Our Ben Linfoot was tasked with reporting on the rest of Champions Day (without Frankie Dettori) and he witnessed a monstrous performance in the QEII.
Big Rock saves the day
“I’ll write the Frankie Dettori piece, you do the best of the rest,” says Dave Ord, boss, long-time colleague and former friend. Thanks for that, mate. This is like writing a history of heavyweight boxing without Muhammad Ali. A countdown of British chart toppers without The Beatles.
For the sensational story of Frankie’s final-day double head here. Outside the media centre I can still hear the echoing chants of ‘ohhhh Frankie Dettori, ohhhh Frankie Dettori’. He couldn’t could he? He could, and of course he did, the final roar of the crowd to almost will King Of Steel home coming from the drawer marked ‘Absolute Spine Tinglers’.
Not even the aftermath of Storm Babet could spoil proceedings, a wet and wild day at Ascot contributing to the football-like atmosphere. And while the switch to the inner hurdles track ensured we had some tremendous finishes on the round course, the testing straight track threw Champions Day punters into a carnival of the unpredictable.
Art Power landed the Champions Sprint at 40/1, The Gatekeeper won the Balmoral at 25/1, but straight track performance of the day goes to Big Rock, a 5/1 chance who simply pulverised a deep field into submission in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes for France.
Out the back with the washing were Paddington, a four-time Group 1 winner, the 2000 Guineas winner Chaldean, under a Mr L Dettori, Nashwa, a daughter of Frankel who has won three Group 1 contests herself. They were never in it. And while you cannot argue against the fact that they seriously underperformed in the conditions, they were also outplayed by a mud-loving machine who came of age under an ecstatic Aurelien Lemaitre.
“That was very easy,” said the jockey, who got pelters for his ride on Blue Rose Cen at Glorious Goodwood. While that was a trickier assignment, this was point and shoot stuff, the son of Rock Of Gibraltar powering his way to an awesome front-running success. At one point he was eight lengths clear, at the line it was six, the result never looking in doubt after the first quarter mile.
While Ord waxes lyrical about a certain career coming to a close, Big Rock is another early signpost in the fledgling operation run by Christopher Head.
The 37-year-old from Chantilly has been bred for the job, of course, being the son of Freddy Head, who rode and then trained some exceptional milers in Miesque, Goldikova, Charm Spirit and Solow, but he is making the most of his opportunity, this his fifth Group 1 winner after the four recently collected by the aforementioned Blue Rose Cen.
Charm Spirit and Solow both won the QEII for Head’s father, towards the end of his own brilliant training career, and when the latter won in 2015 he said: “Solow is a brilliant horse, a tough miler who can stay. He is not the sort of miler who needs to be hidden and come with a late burst. He has a lot of stamina.” You could say exactly the same things about Big Rock.
Head junior sheltered under a dark blue Royal Ascot umbrella in the winners’ enclosure, but he’d already been caught in the shower and the rain dripped off his grey overcoat. “This horse is the pinnacle of the breeding system,” he said, hands in pockets, and it’s hard to think of a better son or daughter of Rock Of Gibraltar, a horse who won the St James’s Palace Stakes at this track, amongst a golden run, 21 years ago.
The Rock retired at three after bowing out when second at the Breeders’ Cup. It remains to be seen if Big Rock stays in training, but it’s with hope that he does. The Head family have overseen some of the greatest milers in turf history and after today’s performance he deserves the chance to prove this wasn’t some sort of freakish piece of opportunism.
Like Cassius Clay and John, Paul, George and Ringo, he might just be something out of the ordinary.
Yorkshire, Yorkshire!
As Tim Easterby peered through his binoculars from the owners and trainers section of the King Edward VII enclosure, even he must’ve doubted he had the horse to win the British Champions Sprint.
For all Art Power has been a fantastic servant, winning eight races and the best part of half a million quid (now nine and £800,000), the almost white son of Dark Angel had failed 14 times at the highest level before today. And this race wasn’t in Ireland, where he’s won five times from six goes.
A poster boy for perseverance, the six-year-old did have previous Ascot form to call on, including a win at the Royal meeting and a fourth in this very race, but his Flying Five and Prix de l’Abbaye efforts on his last two starts were two of the worst of his career.
The return to a soft ground six furlongs, a combination of factors he hasn’t had for the best part of a year, proved crucial, his customary early speed also a key weapon, but as Kinross loomed up to his quarters it was another asset that saw him over the line in front; bravery.
“He’s a great horse to train, no fancy gallops or all that bulls***. He’s just brilliant,” said Easterby in true old-school Yorkshireman style.
In a red-letter day for the north Poptronic won the Fillies & Mares at 22/1, a tough-to-find winner. Kept away from soft ground throughout her career, she was well beaten in the Yorkshire Oaks and Prix de Royallieu but responded to all of Sam James’ urgings to see off all challengers from the front end.
The daughter of Nathaniel seemed to relish conditions, grinding her way through the Ascot mud. Judging by her starting price she clearly wasn't fancied, but as things turned out it was just the day for that type of horse, as another northern raider The Gatekeeper underlined in the closer - King Of Steel and Frankie aside.
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