Saturday’s Diamond Jubilee S. (Eng-G1) on the final day of Royal Ascot 2015 may have lost out on
the small number of potential runners among the European three-year-old brigade who were
instead diverted to Friday’s Commonwealth Cup (Eng-G1), but it still boasts two substantial Australian sophomores in Brazen Beau (I Am Invincible) and Wandjina
(Snitzel).
The former has the more immediate appeal as a specialist sprinter, having garnered the November
1 Coolmore Stud S. (Aus-G1) and March 14 Newmarket H. (Aus-G1) over Saturday’s
six-furlong trip at Flemington either side of a reversal when second to Lankan
Rupee (Redoute’s Choice) in the five-furlong Lightning S. (Aus-G1) there on February 21. He had that rival back in sixth in the Newmarket, and there is confidence coming from Grant Morgan, managing director of the owning syndicate On-Track Thoroughbreds.
“The Newmarket is
obviously one of our best sprint races. It was a very fair race and I think he won it on
merit,” Morgan said. “I think the form is hard to fault. He was strong through the race and beat
arguably one of our best sprinters of recent years in Lankan Rupee. The form looks very
strong.”
Wandjina comes into this having proven himself over longer trips, with the March 7 Australian Guineas
(Aus-G1) on his resume at Flemington prior to a second in the seven-furlong
All Aged S. (Aus-G1) at Randwick on April 18.
“He’s very
relaxed and enjoying himself enormously,” trainer Gai Waterhouse remarked. “I thought his work has been exceptionally
bright, he’s got a terrific attitude and he’s extremely well, which is what you want to see
going into a big race like this. I think ideally 1400 to 1600 meters is best for him, but he
is versatile. He hasn’t run for a while so is fresh. We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t think
we could be competitive. We have been here before and didn’t succeed, so we are coming back
to try to succeed.”
Ironically, the British sprinters look on the back foot
here, with American challenger Undrafted (Purim) and two from Ireland dominating the front
of the market alongside their Southern Hemisphere counterparts. Undrafted was fourth in
last year’s July Cup (Eng-G1) at Newmarket on soft ground, which played against him, and his
subsequent efforts include a third in the November 1 Breeder’s Cup Turf Sprint
(G1) at Santa Anita.
The leading Irish duo are Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s Mustajeeb (Nayef) and Michael Tabor’s Due Diligence (War Front). Mustajeeb,
last year’s Jersey S. (Eng-G3) winner, returned to this trip for the first time since his debut when successful in The Curragh’s Greenlands S.
(Ire-G3) on May 23, where he justified jockey Pat Smullen’s longheld belief that he was a top sprinter in the making.
“I couldn’t have been more impressed with him,” Smullen said when reflecting on his latest performance. “He looked big in the ring. You’d like to think he’ll improve from that and if he does, it leaves him there among the best sprinters around. Let’s hope he goes and takes a step forward and I think
he’s got a big chance.”
Due Diligence was second here 12
months ago in only his sixth start and fourth in Europe when forced to race away from the main
part of the action. Despite the fact that his sole start in the interim was a seventh
in the Gladness S. (Ire-G3) going seven furlongs at The Curragh on April 19, he forms part of a Ballydoyle
team that has thrived all week.
“He had a setback last year after Ascot and didn’t
run after that,” trainer Aidan O’Brien explained. “The first time back it was soft ground.
(Jockey) Joseph
(O’Brien) rode him and was very happy. We gave him plenty of time and everything has gone well.
We’re very happy. Six furlongs on fast ground will suit him.”
Of the Brits, Dean Ivory’s fairytale seven-year-old Tropics
(Speightstown) figures most prominently coming off the back of a win in the listed
Leisure S. at Windsor at the start of the month. Second in last year’s July Cup
(Eng-G1) at Newmarket
and to Gordon Lord Byron (Byron) in the British Champions Sprint S.
(Eng-G2) over this course and distance in October, the renowned mud-lover proved he handles fast
ground last time and his owner and trainer is in confident mood.
“Tropics broke the track
record at Windsor, which was a bit of a shock as he was eased down near the line,”
Ivory noted. “It was his first run of the year and will have blown away a few cobwebs. He’s the
best that I have ever had him and I think there’s more to come. Last year (when ninth),
he raced up the middle on his own and then in the July Cup he just hit the front a bit
too soon.”
Ivory will send his stable star out despite ground concerns.
“The fast ground is a
little bit of a concern, but he’s won on it before and you’ve got to go where
the races are — he doesn’t have that many opportunities through the year,” he explained. “Having my
first Royal Ascot winner would be the pinnacle. It would be such a fantastic moment for
me, my staff and my family. It would also be very emotional since Tropics carries the
colors of my grandfather.”
