Royal Ascot reports: Real World lands Hunt spoils for Saeed bin Suroor
Real in a World of his own
Saeed bin Suroor and Marco Ghiani combined to win the Royal Hunt Cup in fine style with Real World on day two of Royal Ascot.
The four-year-old sneaked in towards the bottom of the weights but there was no close call about the result as he sauntered clear on the far side for a four and three quarter-length success.
The near side group had been favoured for most of the meeting so far and they were the much bigger group, with Astro King leading the stands' side pack home in second.
Grove Ferry was third with Ouzo fourth, both running on the stands' side, with Beat Le Bon, on the far side, home in fifth.
Ghiani, who was celebrating with 50 yards to go, said: "He was travelling really nicely and then he went clear. The last furlong I was looking at the crowd and he's an improving.
"I walked the track and down the sides it was pretty similar, so I was hoping they'd stay on the rail and they did."
17:00 Royal Ascot | Full Result and free video replay
1 28 Real World (IRE) 18/1
2 19 Astro King (IRE) 11/2f
3 9 Grove Ferry (IRE) 12/1
4 25 Ouzo 33/1
Winning Trainer: S bin Suroor | Winning Jockey:Marco Ghiani
Angel delight for Dettori
Frankie Dettori came with a withering stands’ side run to land the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes on Indie Angel for Cheveley Park and John & Thady Gosden.
Sent off at 22/1, the four-year-old was comfortably beaten by Lady Bowthorpe at Newmarket on Guineas weekend but emphatically reversed that form off 3lb better terms.
As they all came down the middle in one group Dettori inched his way towards the stands’ side and had acres of space to run into when he asked his filly to go.
It was a decisive manoeuvre and she had two and a half lengths to spare over Lady Bowthorpe at the line with the well-backed Queen Power only third.
It was a 75th winner at Royal Ascot for Dettori who said: “Everything fell right today.
“She likes faster ground, cover, and she likes plenty of room – she got all three of those things.
“Well done to the Gosden team, the Clarehaven team.”
Gosden said: “In fairness she won very well last backend, it went a little wrong and I probably ran her before she had come to herself in the spring and she had a little complication in her last race. But we knew she could be competitive with the top fillies – (but) to say that she’d win by two and a half lengths? No, that would have been wishful thinking.
“She relaxed beautifully and she’s bloomed. She looked a different filly today than when we last ran her back in May.
“You’ve got to be looking forwards. She’s now won a Group Two so maybe you start trying to climb even higher up the ladder. We won it last year (with Nazeef) and there are nice races like the Sun Chariot and the nice fillies’ race (Falmouth) at the July meeting for her, so those are possibilities.
“Right now, we’re savouring this moment.”
Of Lady Bowthorpe, trainer William Jarvis said: “All credit to the winner who was very impressive, but I feel easier ground would have suited us better.
“When a filly is running as well as she is my inclination is not to give her a break. She’s in the Falmouth, but ideally I would love her to try at a mile and a quarter on decent ground in the Nassau (at Goodwood), with the Sun Chariot a possibility longer term.”
Sir Michael Stoute added of Queen Power: “She’s a model of consistency, that’s for sure, and I guess the trip was a little short of her best.”
15:40 Royal Ascot | Full result and free video replay
1 8 Indie Angel (IRE) 22/1
2 2 Lady Bowthorpe 7/2
3 3 Queen Power (IRE) 11/4f
4 1 Champers Elysees (IRE) 10/1
Sky Bet paid 4 places on this race
Winning Trainer: J & T Gosden | Winning Jockey: L Dettori
Kemari strikes for Godolphin
Sporting Life Nap Kemari (15/2) is a stayer on the up and ran out a ready winner of the Queen's Vase.
William Buick tracked the early pace - set by stablemate Law Of The Sea - before bursting clear two furlongs out.
Depsite wandering towards the centre of the track he was never in danger of being beaten from there despite the late flourish of 10/3 favourite Wordsworth. He claimed second ahead of Stowell but this was a one-horse contest from some way out, Kemari winning by a length-and-a-half.
Appleby said: “I have to give William a lot of credit there. He was very excited about him when he broke his maiden at Yarmouth.
“He was very impressed with what he did at Yarmouth, visually you had to be impressed but I had question marks as to what level we would take him to at this stage in his career. All credit to him, he’s given him a great ride and it’s great to get a winner on the board at Royal Ascot.”
