Monday 24 June 2013
Royal Ascot 2013: The shade closes on an memorable occasion
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Royal Ascot 2013: The shade closes on an memorable
occasion
Those of us who fear Royal
Ascot 2013 would fight back to live up to the level of last year were put steadfastly
back in our boxes.
Twelve
months on from the breathtaking successes of Frankel and Black Caviar, the five days this
year served up a moving, rarely distressing, string of quality dramas.
It was
non-stop enthusiasm from Declaration of War (Queen Anne Stakes) to Chiberta
King (Queen Alexandra) via, of route, the Queen's Gold Cup winner Estimate.
A guinea
a minute: The St James's fortress and Coronation stake
Dawn Approach's narrow defeat of Toronado in the St James's Palace will most
likely be rated as the training performance of the whole year by Jim Bolger and
his team.
It was
a surprise that the 2000 Guineas winner, unattainable in seven prior to
flopping when favourite for the Derby, was in the line-up at all, but to then
win in a thrilling finish was little short of extraordinary.
That
was a second conquering of Toronado by Dawn Approach in two meetings, and if
they have another go at each other in Glorious Goodwood's Sussex Stakes on 31
July, that will be an extra duel on the downs to savour.
Having
endured a near-miss on Toronado - not his only one in the first few days at
Ascot - champion jockey Richard Hughes finally made the winners' podium, in
brilliant style, on Sky Lantern in the Coronation Stakes.
On the
golf course for 14 holes before racing to "clear his head", Hughes
rode the 1000 Guineas winner with self-assurance in her abilities before deliver
the filly for an vigorous win.
The instant
talk from assistant trainer Richard Hannon junior was of taking on longer races
than this challenge over a mile, and of going for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
- if not this season, then next, when she's probable to stay in guidance.
'Doyle
Ascot': The zero to champion hat-trick in little over an hour
This
was the perfect showcase for the 25-year-old's talents.
The trio of horses - Al Kazeem, Belgian Bill and Rizeena
- are all quiet horses, each needing their own individual rides.
Al
Kazeem is all quality and needed precision verdict from the saddle in the Group
One Prince of Wales's Stakes; Belgian Bill got the better of 27 rivals in the
split-second rough and tumble of the Royal Hunt Cup Handicap; while
two-year-old filly Rizeena needed help as well as encouragement in the Queen
Mary Stakes.
Modest
and personable, Doyle is enjoying a lucrative association with Al Kazeem's
trainer Roger Charlton and could with no trouble take all three to even dizzier
heights in the months in front.
The value
of Gold Cup heroine Estimate
But
even Timeform's famously hard-nosed, no-nonsense boffins concede it was
terrific in every other respect.
First
of all, it was a famous victory for the Queen, who became the first reigning
monarch to win Ascot's centrepiece in the 206-year history of the race.
And as
a first Royal win in a British Group One prize since the Silver Jubilee in
1977, it was also a result of huge significance for the Queen's racing and
thoroughbred breeding procedure.
But for
British racing itself, the win was inestimable after a testing two months with
doping and corruption scandals.
For
once, the radio and TV reports - plus the online and newspaper pictures - all
shouted about racing and it was good news, providing a priceless amount of optimistic
advertising.
Estimate
herself did not receive the notice she deserved as she gobbled up the final
half-mile of the marathon race to become the first filly to win since 1991.
John
Warren, the Queen's racing adviser and the guy sitting on her left in all the
pictures at the end of the race, has not given away much about future targets,
but they will be top stamina races.
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