One race before the Diamond Jubilee, Sir Michael Stoute declared his intent
with a team of three bidding for win number nine in Saturday’s latest renewal of
the Hardwicke S. (Eng-G2). The Newmarket conditioner has has already annexed the
12-furlong contest a record eight times.
Chief
among Stoute’s runners is Telescope (Galileo), who gave a stunning
performance in the contest last year when powering to a seven-length score over stablemate
Hillstar (Danehill Dancer), himself the winner of the 2013 King Edward VII
S. (Eng-G2), and subsequent Coronation Cup (Eng-G1) victor Pether’s Moon (Dylan Thomas). Highclere Thoroughbred Racing’s bay will attempt to become Stoute’s third dual
winner of the contest and arrives in good form, coming off an impressive six-length romp in Newbury’s
listed Aston Park S. last month. The likely
favorite is, understandably, the choice of the red-hot Ryan Moore.
“Telescope seems in very good form, is holding his
condition well and everyone at Freemason Lodge is more than happy with him,” Highclere’s Harry Herbert
said. “Sir
Michael is very happy with the horse and he seems to love Ascot as, touch wood, he has never run a bad race there. It is a
tough race, but I would like to think that he has improved from
four to five. He is not short of speed, but he seems more at
home over 12 furlongs.”
Herbert noted another stab at Group 1 glory is likely in
the cards for Telescope.
“As with all Sir Michael’s horses, it’s one step at a
time, but the (July 25) King George (VI & Queen Elizabeth S. [Eng-G1] at Ascot) is definitely his midsummer target
providing he shows his best in the Hardwicke,” Herbert said.
Moore, by far and away the meeting’s leading rider, added, “He’s in good shape, he’s been brought along gradually all year and I’m
sure he goes there with every chance. It looks a strong
Hardwicke, but he likes Ascot and I’m sure he’ll run his race. I think
he definitely could get (a first) Group 1, it just depends on
the opposition and finding the right slot, but he’s certainly good enough to win at Group 1
level.”
Last year’s runner-up Hillstar makes his seasonal
reappearance here coming back from wins in Newbury’s Arc Trial (Eng-G3) and Woodbine’s Canadian
International (Can-G1). The third member of the team, Snow Sky (Nayef), is no back
number. Juddmonte’s St Leger third (Eng-G1), who ran fourth to Eagle Top (Pivotal) in last term’s King Edward VII S.
(Eng-G2), drops down a quarter-mile after a battling victory
in the 14-furlong Yorkshire Cup (Eng-G2) in his May 15 seasonal return.
Lady Bamford’s Eagle Top, from the in-form John Gosden
barn, has finished fourth in both outings since prevailing at last year’s Royal meet, in
the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth S. — over this course and distance — and the Brigadier Gerard S.
(Eng-G3) at Sandown last out on May 28.
“Eagle Top will come on for his first
run and has worked well with Frankie Dettori,” Gosden said. “The Hardwicke looks to be
the right race for him.”
Luca Cumani trainee Postponed (Dubawi), who
hit the board in last term’s Tercentenary S. (Eng-G3) here, was too good for Snow Sky in August’s Great Voltigeur S.
(Eng-G2) at York, and is upped in trip coming back off placings in Sandown’s Gordon Richards S.
(Eng-G3) and The Curragh’s Tattersalls Gold Cup (Ire-G1).
“Postponed will almost certainly have to produce a career-best performance to win and on a track that is probably not ideal,” Cumani admitted. “Nonetheless, the return to a mile-and-a-half for the first time this season will be in his favor and we can only hope the ground is still fast. He has had unsuitably easy underfoot conditions on both his starts this year so we feel he has not yet been seen at his best.”
It is a measure of this competition that Northern Dancer Turf S. (Can-G1) hero Sheikhzayedroad
(Dubawi) and
three-time Melbourne Cup (Aus-G1) runner-up Red Cadeaux (Cadeaux Genereux) are
rated big outsiders. Sheikhzayedroad lines up off a last-of-four in the Coronation Cup
(Eng-G1) at Epsom, and fellow globetrotter Red Cadeaux was a last-out 11th in Sha
Tin’s QEII Cup (HK-G1).
“Red Cadeaux is a world-famous horse and has put in a few massive runs in the
Melbourne Cup,” stated James Doyle, who partners the nine-year-old for the first
time. “He seems to run a big race wherever he goes and, although he is getting on a bit, he
seems to be in good shape. I have never sat on him before, but I am looking forward to
riding him, although it looks a tough race. The ground won’t be a problem to him.”
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