(Entertainment-NewsWire.com, June 07, 2013 ) London, UK -- With over 50,000 bottles of champagne consumed over the four days, Royal Ascot has a reputation for often making the gentry behave, well, a bit like some of the naughty commoners. One is just as likely to see a top-class racehorse winning as they are to see a man in top and tails, or a woman in heels that are far too big, on the floor after too much Pimms.
Last year Frankel was Sporting Index’s superstar of the annual meeting with the unbeaten beast powering away for arguably his most impressive victory in the Queen Anne Stakes in Tuesday’s opening race.
Sir Henry Cecil’s charge romped to an 11-length win and the meeting was given some beautiful symmetry when Australia’s Black Caviar, another equine freak, maintained her unbeaten record in thrilling fashion on the Saturday in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes.
There will be no shortage of stars from across the globe descending on Ascot between the 18th and the 22nd June. The first race of the meeting, the aforementioned Queen Anne Stakes, will feature former Kentucky Derby winner and reigning Dubai World Cup champion Animal Kingdom in what is likely to be that American horse’s last run before he retires to stud.
He may come up against Farhh who was ‘far’ too good for his rivals in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury last month. The Godolphin horse is in excellent hands for this contest as his trainer Saeed bin Suroor has won this Group One a record seven times.
Frankie Dettori, who has ridden five of those, won’t be on the horse as he split from Godolphin last year but he could well pick up a spare ride which could interest those looking to spread bet.
This race – restricted to four year olds – has been absolutely dominated by four and five year olds in recent years with no winners from 1980 onwards aged older than five.
The four year olds have won seven of the last ten renewals. Aljamaaheer, Gregorian and Most Improved are some of the more fancied runners at this stage in that age group.
The St James’s Palace Stakes is one of the most important races for colts at the meeting. The one-mile test has been won by the likes of star milers Rock of Gibraltar, Canford Cliffs and Frankel in recent times and there are some smart entries in the shape of Guineas winners Dawn Approach and Magician.
Aidan O’Brien, trainer of Magician and ten other preliminary entries, is the handler to follow in this, with a record equalling six wins on his CV. The Ballydoyle master has already kicked off his season in superb form, winning four Group Ones including two Classics.
The Prince of Wales’s Stakes is arguably the most prestigious race over the four days and Wednesday’s highlight has been won by some turf greats. One might think that at six last year was the oldest winner since dual victor Muhtarram in 1995. Four year olds had won the previous four runnings.
No trainer has won successive renewals in the last decade highlighting this race’s competitiveness. O’Brien bids to change that with leading hope Camelot and possibly St Nicholas Abbey.
The Gold Cup is the most celebrated race for stayers with a long and glorious history stretching back to 1807. It will forever be remembered for the exploits of Ireland’s Yeats who won the prize four times successively. It’s no surprise that he was trained by O’Brien.
Rite Of Passage returned from a lengthy absence to land the stayers race on Champions Day last October and he is looking to regain the crown he won in 2010. Dermot Weld’s charge is talented yet frail but should make a bold bid to become the first horse since Kayf Tara in 2000 to recapture the crown.
The accomplishments of Yeats distort the stats somewhat but no one age group has been particularly dominant in recent years.
Saturday’s highlight is the Diamond Jubilee Stakes, renamed in Her Majesty’s honour last year, over the fast and furious six-furlongs. Black Caviar, a fitting name if ever there was one for the meeting, sensationally maintained her unbeaten record here last year with a narrow success after her jockey prematurely eased her down, and it will be compatriot Sea Siren who looks to uphold Australian success in the race.
She will face a tough home team likely to include the James Fanshawe-trained pair of Deacon Blues and Society Rock, the latter a runner-up and winner of this in the last three years.
There has been an equilibrium in recent years relating to the age of the winner. Before last year, the previous six winners had been six and then six, three and then three, and then four and four. Black Caviar was five last term so it may pay to concentrate on the likes of Moonlight Cloud, Krypton Factor and Gordon Lord Byron to continue the sequence.
No trainer has won this more than once in the last ten years.
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