ROYAL ASCOT 2019 – DAY 1

GLITTERS LORDS IT UP IN QUEEN ANNE STAKES, GR.I

The David O’Meara-trained Lord Glitters (14/1) (Whipper-Lady Glitters) captured the opening race of Royal Ascot 2019, the G1 Queen Anne Stakes. Second to Accidental Agent in the straight mile contest in 2018, the son of Whipper went one place better this time around, producing a game performance under Daniel Tudhope to defeat the Andrew Balding-trained Beat The Bank (20/1), to win the £600,000 event by a neck. The winning time was 1m 37.4s, which was 1.1s outside the course record set by Ribchester in 2017. The six-year-old grey, who finished second to Accidental Agent in this race last year, was a 14/1 chance. Beat The Bank was second by a neck at 20/1. A neck and three-quarters of a length separated the first three. Barney Roy was the 5/1 favourite who finished eighth of the 16 runners.

Yorkshire-based O’Meara, registering his fourth and biggest winner at Royal Ascot, said: “Lord Glitters always run well here as he loves the track. “He is not that easy a horse, he can be quite strong and keen. That’s what happened in the Lockinge, when he over-raced with no cover. Today, as soon as he jumped, Danny got him across and got cover. From there on, it all looked like it went pretty well. Watching the race, it was one of the easiest Royal Ascot runners we’ve had to watch as he never looked in trouble. My assistant Jason Kelly bought this horse and he deserves a mention too. We will follow a pretty similar path with him to last year and the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood is probably next up. “

Nick Turnbull, son of owners Geoff & Sandra Turnbull, commented: “This victory means everything. My Dad has been in this game for 20 years and to win at Royal Ascot is the pinnacle.”

Last year’s winner Accidental Agent, trained by Eve Johnson-Houghton, refused to come out of the stalls when they opened, before eventually consenting to race, but was several hundred yards behind the other runners. The stewards deemed him to have been a runner in the contest, but some bookmakers are refunding stakes on the horse.

Danny Tudhope scored his third Royal Ascot winner – and his first at Group One level. Thirty-three-year-old Tudhope, who recently enjoyed his 1,000th British winner – at Thirsk on June 4 – said: “Lord Glitters deserved to land a big one like this. He is a super horse, and when things fall right for him, he is very good. David told me to ride him as cold as I can and to be brave. If there is anywhere you can do it, it is this track because that last furlong is a long, long way. I got a lovely split and the race just panned out perfectly. Three years in a row now I’ve had a Royal Ascot winner, so we’re getting there! Hopefully, there are more to come. This is where you want to be, riding in all the big ones. I’ve got one in the bank, anyway. David O’Meara has had a lot of faith in me. I’ve been there a good few years and we’ve had some big winners. He’s stood by me through thick and thin.”

Andrew Balding, who trains the Silvestre De Sousa-ridden Beat The Bank for King Power Racing, said of the gelding: “I’m delighted with that – I have no idea what went wrong at Newbury [when Beat The Bank was unplaced in the G1 Lockinge Stakes] but that was more like him today. The winner is a good horse and there has never been much between them when they’ve run against each other [Lord Glitters beat Beat The Bank by a neck in last year’s G2 Summer Mile at Ascot] and it’s a pretty good standard. We’re quite keen to try him over a mile and a quarter and we might look at the Eclipse Stakes next.”

Jockey Silvestre De Sousa was handed a seven-day ban and fined £1,050 after his ride on runner-up Beat The Bank in the G1 Queen Anne Stakes. De Sousa was found guilty of using his whip above the permitted level in the final two furlongs.

ARIZONA IS THE ROUTE TO 66 FOR O’BRIEN IN THE COVENTRY STAKES, GR.2

Arizona’s (No Nay Never- Lady Ederle) success in the £150,000 G2 Coventry Stakes over six furlongs was trainer Aidan O’Brien’s 66^th Royal Ascot winner. The No Nay Never juvenile scored by half a length from Threat under Ryan Moore. He was the 15/8 favourite.

O’Brien said: “I’m delighted with him and Ryan gave him a great ride. He was very green first time out, and then won very easily next time, but probably didn’t learn a lot because of that, so this is the first day that he has had to learn. He was a little bit slow away and a little bit lost through the race, but came home really well. Obviously, he has loads of speed, or he wouldn’t be able to win like that, but we always thought he would be a horse who would have no problem getting seven furlongs. He could sharpen up a lot from that, but even if he does, seven furlongs should be fine. You’d imagine he will be a miler next year. He’s probably quicker than he lets on, because he’s still a baby, but you’d always think he’d have no problem getting seven.

 It did not take Ryan Moore long to ride his first winner at this year’s Royal Ascot, his initial success coming in the second race on day one. Moore had to push his young partner along from soon after leaving the stalls, but the son of stallion No Nay Never finished impressively and was pulling away from his rivals as he hit the line. Threat (4/1) and Guildsman (6/1) took the next two places, beaten half a length and a neck. Moore, who has been QIPCO Royal Ascot Top Jockey in each of the past five years, and nine in total, said: “Arizona has impressed me on all his starts. I think he is a high-class colt. He has a super attitude, but is not fully switched on yet and will probably benefit when he steps up in trip. He has come out of a maiden, so this was a different tempo, and you would have to be pleased with what he has done today.”

