Ascot Wednesday

HE wasn’t as explosive as when landing last year’s Gold Cup, but after a rare poor effort here in October, it was pleasing to see Stradivarius back to winning ways in the Longines Sagaro Stakes, with Frankie Dettori riding him in typical style, and having too much toe for his rivals off a modest pace over this two miles before idling in front as is his wont.

Sent off at 4/7, John and Thady Gosden’s seven-year-old entire looked very much his old self, and while he did not have to be at his very best to beat former bumper performer Ocean Wind (Roger Teal/Jack Mitchell) by a length, this was an encouraging start to his new campaign, and proved that the winner retains his hunger for competition.

Nayef Road (Mark Johnston/Ben Curtis) had won this race last year when it was moved to Newcastle, before finishing a rather distant second to Stradivarius at Royal Ascot. He may have another crack against the pair who beat him in the Gold Cup, although his trainer has a couple of stronger candidates on paper.

Rohaan stakes claim

The Group 3 Pavilion Stakes saw warm favourite Supremacy flop, and the Middle Park winner has questions to answer, but the race still produced a memorable finish with Rohaan (Dave Evans/Ryan Moore) storming home from what seemed a poor position to win by a length and a quarter from St Lawrence (Roger Varian/David Egan), thereby throwing his hat into the ring for the Commonwealth Cup.

The winner was unfancied at 22/1, but he’s already made a habit of surprising people, and there may be more to come.

He merely hinted at ability in two starts for George Scott last autumn, and was beaten an aggregate of 38 lengths, but has flourished since joining Evans, winning a nursery off a BHA mark of 55 in December, and progressing in leaps and bounds despite the occasional defeat along the way.

His hold-up style makes him a hostage to fortune, and that backfired badly at Newmarket, but Ascot is mush kinder to such tactics, and he is sure to be suited by a strong gallop at the trip in the Commonwealth Cup, for all he will need to progress again to win at that level.

Chipotle hot

The first thing to note about Ascot’s opening fixture is the unfortunate dumbing down of a perfectly good card by advertising it as a series of trials – such things do not serve the sport well, and the same approach to all things Cheltenham over jumps has not made British racing more competitive.

That point is rather proven when considering the turn out for this juvenile event, with only four going to post, whereas Royal Ascot will see well over 100 runners in its two-year-old contests.

The race was won in good style by the Brocklesby winner Chipotle (Eve Johnson Houghton/Charlie Bishop), who proved too strong for the favourite The Gatekeeper (Mark Johnston/Ben Curtis), winning by a length at odds of 6/5.

This effort suggests that Chipotle (Havana Gold) is listed class, and while the winning trainer is weighing up the possibility of running in the Windsor Castle Stakes next month, he was a cheap purchase, and gets into the Weatherbys Super Sprint at Newbury with just 8st 7lb, making that race a more obvious target.

The Gatekeeper needs to improve again to gain blacktype, but will stay an extra furlong, and has the demeanour of one who will progress well for experience.

The Naas Racecourse British EBF Fillies’ Conditions Stakes is ostensibly a trial for the Coronation Stakes, and a very optimistic one at that, with none of the runners even entered in that contest.

Creative Flair (Charlie Appleby/William Buick) followed up her Sandown maiden win from last season, beating Auria (Andrew Balding/Oisin Murphy) readily having been handy throughout. She has an entry in the Ribblesdale Stakes, and will be suited by the longer trip, her dam having won the Sagaro Stakes on this card a few years ago.

The William Haggas-trained Ready To Venture, out of a winning half-sister to George Washington, shaped well in third; she holds entries in the Oaks and Irish Oaks, and will also improve for a step up in trip.

Surprise

The Listed Paradise Stakes produced the surprise of the day, with Oh This Is Us (Tom Marquand) bouncing back from a modest run in the Spring Cup at Newbury to land this competitive event at 66/1.

The eight-year-old has been a fine servant to Richard Hannon, and as an entire, he has held his form remarkably well, and he would not have been the price he was if coming here after catching the eye at Newmarket on his penultimate outing.

He’s something of a ‘twilight’ horse these days, with handicaps hard to win from his inflated rating, and listed races rarely run to suit his grinding style, but this was his 15th career success, and every trainer would be delighted to have a couple like him.