Jordan McCarthy reviews the performances of the juveniles that raced at this year’s Royal Ascot festival.
With a Royal victory and 8 Irish winners, Royal Ascot was quite exciting to say the least. It was five days of top class, competitive racing. The Group Ones saw some fierce battles, no more so than the tussle that unfolded between Dawn Approach and Toronado. We were also treated to an exhibition or two, Sky Lantern pulling off the biggest Group 1 demolition job of the season so far. However, the performances of the juveniles were just as impressive.
War Command stormed home in the Coventry Stakes despite being reflected as the Ballydoyle third-string in the betting. Such is the strength in-depth of the O’Brien stable that it is not very rare for the perceived second or third choice horses to win. He trounced his rivals here, coming from the back of the field to swoop clear under Seamie Heffernan. It capped a great set of wins for the stallion War Front, with Declaration of War landing the Queen Anne also on Tuesday.
The Coventry was won by a certain Dawn Approach last season. There is no doubting that this race has attracted some serious horses and it will surely be upgraded to Group 1 status in the not too distant future. War Command has the potential to be a serious horse. Such was the appearance of his victory it would be no surprise if connections wrapped him in cotton wool and put him away until next season. He was the pick of the week, for this column anyway.
The American raider No Nay Never took the Norfolk under Joel Rosario. Like War Command, this was only his second start. This was a mightily impressive performance from the son of Scat Daddy. The colt missed the break but his jockey allowed him to recover. Not only did he win but in doing so he broke the track record for 2 year olds. That tells you all you need to know.
The appearance of this horse is truly phenomenal and he is a relative to Meydan Winner Daddy Long Legs. Whether we see him in Britain again is anyone’s guess. Given that his name is influenced by the Irish folk song the Wild Rover, it would be fitting to have him challenge on an Irish racecourse in the future. For now though a trip to France is on the cards. He could be something special.
The fillies also caught the eye last week. One notable performance was that of Rizeena who landed the Queen Mary. The US raider Sweet Emily Rose ensured that this was a truly run race. The winner stretched clear and had some decent fillies behind her. Beldale Memory, an impressive winner at York, was one of those and could only finish 14th. Rizeena dismissed of the opposition very impressively and is another good-looking sort. Connections are confident that this filly will be Classic material next season.
Kiyoshi meanwhile gave Jamie Spencer and his new employers Qatar Racing victory in the Albany Stakes. The filly won with quite a bit in hand over her rivals. She might have stretched even further clear had she not hung right across the track on the run-in. It was evident that the bit had slipped and Spencer was riding on one rein. Taking that into account, Qatar Racing Ltd could have quite a prospect on their hands.
This was a Group 3 contest so maybe the performance of Rizeena looks stronger on paper. However, Kiyoshi clearly impressed bookmakers and is as short as 10/1 for next year’s Guineas. She will now be stepped up in trip to 7 furlongs followed by a possible crack at the Fillies Mile.
Clearly it takes a lot of work and luck to get a horse right to challenge for the Classic’s. However, it would be disappointing to think that the juveniles who were victorious at Ascot could not develop into serious Classic contenders next season.
This season’s Classic crop looks set to be average at best with maybe five horses that stand out. With regards to this season’s 2 year olds, they could very well be above average. Let’s not forget that there is a £2.5million colt called Hydrogen yet to be unleashed. Yes, the future looks bright indeed. In fact it looks dazzling.
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