“It’s only his third run today,” Buick said. “He stays well, Charlie always thought this race would suit him and it was just a very good performance. He’s a horse we don’t really know a lot about but he did that very well, he had a lovely trip round. He gets in that lovely rhythm, which stayers need to do, it was a nice race to ride.”
15:05 Royal Ascot Full result and FREE video replay
1 6 Kemari 15/2
2 14 Wordsworth (IRE) 10/3 f
3 12 Stowell 12/1
Winning Trainer: C Appleby. Winning Jockey: W Buick
Suzy too Quick for Queen Mary rivals
Quick Suzy cut down favourite Twilight Gleaming to win the Queen Mary Stakes for the remarkable Gavin Cromwell.
Fresh from winning the Stayers' Hurdle at Cheltenham with Flooring Porter, he made his first runner at Royal Ascot a winning one as runners racing close to the stands' rail dominated.
The market leader carried the burden of being Wesley Ward's banker of the week and she was still in front at the furlong pole. However Gary Carroll had her covered aboard the winner who picked up nicely to win by a length-and-a-quarter.
“I’m delighted” Carroll told ITV Racing. “Fair play to Gavin, three-mile Stayers’ Hurdle or five furlongs at Ascot – he can do it. She was very good today, she didn’t have the best prep going and fair play to Gavin, she was spot on today.
“She travelled well, I thought they didn’t go quick enough but I knew she’d get to the line well today. She outstayed the American horse, she’s very good, very genuine, very tough – she’s a good filly.”
Cromwell said: “It’s absolutely unbelievable. It’s such an occasion, to have a winner is just fantastic.
“I was very confident she was going to run a big race, but where she lay with the English horses and the American horses – we didn’t know. I’m not known as a trainer of two-year-olds or sprinters so it’s very hard to tell, but I knew she was in great nick.”
14:30 Royal Ascot Full result and FREE video replay
1 18 Quick Suzy (IRE) 8/12
2 19 Twilight Gleaming (IRE) 9/4 f
3 3 Cheerupsleepyjean (FR) 50/1
Winning Trainer: G P Cromwell. Winning Jockey: G F Carroll
Chipotle proves king of the Castle
Chipotle was a ready winner of the Windsor Castle Stakes - from stall one.
All eyes were on two horses here, the monster gamble Kaboo and American speedball Ruthin. At the furlong pole they booked live threats on the stands' side but the key action was unfolding across the track.
For that's where Charles Bishop had got the winner in full flight and he swept clear to score by two lengths for trainer Eve Johnson Houghton. Chipotle won the first two-year-old race of the season, the Brocklesby at Doncaster, and cost only 10,000 guineas at the sales.
“A lot of credit to the trainer, I’d say,” Bishop said.
“I’ve only had two winners here and they’ve both been hers, she’s unbelievable.
“We were very disappointed at Sandown, we thought he was very good and the ground just completely blunted his turn of foot.
“No excuses today, he showed he was the best horse in the race.
“It’s not very often you get a run like that at the Royal meeting, I had the horse to go for the gaps.
“They weren’t very big, he was very brave.”
17:35 Royal Ascot Full result and FREE video replay
1 10 Chipotle 22/1
2 11 Dig Two (IRE) 7/1
3 9 Boonie (IRE) 18/1
Winning Trainer: Eve Johnson Houghton. Winning Jockey: Charles Bishop
Pearson wins finale on Showgirl
David Loughnane saddled the one-two in the Kensington Palace Stakes as Lola Showgirl held off stablemate Ffion as the pair dominated throughout.
Laura Pearson dictated matters on the winner with Richard Kingscote sat just off her shoulder on Ffion and nothing got into things from off the pace as the duo finished first and second.
The closing pack made inroads in the final furlong but it was too little too late with Waliyak finishing best of all for third.
“I don’t even know what to say,” Pearson said.
“It’s just quite incredible really.
“Hollie (Doyle) helps me so much, as well as Hayley (Turner), I can’t thank them enough for the amount of times they’ve given me a hand and it’s paid off.
“I had an absolutely lovely run, she bowled out, she’s been running over seven (furlongs) but Mr Loughnane said she’d want every stride of the mile.
“She bowled out, got into a lovely rhythm and just kept plugging on for me. It’s just unimaginable, honestly, I dreamt of it but I never thought it would happen.”
18:10 Royal Ascot | Full result and free video form
1 16 Lola Showgirl (IRE) 12/1
2 17 Ffion 10/1
3 3 Waliyak (FR) 9/1
4 10 Declared Interest 11/1
Winning Trainer: D Loughnane | Winning Jockey: Laura Pearson
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