Ascot Saturday
Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (Group 1)
IT has been another fine meeting for Wathnan Racing, and it was capped off with victory for Lazzat (Jerome Reynier/James Doyle) in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes, in which the Qatari operation also had the third-place finisher.
The contest developed into a battle between Lazzat and 2/1 favourite Satono Reve (Noriyuki Hori/Joao Moreira), it was the French raider who just got the better of Japan’s best sprinter to win by half a length. Wathnan’s other runner Flora Of Bermuda (Andrew Balding/P.J. McDonald) finished third, a further three lengths behind.
Lazzat warmed up for Royal Ascot with an impressive wide-margin win at Chantilly, after which he was purchased by Wathnan, whose colours have been carried to success five times at the Royal Meeting this year.
Reynier, for whom this was a debut success at Royal Ascot, said: “Lazzat won at the top level as a three-year-old in the Maurice de Gheest in Deauville but, after having been all the way to Australia and Hong Kong, I was a bit scared that it was going to be tough.
“We have obviously been trying him over a mile to open his options, but he is a pure sprinter, and we will stick to the sprinting distances over straight courses in the future.
“That was a pretty tough challenge. I have been watching all his [Satono Reve] races, and he always comes late. James had a really good feeling with the horse and, when the Japanese horse came to him, Lazzat put his ears back and tried again – he said there was no way he was going to pass him today.
“The July Cup is coming a little quickly, so maybe we will defend his crown in the Maurice de Gheest. We also have the Sprint Cup, and we can be back here in October because he can handle any ground. If the ground is heavy, he can do it as well.
“He’s a very good champion.
“Today everything went right for once, and we are happy to have a first Royal Ascot winner, especially for Wathnan and Nurlan Bizakov as a breeder.
“I am very happy for the connections involved.”
Richard Brown of Wathnan said: “It has been an amazing week and that has capped it off. Lazzat locked up with the Japanese horse and they have gone a long way clear in a six-furlong sprint.
“That was an absolutely phenomenal race to watch, and to be on the lucky side is just amazing; what a horse.
“Huge credit to Nurlan Bizakov, who bred the horse and has a lot of the family. We are very lucky they sold him to us. The Japanese horses are very hard to beat.
“They have world-class breeding operations. When you saw him come in, he was a monster walking round here.
“We are very privileged to be involved with a horse of this quality. It really has been special.
“I was saying to somebody that, before working for Wathnan, I used to come here and absolutely hate the place because you couldn’t get a winner!
“But there has been a lot of investment and a huge amount of hard work from all these guys. This is the cherry on top.”
Hardwicke Stakes (Group 2)
REBEL’S Romance has won races in six countries and gained the 18th win of a productive career when justifying 6/4 favouritism in the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes.
The recent Yorkshire Cup winner was always prominent and moved up travelling strongly on the turn before assuming control early in the straight.
Al Riffa (Joseph O’Brien/Dylan Browne McMonagle) and Ghostwriter (Clive Cox/David Egan) filled the places behind the impressive winner, with the margins a length and three-quarters and a length and a half.
Appleby, who has endured a lengthy drought at this fixture, said: “People often ask me about Rebel’s Romance and, ‘if you’re not asking me about Rebel’s Romance, you don’t watch racing’, because he is a worldwide superstar.
“As I said to Mick Fitzgerald on the way in, when he stopped me for an interview, I’ve got a picture of this fellow on my bedside table. He means that much to us all.
“Full credit to the horse first and foremost, and full credit to all the team. It has been a tough week and that is what you expect when you come here – it is the Olympics.
“You can come here thinking you are fully loaded and have great chances, and you can walk away with excuses, but that’s racing.”
Of what has been a frustrating week, he added: “I would like to think that we compose ourselves well, we take it on the chin and then we look forward.
“I was always taught from a young age, when I came into racing, to applaud every winner and enjoy your own.
“I know how hard it is for people to get horses here, let alone to have a winner.
“I would like to think I’m the first to go and congratulate everyone when they have a winner.”
Buick said: “It was very important for us to have a winner, for Charlie and the team. It is not easy.
“We had one more roll of the dice – and what a partner. Rebel’s Romance is a dream horse. Any jockey that is fortunate in their career to have a horse like Rebel’s Romance is blessed, and I am blessed.
“It erupted when he hit the front – he is a fan favourite.
“He travels the world and is recognised everywhere. We have won more than £10 million in prize money. He has been around the block and is a top-class racehorse.
“You don’t find many with a will to win like he has. He always finds a way. We gel well together - he is my best friend.”
Jersey Stakes (Group 3)
AFTER winning the Sandringham with 22/1 shot Never Let Go, Ed Walker and Kieran Shoemark teamed up for another shock with the 25/1 success of Noble Champion in the Group 3 Jersey Stakes. Stepping up from the 6f of the Carnarvon Stakes at Newbury, Noble Champion had an ideal target in the shape of the trailblazing Spy Chief in the centre of the track, and that rival kept on well to claim a respectable second, albeit finishing three and a quarter lengths behind, with favourite Commanche Brave third, six lengths behind the winner, who had plenty in hand despite drifting left in the final furlong when in command.
Walker said: “It has been a great week. We have had a few blips, but we are thrilled. I am just so pleased for this horse. We had massive belief in Noble Champion coming into this year and, for one reason or another, we have just not got it right.
