ascot day four
Golden Horde wins top sprint as Frankie lands 70th Royal sucess
COMMONWEALTH CUP
Friday’s G1 highlight, the Commonwealth Cup over six furlongs, saw a decisive victory for 5-1 chance Golden Horde. It was an eighth Royal Ascot victory for both trainer Clive Cox and jockey Adam Kirby.
Always travelling well, the son of Lethal Force held a clear advantage a furlong from home and was never threatened as he scored by a length and a half from American challenger Kimari (Wesley Ward/Frankie Dettori).
Cox said: “Golden Horde was G1 placed twice last year and was great in winning]the Richmond Stakes. We always believed this year he would be able to take a step up physically. He was a big horse last year, but he has really grown into that frame this year.
“I am very proud of him. We have got a great team at home and to win a G1 first time out with any horse is difficult, but given the way things are this year, it’s the same for a lot of people, but I am really proud. He is a horse to go forward with – I really hope and pray he has got a longer journey to go ahead of him.
“Golden Horde is just top-class. He has got a lovely temperament, is great to deal with and that ability to go on any type of ground is very special as well.”
Asked about the July Cup at Newmarket on July 11 as a logical target for Golden Horde, Cox replied: “I would like to think so. That was very much on our minds. He has done the job really well today and I would like to think that would put a real edge on him having a race. I think mentally with these sprinters to have a race is important.
“I think with the knowledge that you have a good horse, and when they do so succeed as you hope they do, it is like watching your own children, so that is why I’m proud of him.”
HARDWICKE STAKES
Frankie Dettori was in the winner’s enclosure for the 70th time at Royal Ascot after four-year-old filly Fanny Logan landed the G2 Hardwicke Stakes over a mile and a half.
Dettori delivered the daughter of Sea The Stars with a perfectly timed challenge entering the final furlong and the 17-2 chance went on to score by a comfortable two and a half lengths from Alounak.
Frankie said: “I love Fanny Logan. On paper, I thought maybe we were just racing for a place, but John gave me a lot of confidence and said she had come out of Haydock really well. She had improved mentally and physically.
“I was further back than I wanted to be, but they started racing pretty early and by the time I got to the furlong marker, they were all dead and she showed a good turn of foot – it was good.
“Look, she has improved from three to four, she is bigger and stronger, she was very fit, and she liked the ground. It was a proper performance and she has definitely improved from last year.
“I actually forgot I was one short
of 70 winners, so that’s another milestone – it is good. It’s brilliant to have 70 – that’s a lot. I want number 71 now.”
QUEEN’S VASE
Santiago was the comfortable winner of the G2 Queen’s Vase over 1m6f, giving both trainer Aidan O’Brien and jockey Ryan Moore a fourth success of the meeting.
O’Brien said: “Santiago is a lovely, straightforward horse. He travels and stays well. He is a very easy horse to train and get fit – we are very happy.
“We thought he was going to be an ideal St Leger horse. We will give him another run in between. Santiago could be a Gold Cup horse next year, so we will keep that in our minds. He is a strong traveller and will get better from three to four. We have plenty of horses in the Derbys – the Irish Derby will come too soon and we will think about Epsom. But I think we will take our time with him this year.”
PALACE OF HOLYROODHOUSE HANDICAP
The five-furlong Palace of Holyroodhouse Handicap got proceedings under way on day four of Royal Ascot 2020. Despite being a 21-runner handicap for three-year-olds, the contest was turned into something of a procession as red-hot 6-4 favourite Art Power came home three and a half lengths clear.
It was a sixth Royal Ascot winner for trainer Tim Easterby and a seventh for jockey Silvestre de Sousa.
William Easterby, assistant to his father, said: “Art Power is a horse we have always liked. We took our time with him last year and it seems to have paid off now.
“He won over six furlongs last time, so we will go for either five or six furlongs next time – we will just see what is around.
“This race was the first target. It was great to get a winner for the King Power team as they love this meeting so much. We will see how he is and then go from there.
“Dad loves to support this kind of race and it was a great initiative to have races like these this year. Art Power goes on good ground really well, but he goes on soft ground, so he didn’t mind the rain at all.
“We will see how he goes. I don’t think Dad will want to over-face him too soon. Something like the Abbaye could be of interest to him.”
NORFOLK STAKES
It looked as if American challenger Golden Pal (Wesley Ward/Andrea Atzeni, 12-1) had the G2 Norfolk Stakes in the bag but a strong run from 9-2 chance The Lir Jet (Michael Bell/Oisin Murphy) in the closing stages saw the latter get up to score by a neck.
The winner is now unbeaten in two starts, having won on debut at Yarmouth on June 3, when he was owned by the trainer’s son Nick. Following that win, the two-year-old Prince Of Lir colt was purchased by Qatar Racing.
Michael Bell said: “During the race, I was a bit worried when the leader went so far clear. Oisin obviously thought he had it in control, but The
Lir Jet battled. He is very inexperienced – he had only run the once – and has never had to dig in before because when he won at Yarmouth, he won on the bridle. He has learnt how to race today and I think you will see an even better performance next time, hopefully.”
ALBANY STAKES
Dandalla made it two wins from as many starts when powering to an impressive victory in the G3 Albany Stakes over six furlongs, handing jockey Ben Curtis his first Royal Ascot win.
The daughter of Dandy Man took up the running well over a furlong from home and never looked in any danger after that point. The 11-4 favourite Sethare stayed on to take second, six lengths adrift of Dandalla. It was a second Royal Ascot victory for trainer Karl Burke.
Karl Burke said: “Dandalla has got a great turn of foot and then she keeps on galloping. A few times at the top of the Middleham gallop where we do most of our work, jockeys have been struggling to pull her up. My daughter Lucy earmarked her since before Christmas. She actually came in one day and said ‘I hate to say it, but this filly reminds me of Laurens’. That will tell you how highly she thought of her. She is probably more precious than Laurens – Laurens had not even run at this time during her two-year-old career. She is also speedier than Laurens. The question now is how far we stay, and we have got plenty of time to think about.”
DUKE OF EDINBURGH HANDICAP
Hollie Doyle created history in 2019 when recording the highest number of wins by a female jockey in a calendar year – 116.
She now has another addition to her CV after partnering 33-1 shot Scarlet Dragon to victory in the Duke of Edinburgh Handicap, for her first Royal Ascot victory.
Doyle, 23, said: “Scarlet Dragon is a strong old traveller, and you need that horse underneath you to do those kind of manoeuvres. This means a huge amount to me. You walk into Ascot every year with really high hopes.”