Royal Ascot preview: What the trainers say
2.30 Queen Anne Stakes
John Gosden - Palace Pier: “He did everything right last year until the end when he ran on very heavy ground, hated it, lost a shoe and got left. He’s come back well this year. It will be different ground again, (but) we’re happy with him, and there’s plenty to look forward to with him.”
“Yes, it was (a wow performance in the Lockinge at Newbury), (but) I’ve got to be clear that he did handle the ground and maybe a horse like Lope Y Fernadez did not. Now we are back on summer ground, you’ll see a lot more horses come into play.”
“I keep being asked when we’ll go a mile and a quarter, but I didn’t know it was imperative he had to go over 10 furlongs. He’s capable of stepping up two furlongs if we want to at some stage. Maybe one day, but not right now.”
James Tate - Top Rank: “He’s in really good form and might even have come on a bit for Newbury – so it’s Palace Pier, round two. These are animals, so there’s always a chance of turning the tables. Also, Palace Pier’s only defeat came at Ascot, whereas we’ve never run there – maybe we are an Ascot specialist and just don’t know it yet!
“Top Rank has won on soft ground in the past. But like many Dark Angels, he’s changed as he’s got older and is a bit more muscular and lighter on his feet. It was soft enough for him at Newbury, and I’m looking forward to seeing him on quicker ground.”
Aidan O’Brien - Order Of Australia & Lope Y Fernandez: “Lope ran in Newbury (in the Lockinge) last time out and was a bit disappointing, but we’re putting it down to the (soft) ground.
“Order Of Australia had his last run in Hong Kong. He’s had a good, long break – but we think he’s ready to start now again. He wasn’t beaten that far in Hong Kong. He just didn’t have a clear run when he turned in, but he ran very well.”
3.05 Coventry Stakes
Hugo Palmer - Ebro River: “I would hope (he’s settled). He seems to be growing up all the time. We’re very excited to run him. He’s a nice horse so we’re keeping our fingers crossed, we’re really looking forward to it.”
Wesley Ward- Kaufymaker: “She won on the dirt at Keeneland and then when we worked her on the grass, she took to it like a duck to water. Of all the workers I have had on the grass coming into the meeting, she has risen to the top, that is why I am giving her the biggest assignment.
“The Coventry Stakes is a race I have been dying to have a really big chance in and I think she is going to give me it. She is the best I have and that is why I am putting her in here.”
“She has a big, long stride and I think it is a bit of an advantage at this time of the year to have a filly against the colts. If you look at all the times of the races over the years, especially in the States, the fillies are always faster. The same applies to the breeze-ups for the most part. It is like boys and girls in school – for whatever reason girls mature that little bit faster.”
Richard Hannon - Gisburn: “Gisburn is going to go to the Coventry and that has been the plan since he went past the line at Newbury. It is a race where you find out exactly where you are. You hope that you have got a good horse but this will tell us. I hope we do, he certainly looked like one, but the Coventry will tell us.”
3.40 King's Stand Stakes
Charlie Hills - Battaash: "He came in a couple of weeks later than usual this year, so we were never going to fit in a prep run, but I couldn’t be happier with him.
“They found a tiny hairline fracture in a sesamoid when he had his usual MOT at the end of last year, but that was attended to in December.
“They’ve done a great job with him at Shadwell over the winter, and spring was so awful that coming back later has probably helped him. We’ve taken our time, and he hasn’t missed a beat.”
Tim Easterby - Winter Power: "She’s in good form. She has a good draw (stall seven) and will handle the track, so she should run well.”
Roger Teal - Oxted: "The draw is not too bad (stall 14). It looks like there’s plenty of pace around him, so we’re happy enough. We’re very happy with him going into it. He’s trained well – all his work is done now, and we’ll see what happens on the day. You always need a bit of luck, so fingers crossed.”
Brendan Walsh - Extravagant Kid: “We’ve had a good start to the year, and Extravagant Kid winning in Dubai was massive. Hopefully we can follow up on it at Ascot. Last year he was beaten a length in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. He’s won or been placed in multiple stakes and graded stakes – he’s never far away.
“It’s not Dubai. Meydan is a flatter track – it (Al Quoz Sprint) is six furlongs, whereas this is a stiff five. He’s an athletic horse, and there’s no doubt he’ll handle the undulations. The ground looks like it’s going to be perfect. It’s going to be the first day of the meeting, so it’s going to be really nice ground.”
Wesley Ward - Maven: “When he ran in an allowance race at Keeneland in April, we felt he was a bit short fitness-wise. On the day he bounced out in front – and when they came to him, I thought he was going to surrender, but he just took off again.
“I was delighted with that performance – and then once I saw the numbers, it inspired me to put him on the team for Royal Ascot. He will have to move forward from that again to be in the mix for the King’s Stand, but I think he is entitled to do so.”
4.20 St James's Palace Stakes
Jim Bolger - Poetic Flare: “It’s been an extraordinary season, with just one real hiccup (in the French 2000 Guineas) and another that was self-inflicted at the Curragh. Nothing went right in the race at Longchamp, and we’ve drawn a line through it. He came back very quickly to finish second at the Curragh, so he’s very, very hardy – you couldn’t do that with every horse.
“The biggest trouble I have is keeping the weight off him. He’s a great doer, and he still has to do plenty at home, despite the schedule.”
“He’s very well, and I think he has a big chance – the bookmakers seem to think so too. He goes on any ground too, which is a big advantage. It was good to firm when he won at Newmarket, but personally I’d prefer it if there was no firm in the description as horses last longer that way.”
John Gosden - Mostahdaf: “Our fellow has come the slow route – it wasn’t his fault he couldn’t run last year because he had a hiccup.This year he won twice on the all-weather and then the Heron. You could argue, and William Buick felt, that Highland Avenue was on the slower part of the track at Sandown near the rail, while we were more middle to left on the better ground.
“Having said that, our horse ran a great race, and I think the St James’s Palace is quite an open affair. I think our fellow will be fine on the ground – he’s a lovely horse, and we’ve taken this route before with Without Parole, and King Of Comedy just missed. Palace Pier came from an unobvious direction, too.”
Richard Hannon - Chindit: “I thought he ran well (when fifth in the 2000 Guineas) – he might even think he won the race, because the race was over the other side of the track away from him. We are going to take the noseband off. Dobbsy (Pat Dobbs) reported that he doesn’t really face it. It’s a round mile at Ascot, and we will ride him a little handier.”
Aidan O’Brien - Battleground, Ontario and Wembley: "We’re hoping the better ground will suit Battleground and Wembley. We couldn’t run Battleground at the Curragh (in the Irish 2,000 Guineas) because the ground just got too bad. Wembley ran there, but it had gone too bad for him also.
“Both of them have been in good form since their last runs. If we can get them back to the form they showed at two, they would have a chance.”
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