The fabulous Frankie factor
“ He’s magnificent, and there is no other word for it. He genuinely enjoys performing - all the jockeys are professional athletes and they all have their different ways of performing to be in the zone. He seems to improve his performance by engaging with the crowd” – Guy Henderson, Ascot’s chief executive
“We will miss Frankie when he retires - he’s a superstar. He loves this place and rides it really well. He certainly got the crowd very excited” – Chris Stickels, Ascot Clerk of the Course
“Once he gets to the horse that’s in front of him he goes and he’s not for catching. I’d like to keep Stradivarius going for as long as his mind and body want to do it. I’m not thinking Yeats, or even Sagaro, Le Moss and Ardross - they were such legends. You can never say he was in their league until his career has finished and you can look back and assess him. He’s a very good horse, but they were legends and this is a different era.
“I’d love him to go on forever, but I know I’ll be going through the valleys again one day when I’ll be coming back here with no runners” – Bjorn Neilsen owner of Stradivarius
“This little guy with his white socks and white face looks like the Milky Bar Kid should be riding him rather than a jockey, but he is remarkable athlete and a charming horse to be around” – John Gosden on his dual Gold Cup winner Stradivarius
Stayers bonus on the line again
INSURANCE company Weatherbys Hamilton are preparing for another £1 million pay out to racehorse owner Bjorn Nielsen after his Stradivarius won the Gold Cup.
Nick Craven, representing the company, admitted: “No one thought we would pay out £1 million,” although they had to last year when Stradivarius won four designated staying races and scooped the cash. The sponsorship is designed to encourage the breeding, buying and owning of staying horses.
Craven said: “A horse as good as this is brilliant over this trip. It was a hot, hot Gold Cup, with some very talented, big-race winners in against him, but he did it so well.
“Everyone wants him to win another bonus, and so do we. It is great publicity for us and also for staying horses, and that is what this is all about. This horse is a real favourite now, and he’s doing it for stayers.”
Bookies saved from apocalypse
AS money poured on to Frankie Dettori’s final two mounts on Thursday, bookies were running scared in fear of another through the card rout as back 1996. Dettori looked set for win number five as Turgenev went clear two furlongs out in the Britannia. Betfred spokesman Matt Hulmes said later: “We were staring down the barrel of a cannon, and two furlongs out in the Britannia the worst fears were running through our heads, but Harry Bentley has certainly done the layers a favour.
“It’s still been costly, and millions has been given back to the punters. The Frankie factor is always at its highest here at Ascot and the patrons love him. It’s another great advert for the sport on the biggest of stages, but we do owe some gratitude to Biometric!”
Crowd down
THE crowd on day three of Royal Ascot 2019 was 66,375 compared to 70,046 last year.
On Twitter
Cornelius Lysaght@CorneliusRacing
RoyalAscot: quote of day alert; “I don’t know what this place does to me, but things just happen” - Frankie #Dettori to @bbc5live after remarkable four wins in six races on Ladies Day
Nicola McGeady@NicolaMcGeady
Never heard such a roar then when Frankie crossed the line! #FrankieDettori #Stradivarius
paul gallagher@paulgal86
That actually brought a tear to my eye...what an ambassador @FrankieDettori is for racing #Stradivarius #ascotgoldcup