Royal Ascot review: British racing the winner as Ascot takes its place in the sun

A 35-race marathon including eight G1s and a raft of brutally difficult handicaps is in the books and the silk toppers and substantial fascinators can go atop the wardrobe for another year.

Substantial fascination was a constant theme throughout five sun-kissed days and the Sporting Life's influential 'Good Week, Bad Week' feature shines the spotlight on all sorts of winners and losers.

Aidan

Of course, Aidan. The bloke known by his first name alone was doing the celeb circuit this year but the Ballydoyle boss, albeit in a very different way, is doing a solid job of replacing Frankie as the face of the racing franchise.

Gus, Kyprios, Fairy Godmother and the spectacular Bedtime Story were the stars but the way AOB shares his time and vulnerabilities as well as his insight these days nowadays is compelling. He was always admired. Now he’s becoming beloved.

Rishi and Chappers

One has been a pal for yonks, the other often drives me crackers. But ITV's twin inquisitors brought viewers right to the heart of the action with a lovely blend of insight, humour and empathy.

It’s hard to believe TV racing all but ignored grooms for decades. Their passion burned bright this week – and Charyn’s partner Joe summed his horse (and racing life in general) up beautifully by saying “some take a lift to the top, this one has taken the stairs."

Charlie Appleby

Wow, that was a bad segment. True, Sheikh Mohammed’s main man is running a global brand these days and high-class older horses like Rebel’s Romance, Measured Time, Silver Knott and Master Of The Seas have been shining on the international stage this year.

But it beggars belief that Godolphin's main yard should muster a measly half a dozen runners over five days of high-class Ascot action – including high-profile flops Notable Speech and Diamond Rain – and the situation is brought into sharper focus by the fact that some Qatari neighbours are becoming increasingly noisy.

Them Wathnan Boys

From small acorns grow mighty English Oaks and you wouldn’t mind being a Shareholder in this Qatari venture given its rapid progress over the last year.

Add in Leovanni’s decisive Queen Mary win and another rugged performance from the admirable Haatem in the Jersey and the Emir’s team ended the week with four big winners and multiple others in the frame from a total of almost 30 runners.

The change from fledgling to hawk has been rapid and, with rumours of a £100m war chest swirling, this tantalising transfer window might not close for a good while yet.

Lacking the right Amo

King Of Steel and Bucanero Fuerte were notable absentees from the Prince of Wales’s and Commonwealth Cup and there was no purple reign for Kia Joorabchian’s crew this year, with a final tally of 0-17 and most coming back just ahead of the ambulance.

But swooping to sign a highly regarded Brazilian has long been a go-to move for football men.

The Sheikh Who Must Be Obaid

From telling Luca that orders must be obeyed because “I am a military man” to parting company with long-time allies like the Crisfords and Atzeni, the assertive owner of Rosallion and Inisherin certainly adds Dubaian spice to the mix.

His faith in R Hannon and K Ryan was handsomely rewarded and how many big owners would stand in a June winner’s enclosure and insist that two such valuable stallion prospects would be back at four? Salute to the Sheikh. And, of course, Atten-hut!

The boy from Ballarat

'All we do is breed for cheap speed and still our sprinters are no good, blah blah blah.'

Some reaction to Asfoora's thrilling King Charles III win was redolent of the predictably entitled angst over England’s plain effort against Denmark, but there’s no shame in the fact that other nations do certain things much better than we do and Aussies do sprinting bang right.

Reports suggest Asfoora’s trainer Henry Dwyer ran the race of his life afterwards. Honya, Henry lad.

Easy to flock to Shepherd

He had the stones to say what others were thinking over the suspect Sunday night racing plan and handled himself with poise and professionalism when given the flick from leading Derby hope Ambiente Friendly.

But, given that little bro Laird came from eight down to win the British amateur golf championship at Nairn two years ago, bouncing back is clearly in the Shepherd clan psyche.

Congrats to Callum then – and of course to Hardwicke hero Isle Of Jura.

Billy and Georgie

If Billy The Kid’s weight holds up like Frankie’s – and that’s a notable doubt given his size – then he could still be riding Royal Ascot winners in the year 2059.

Racing’s new wunderkid arrived at the party on 80/1 Coventry winner Rashabar – and no, I still don’t know how The Brock found that one – and excelled again for Boughey on Sandringham winner Soprano.

George also coaxed two solid fourths from Believing in G1 sprints and, if the jockey talent drain starts extending to trainers, he might just have an option or two.

