse alone, he needed a bit of luck in running because he was a bit short of room to get through, but he’s been working brilliantly at home so we were not surprised by it – it’s just been a frustration waiting for it to come.
“Whether he goes back up to Group races, we will leave that for the handicappers to decide for us.”
COPPER HORSE HANDICAP
Day two concluded with a comfortable success for Fujaira Prince in the 14-furlong Copper Horse Handicap.
The six-year-old stayed on resolutely for a three and three-quarter length over Selino, justifying 3-1 favouritism.
Trainer Roger Varian, saddling his sixth Royal Ascot winner, said: “Andrea gave Fujaira Prince a great ride. It looked a tricky draw beforehand, but he was intent on getting out and getting into a position. They didn’t go that quick so he could get over and sit second one off the fence.
“He got the horse in a good position, a no excuse position. The rest of it was pretty straightforward and he quickened up well in the straight.
“Fujaira Prince is quite a delicate horse, who is lightly-raced for a sixyear-old. A great team at home have been working with this horse for a long time now. This has rewarded their patience.
“The obvious race that springs to mind is the Ebor. Whether that is his next race, we will see or not. We will see how he is tomorrow, see what else we fancy and what Sheikh Mohammed Obaid wants to do.
“I think he will stay further. Our next step last year before he had a setback was to go back up in trip and I think he is a horse could stay two miles.”