Ascot Racecourse

Declarations for Saturday's Champions Day bonanza at Ascot were finalised Thursday morning, with no surprise defections from the main contests. Shadwell's hitherto undefeated Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) will conclude his racing career in the £1.3-million Qipco Champion S. and faces off against last year's G1 Derby and G1 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth S. hero Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}). Baaeed has drawn stall one, and Adayar stall six, in the day's feature event. Elsewhere on the £4-million card, Cheveley Park Stud's G1 Coronation S. and G1 Prix...

The Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup went to Team Great Britain and Ireland at Ascot on Saturday. They earned 132 points and won five of the eight races. Second in the standings was the Ladies' Team at 81 points, with Team Rest of the World at 72 points and Team Europe at 51 points. Jockey Neil Callan, part of the winning team, was awarded the Alistair Haggas Silver Saddle Award after riding two winners on the day--Orbaan (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) in the Dubai Duty Free Full Of Surprises Classified...

A few days out from the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup, five jockeys, including the entire Rest of the World Team, were on hand to answer questions from the media at Ascot Racecourse. Held on Aug. 6, four teams (GB & Ire, Rest of the World, Europe, and Ladies) will compete across eight races gathering points, with awards handed out for the top team and top rider. Rest of the World Team Captain Christophe Lemaire was joined by the Australian-based pair of Kerrin McEvoy and Jason Collett, as well as...

Godolphin's hitherto undefeated homebred Naval Power (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}--Emirates Rewards {GB}, by Dubawi {Ire}), who garnered novice events at Great Yarmouth in May and Leicester last month, and is now bound for a seat at the top table after streaking to an impressive success in this black-type bow. Positioned second in the slipstream of the pacesetting Finn's Charm (GB) (Kingman {GB}) through the initial fractions, he eased into an open lane soon after halfway and powered clear once stirred into action at the two pole to easily outclass Waiting All...

Marc Chan and Andrew Rosen's 2-year-old filly Lezoo (GB) (Zoustar {Aus}), making a swift return after running second in Newmarket's July 8 G2 Duchess of Cambridge S. last time, notched a landmark score in Saturday's G3 Princess Margaret Keeneland S. at Ascot to become her sire's first Northern Hemisphere pattern-race winner in the six-furlong dash. She had previously posted victories in a June 11 novices' heat over five furlongs at Bath and when upped to six furlongs for Newmarket's June 25 Listed Empress Fillies' S. in her penultimate start. Positioned...

All six contenders stood their ground for Saturday's G1 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Qipco S. at Ascot as final declarations were confirmed Thursday morning. Juddmonte's G1 Irish Derby hero Westover (GB) (Frankel {GB} and G1 Oaks runner-up Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), set to make her first start in the Watership Down silks, will take on their elders with the advantage of a sizeable weight allowance afforded the Classic generation in the £1.25 million 12-furlong test. They have drawn gates six and three, respectively. Prince Faisal's...

Saturday's G1 Platinum Jubilee S. produced a surprise, but it was a welcome one for Godolphin and Charlie Appleby as Naval Crown (GB) edged out Creative Force (Ire) spread wide across the track to provide a one-two for the stable and the meeting's star sire Dubawi (Ire). Relishing a lead from the ultimately disappointing 5-2 favourite Home Affairs (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}) racing stand's side, Naval Crown who was last seen finishing fourth in the G1 Al Quoz Sprint was sent on by James Doyle approaching two out and...

With the scene set on the final day of Royal Ascot, Saturday's G2 Hardwicke S. produced the inevitable as Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}) conjured a 900th group win for Aidan O'Brien. Ryan Moore was the sorcerer once again, as the meeting's leading rider pulled off a front-running tour de force on the 6-1 shot who had already contributed five to that awe-inspiring tally. In many ways, last year's G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud hero and Breeders' Cup Turf runner-up is a fitting horse to bring up the milestone, typifying the...

There is something about the straight track at Ascot that seems to bring out the best in Charlie Appleby's runners and Saturday's G3 Jersey S. had a familiar feel as last year's winning team again prevailed with Noble Truth (Fr) (Kingman {GB}). Talented at two, the Listed Flying Scotsman S. winner and G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere runner-up had threatened to head south mentally but a gelding operation after his latest six-length success in Newmarket's Listed King Charles II S. over this seven-furlong trip Apr. 29 put him on the right...

There was a shock in the opening Listed Chesham S. on Royal Ascot Saturday, as the race's only newcomer Holloway Boy (GB) (Ulysses {Ire}) came through to land the spoils at 40-1. Anchored in rear early by Danny Tudhope, the Karl Burke-trained chestnut stayed on strongly to overhaul the 80-1 shot Pearling Path (Fr) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) in the last 50 yards and gain a length success, with Lakota Sioux (Ire) (Sioux Nation) 1 1/2 lengths away in third. The 11-8 favourite Alfred Munnings (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) was a...

All the rage for Friday's G2 King Edward VII S., Changingoftheguard (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) issued a display of resolute galloping in the Westerberg silks to make it a landmark 80th Royal Ascot winner for Aidan O'Brien. Fifth in the Derby only 13 days ago, the G3 Chester Vase winner was taken to the lead by Ryan Moore soon after the start and was asked several questions on the long journey to the home straight, but kept responding to pressure to see off all bar the Derby 11th Grand Alliance (Ire)...

Lesser mortals than Frankie Dettori would had been in danger of imploding with his June hex, so it was with a large measure of relief that Cheveley Park Stud's Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) timed her dramatic reintroduction perfectly for Friday's G1 Coronation S. at Royal Ascot. It is clear after this emphatic display that her absence from the 1000 Guineas was a big miss, but the Gosdens were right to wait out the cold Spring and choose an English summer's afternoon that was as glorious as is as gets to...