Rollo and the lady in the Orange Tree

The rashers were going down nicely at 8.23am on Thursday when an elegant racegoer swanned into Richmond’s Orange Tree and ordered a first (well I think it was a first) Aperol of the day. I didn’t expect to see a stronger stayer than Kyprios on Gold Cup day but this lady was going out hard on the longest day of the year.

And I couldn’t help chuckling when Radio 4 anchor Justin Webb prefaced his Today programme Summer Solstice piece by asking the superbly-named Rollo Maughfling – aka Archdruid of Stonehenge and Great Britain - how he came about his grand title.

“Well, one starts as an ordinary Druid,” replied the bold Rollo.

Believe me lads, this country cannot be beaten.

On me Ed, son

The big youth from Middleham Moor sent three horses south and returned with a Britannia win for HK-bound Mickley, a blinding best of British King Charles III second for Regional and an honourable sixth in the Kensington Palace for Elim.

And if those bare stats weren’t persuasive enough, bear in mind that the three combined cost Ed Bethell and his team a total of around 45 grand. Who says you can’t do Ascot on a budget?

Speaking of which...

Dad and lad and father and daughter were twin Friday themes as Crystal Black and Pilgrim snagged major handicaps for the Keane and Barron clans.

The pair were picked up for 35 and 65 grand respectively and Colin Keane wasn’t joking when he said Crystal Black’s Duke of Edinburgh win gave him “the biggest kick I’ve ever got riding a winner."

Emergency Ward

Glorious sunshine and fast ground make for a Wes Ward juvenile smoke show, right?

Err, wrong. Dead wrong. Ultima Grace disgraced herself in the Queen Mary, Honorary American ran dishonourably in the Windsor Castle, Saturday Flirt never teased a win in Thursday’s Norfolk and Burning Pine flamed out in the Albany.

Ward raised a red flag in advance by saying “a lot of my owners haven’t wanted to sign back up for it.” Christ knows what they’ll think when digesting the fact that this year’s Ward quartet returned to the States having finished 20th, 24th, 10th and 16th.

RP Ralph

It started with a day one invite to the Royal Procession and ended with two big handicap winners – Going The Distance and Doha – and fine runs in defeat from Indelible, You Got To Me, Kings Gamble and the mighty Sonny Liston.

And Beckett is a connected guy in more ways than one. This week’s team carried the colours of Al Shaqab, Juddmonte, Clipper and Marc Chan – and although Forever Blue flopped in the Sandringham it would be surprising if Wathnan don’t back him again before long.

Shoe on the other foot?

It’s hard not to feel for Kieran Shoemark, whose promotion within Team Gosden has coincided with Inspiral going off the boil and a host of fancied horses failing to do what the market expected.

Major yards need star riders who make the sort of difference that Murphy made on Running Lion in the Duke of Cambridge.

Of course, a big winner or two might turn things around for Shoemark. But, as Big John’s musical hero Bob Dylan might say: “It’s not dark yet, but it’s gettin’ there.”

True Dat

The biggest banker of the week obliged when Alan King withdrew Trueshan from Thursday’s showpiece and sealed a cocky double when pulling him out of Saturday’s Queen Alex, too.

Yeats got a statue in the paddock for winning four consecutive Gold Cups. And the campaign to honour Trueshan’s four consecutive GC no-shows (and two QA defections) with a hologram in the pre-parade ring starts now. Thank you.

A Stickler for Discipline

The Stickelback has been sticking his stick in at Ascot for a long while now and seeing him allow the ground to stay fast with minor overnight watering was great to see.

True, those drawn very low on the straight course found life tough again but, overall, Chris Stickels provided a true deck for the heavy hitters to prosper on.

The Premier Experience

Don’t get me wrong, the concept of Premier Racing with a bloated list of 170 supposedly elite cards is already looking dangerously like a busted brand.

But standalone events like Royal Ascot, even without A-list equine stars from America, Australia and the Far East, still provide a heady cocktail on and off the track.

Griping will begin again soon enough but how do you beat a five-day festival featuring a spectacular and richly varied cast list where the intensity never lets up for a second?

From unfeasibly tall blokes peacocking around in polished toppers to impossibly elegant women, through to hardened punters in the ring and giddy lads and lasses who wouldn’t know a furlong from a foot long pogoing frenetically with Luke Harvey in the Windsor Enclosure.

Royal Ascot has mastered the art of enabling people who are happy to pay good money for a great day out exactly what they are looking for.

And this year’s vintage had sparkle from start to finish.

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