Queen’s hopes left reeling by O’Brien’s Highland warrior
Irish globetrotting star turns tables on Royal runner Dartmouth in Ascot showpiece
HOPES of roof-raising success for the Queen with her colt Dartmouth in the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot yesterday were dashed as Highland Reel underlined the depth of talent in Aidan O’Brien’s stable with victory in the £1.25million race.
Dartmouth’s royal owner watched the race from the Scottish Highlands. The disappointing aspect in royal circles was that the Sir Michael Stoute-trained colt had beaten Highland Reel by a head in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot last month.
Confidence in the O’Brien camp that Highland Reel could turn the tables was reflected in the betting. He was sent off 13-8 favourite and Dartmouth, ante-post favourite on Friday, drifted out to 9-2.
Aided by a controlled, pitchperfect ride from the front by Ryan Moore, the tale shouted from the betting ring was re-enacted out on the track.
O’Brien, landing the King George for a fourth time, said: ‘Ryan gave him a great ride and he is an amazing horse. He has travelled the world, loves racing and he is getting better. Mentally he is a rock.
‘He is very happy making the running. He won the Secretariat Stakes (at Arlington in Chicago last year) – and he killed them when making all the running.
‘We were very happy with his run at Royal Ascot and, after that, we were really going to look forward to what he could do today.’
The midweek withdrawal of 2015 King George winner Postponed had stripped the race of its best performer and, on the face of it, yesterday’s renewal will not go down as a vintage running.
There are a handful of horses in O’Brien’s Ballydoyle stable who would be regarded as more talented
that Highland Reel but there is also a chance he has been seriously underrated because of the way he has been campaigned.
O’Brien does not tend to campaign his real top-notchers with such global abandon.
The son of super sire Galileo has raced 15 times but only three of those races have been in Ireland. His equine passport has been stamped in Australia, Dubai, France, Hong Kong and the United States as well as in England.
This King George win was Highland Reel’s third at Group One level and by far his biggest success to date. York’s Juddmonte International Stakes next month might be his next target – but O’Brien mentioned his Derby runner-up US Army Ranger as a more likely runner there.
That could leave more worldwide galloping for Highland Reel, with the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita in California in November looking the prime target. He could face Dartmouth again on the US west coast.
After a lengthy telephone debrief with the Queen, royal racing advisor John Warren said she had been delighted the tough and genuine character of Dartmouth had been confirmed by this outing.
He added: ‘I have a notion he will be an international traveller, which will be great fun for the Queen. He loves fast ground, so there are lots of nice races for him – the Breeders’ Cup, Australia or Japan.’
Elsewhere on the Ascot card, Fair Eva became the first off-spring of Frankel to land a group race when easily winning the Group Three Princess Margaret Stakes.
The Roger Charlton-trained filly is now as short as 4-1 for next year’s One Thousand Guineas.