Curtain comes down on glittering Ascot
The curtain came down on another scintillating five days of racing at Royal Ascot yesterday and the British press, tabloid and broadsheet alike, have had a field day detailing all the highlights
Reflecting on Friday’s Group 1 double for Aidan O’Brien, courtesy of Caravaggio [Commonwealth Cup] and Winter [Coronation Stakes], Steve Jones leads The Sun’s 12-page pullout by describing the colt’s performance as a “masterpiece” as he “brushed away the opposition”, a reference to the artistic flair of the 16th Century painter from which the name is based.
Graham Clark writing in The i follows a similar theme, asserting that O’Brien’s charge “painted a glorious picture” in the Commonwealth Cup, with the race an unmitigated success since its 2015 inception. Marcus Townend in the Daily Mail, quotes Aidan O’Brien as saying Caravaggio would be happy “racing over three furlongs let alone six”, conveying the three-year-old son of Scat Daddy’s raw speed and talent.
Townend also highlights that Caravvagio’s long-term target is the $10 million G1 Everest Stakes at Sydney’s Randwick Racecourse in October. Greg Wood in The Guardian views the victory as a “brush with greatness” and also quotes O’Brien as describing the stellar sprinter as the “fastest horse I have trained.”
David Yates in the Daily Mirror pays tribute to Carravaggio’s stable companion Winter, who confirmed her superiority in the three-year-old fillies’ mile division in the Coronation Stakes to follow up decisive victories in the English and Irish 1000 Guineas. Chris Goulding in the Daily Star’s pullout also pays homage to the three-year-old daughter of Galileo who showed she is a “filly for all seasons” in the G1 mile contest, whilst Tony McFadden in the Racing Post suggested “Winter freezed out her rivals”. Marcus Armytage in The Daily Telegraph describes the filly as displaying “super efficiency rather than flamboyance in registering a G1 hat-trick.