“He had a setback in January, which messed up our prep for the Greenham; he needed that run. We really believed in him, but we thought we’d go a sensible route and ran in a conditions race at Goodwood over a mile. There wasn’t much pace, and he was keen and just got it all wrong.
“We then brought him back to six furlongs at Newbury, because he had showed so much speed at home. We even thought we might end up supplementing him for the Commonwealth Cup, but that didn’t work, and finally the trainer got it right! Noble Champion is as good a work horse as we have had; he has such a high cruising speed and is just a very smart horse.
“He has driven me mad. It has been really difficult, and I’m probably guilty of wearing my heart on my sleeve. I tell my owners if I think horses are good, bad, or ugly, and I’ve told Simon [Sadler] how much belief I had in this horse. There have been excuses, but I said to Simon, if it doesn’t work today, then I don’t know what is going wrong.
“Simon has only recently come into the game. He is an incredibly generous guy and says he wants to take the stable to the next level. He is giving all of his prize money from Ascot to a pancreatic and liver charity. He is a great man and we’re very lucky to have him on board, but all of our owners are important. Lots of them have been with me for a very long time and, without them, we wouldn’t be where we are.”
Shoemark said: “Ed has always held Noble Champion in the highest regard. He has a lot of ability and, for one reason or another, things just haven’t gone right this year.
“The stiff seven furlongs here at Ascot, with a nice strong pace, has really seen him at his best. He was in a lovely rhythm, and it was just a matter of time – when I pressed go, he really hit the line strong.
“It can be a lonely place in front here as there is plenty to look at. He would not have been in front a lot on his own before, so he was entitled to be a little bit green, but he is very talented.”
Chesham Stakes
PURCHASED by Wathnan Racing after scoring on debut at Newbury, Andrew Balding’s Humidity (James Doyle) built on that promise to win the Listed Chesham Stakes at Ascot on Saturday. The son of Ulysses is keeping up family tradition, being a full-brother to 2022 Chesham winner Holloway Boy. Humidity made all the running and responded well to find extra when challenged by Thesecretadversary (Fozzy Stack/Seamie Heffernan), outgunning that rival late to score by a length, with a length and a quarter back to Moments of Joy (Aidan O’Brien/Ryan Moore) in third. The winner was returned at 4/1 and the 5/4 favourite Treanmor was unplaced, having had every chance.
Balding said: “This is the horse that we had the highest hopes for this week, so I am delighted he has got the job done. He is just a lovely horse to have in the yard. He has done nothing wrong, and I would hope that he will stay further, but he is not short of speed either. He is so laidback.
“I am a big fan of Ulysses. I think he is an underrated stallion, so this is good for him. We have a couple of other nice horses by him, and Humidity is an absolute dude. This was always the plan, and we will now work back from something nice in the autumn. I think he could be a Guineas horse. He is not short of speed and has a lovely long stride. I think he has a bright future.”
Wokingham Stakes
THERE was strong market support for More Thunder (William Haggas/Cieren Fallon) in the Wokingham, but while the dual Newmarket winner ran as well as ever in trying to maintain an unbeaten record for his new yard, he couldn’t get past the front-running Get It (George Baker/Seamie Heffernan), who became just the second horse to make every yard in this contest since Selhurstparkflyer in 1998.
A winner here in May, Get It needs to hear his hooves rattle and relished the fast ground as he dug deep to repel the market leader. Get It rewarded his backers at an SP of 25/1, as he was when winning the Stewards’ Cup last season. Ten Pounds and Holkham Bay rounded out the places.
Baker said: “We had a magical day in August at Goodwood, and to have another one on this stage is pretty cool! Patsy [Cosgrave] is sadly missing out on this, which is a great shame because he has been such a massive part of our team. Seamie breezed the horse a couple of times in Bahrain and, with Patsy suspended, he was the obvious one.
“Seamie has given him an absolute peach. He has basically given him a Pat Cosgrave ride, which is just let him roll, and he will come back to you. Then let him go again, and he did that. It is a long way home, that final furlong, but what a thrill.
“We bought him relatively cheaply at the horses-in-training sale a couple of years ago. He has won in Racing League, Bahrain, a Stewards’ Cup, and the Wokingham.
“How many horses have won the Stewards’ Cup and Wokingham? Not many. He is a dude of a horse and credit to everyone involved.
“He has been a star.”
Rest of the card
THE Golden Gates Handicap saw Andrew Balding achieve a double on the day, with 12/1 chance Quai De Bethune (Oisin Murphy) leading on the line to beat favourite Seraph Gabriel (Ralph Beckett/Rossa Ryan) by a nose, upholding the form of the London Gold Cup, in which he was a good third on his previous start. The winner didn’t travel well in the early stages, but picked up when meeting rising ground and Murphy felt he didn’t enjoy the quick ground despite winning.
The Queen Alexandra Stakes closed the meeting as is the custom, and it was Sober (Willie Mullins/Ryan Moore) who took the honours, with the 4/5 favourite beating Samui (Gordon Elliott/Colin Keane) by five lengths. The winner was providing owners OTI Racing with a memorable meeting, which began for them when Docklands won the Queen Anne Stakes on the opening day. Terry Henderson of OTI suggested that Sober would have an Australian campaign while Docklands will be campaigned for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes back here in October.
Coolmore Partners were given the award for leading owner at the meeting, but only after a countback having achieved the same number of winners as Wathnan Racing. John and Thady Gosden made up for a disappointing 2024 by taking leading trainer honours, again needing a countback to edge Aidan O’Brien, with Ryan Moore as the leading jockey.