The King Edward VII and Ribblesdale Stakes on Tuesday are unusually Classic trials this year. Cassie Tully looks at the pedigrees of the key runners.
After experiencing a drought since the end of March, we are now well and truly deluged with quality racing.
Throw the paddle away and dive straight in as not only have we had nine Group One races including six Classics in the past 14 days, - but now it's Royal Ascot week.
One of the few meetings to maintain its scheduled date on the calendar while everything else was postponed, Royal Ascot is now three weeks before the Derby Festival at Epsom as opposed to its usual two weeks after.
Consequently, the mile-and-a-half King Edward VII Stakes for colts and the Ribblesdale Stakes for fillies over the same distance, are now prestigious Derby and Oaks trials staged on Tuesday of the Royal Meeting this year.
The field for the King Edward VII is headed by Ballydoyle’s Mogul. The strongly-named colt is aiming to replicate his full-brother Japan who won this last year before two top level wins in the Grand Prix de Paris and Juddmonte International. His older sibling is odds-on favourite for Wednesday's Prince of Wales’s Stakes.
It would be a significant Ascot double for their Listed-placed dam Shastye who is owned by Newsells Park Stud and has now produced four Group One performers by Galileo, as well as Listed winner Maurus by Medicean.
Shastye is by Danehill and it was Secret Gesture who set the ball rolling for her. Her third foal but first by Galileo, she won a Group Two at York as well as placing in six Group One races including the Investec Oaks, German Oaks and Yorkshire Oaks before selling to John Ferguson in foal to War Front for $3.5 million.
That's not the highest price that one of Shastye’s expensive jewels has cost, Sir Isaac Newton was knocked down to MV Magnier for 3.6 million guineas as a yearling before winning a Group Three and placing in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot behind Highland Reel.
Four years later, with three foals and 2 million guineas in between, along came Japan. At 1.3 million, he was cheap compared to Mogul who cost the Coolmore partners 3.4 million.
And if he steps reaches the same heights as his older brother, it will have been worth it. Aside from his siblings, Mogul comes from a phenomenal middle distance family.
Shastye is out of the Group Two winner Saganeca and is a half sister to Arc hero Sagamix, Group One Criterium de Saint-Cloud winner Sagacity, as well as Group Two winning Sage Et Jolie, who produced Champion Sageburg. All of whom trace back to the colossal family of French mare La Mirambule.
While both brothers won at Group Two level as juveniles, Mogul placed fourth behind Kameko in the Group One Vertem Futurity Trophy. The entire family progress and improve after their first season and Mogul will surely be no different in justifying his hefty price tag and cementing his name as one of the main protagonists to beat in the Investec Derby.
There are only five opponents taking him on. Arthur’s Kingdom joins his stablemate from Ballydoyle with Frankie Dettori on board. Also a Group One performer when placing second in the Criterium de Saint Cloud last year, this colt is a three-parts brother to treble top flight winner Joshua Tree.
Mohican Heights is son of Australia, who has won both of his two starts to date for David Simcock.
And Nathaniel, who won this race in 2011, accounts for two of the remaining three runners. Papa Power has not yet run in a stakes race and Sound of Cannons was fourth behind Arthur’s Kingdom in France last year before filling the same place behind the exciting English King at Lingfield ten days ago.
The fillies’ Ribblesdale Stakes looks a much more open race.
Of the eleven runners, Galileo and his sons account for five, Sea The Stars has three, Fastnet Rock one and Golden Horn, who we are patiently waiting on having an explosion of top prospects this year, two.
Frankly Darling represents all the same connections as last year’s winner Star Catcher and impressed with an easy five length win over her rivals in a Newcastle maiden two weeks ago. She could be absolutely anything and is market favourite with Frankie Dettorti opting for the ride on her over John Gosden’s other two runners.
Miss Yoda, seemingly Gosden’s second string, is a daughter of Sea The Stars, the sire of Star Catcher who went on to treble Group One success including the Irish Oaks after her success in this last year.
Miss Yoda finished second against the boys in a Group Three at Newmarket at the end of last year and returned ten days ago, successfully beating three of these rivals in Golden Lips, West End Girl and Anastarsia.
She is out of German Champion two-year-old filly Monami, who is a sister to Italian Oaks heroine Meridiana.
Passion, who returned to the racecourse only five days ago to finish fourth in a Listed race in Navan, is a full sister to Irish Derby and St Leger winner Capri. While Ennistymon won her maiden six days ago and is a three part sister to Group three scorer Liscanna, the dam of Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner Hit It A Bomb and Cheveley Park Stakes winner Brave Anna.
We may be short on the usual razzmatazz that Royal Ascot has to offer, but the quality and depth to the competition remains as high as ever. This is just the start of a sensational week.
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