 Richard Hannon was magnanimous in defeat following Threat’s (4/1) second-placed finish. Threat, ridden by Tom Marquand, ran on strongly in the closing stages of the six-furlong event, finishing a half-length behind the winner. Hannon commented: “We came here today to learn if he was a very good horse and that is exactly what we learned. He saw the trip out well.

The Archie Watson-trained Guildsman (6/1) was a further neck behind in third and the Lambourn handler said: “I was delighted with Guildsman. They have probably gone very quick in front and they have set the race up for the closers. I thought Threat’s run in second was full of merit on the other side of the track, but I couldn’t be happier with my lad. There is a very defined path for horses like him. He is a ready-made two-year-old and we will be looking for races like the July Stakes and the Richmond with him – I don’t need to be very clever with him.”

BLUE MAKES AN EMPHATIC POINT IN THE KINGS STAND STAKES, GR.I

Blue Point (Shamardal-Scarlett Rose) proved the king of the sprinters with victory in the G1 King’s Stand Stakes, holding off the 2/1 favourite Battaash for the second year running. Trained for Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin by Charlie Appleby, Blue Point (5/2) scored by one and a quarter lengths from Battaash, with Soldier’s Call (16/1) a further one and a half lengths back in third, and just a nose ahead of fourth home Mabs Cross, who had finished third last year. Blue Point became the 12th dual winner of the G1 King’s Stand Stakes.

Sheikh Mohammed said: “That has given me a lot of pleasure. When you win a Group One, you are very happy. Blue Point was in Dubai during the winter and the weather there helped him. He came here a stronger horse.”

William Buick, who won on Blue Point 12 months ago, is currently sidelined following a case of concussion and so James Doyle stepped in for the ride today. Appleby said of Buick: “He’s here today, he’s in the gym regularly and he’s looking great. With the way things are going, I would expect to see him back by the end of July. Having said that, he pushes himself so hard and if he told me next week he was ready to come back it wouldn’t surprise me. It is William’s call.”

Blue Point, who has now four races from five starts at Ascot, a track which brings out the best in him, had run in three sprints at Meydan since the turn of the year, winning them all, including the G1 Al Quoz Sprint. Appleby said: “During the winter he did nothing but impress us with the way he matured both mentally and physically. When William won on the horse on his first start this year he said we’re dealing with a different horse now. In training we could see that. Coming into today’s race, I knew he was in the form of his life. Physically he looks the real deal. Two weeks ago James rode the horse in a bit of work and came back saying ‘the ground is a bit loose’ and all the usual excuses you come up with when a gallop doesn’t go quite according to plan, but I hoped the horse would come forward for that. Then last Wednesday he rode him again and the horse was electric. James got off him and said, ‘That’s the fastest horse I’ve ridden’, and we saw what he meant today.

“There’s no getting away from it that we were concerned about the rain and the ground – he has good form on slower ground, but not at this level. I stood alongside William during the race and said, ‘What do you think – are we happy?’ and he replied, ‘Yes, watch him, watch him’. We could see James just starting to get going on him, and Battaash was travelling so well and likely to put a killer punch in, but once they locked horns I knew our horse would see it out. He’ll probably have a little break now. We know the stiff five furlongs suits him, so the Flying Five [at the Curragh] is a possible. He ran in the [G1] Nunthorpe Stakes last year and he was under the pump from half way, although I’m not saying he won’t go there. I would say it’s probably unlikely he would go back for the [G1] July Cup again over six furlongs, but it will be an interesting discussion and one we will have with Sheikh Mohammed. William got off him last year and said the track didn’t suit him – they get running a bit quick, then down into the dip, which is not like the dip in the Rowley Mile, but it’s there and he likes to finish strongly on a stiffer track. Stepping up to six furlongs doesn’t worry me because he has won the Al Quoz over six and he has held the track record here over six in the past, but we will think about running plans.”

Asked if Australia’s Everest, a sprint race worth $13m might be a consideration, Appleby said he doubted it due to the frenetic build up to the race, which he felt was not suitable for an entire five-year-old. He said: “Predominantly I take geldings to race in Australia for that reason. Our horses are not mentally adapted to that style of pre-race. It’s hard for colts with horses walking round in front of them for three hours before a race. It’s quite challenging for most colts, and it would be especially so for Blue Point.”

Blue Point has now won four of his five starts at Ascot and remains unbeaten this year, having won all three of his races in Meydan during the winter. A delighted Doyle, recording his 11th victory at Royal Ascot, said: “It gives me immense satisfaction that I didn’t mess it up because I have ridden Blue Point twice before and it didn’t really work out.  William [Buick] gets on so well with him, so we did plenty of homework. Charlie actually told me a hop on Blue Point a couple weeks ago, just to get to know him because he is tricky. The race couldn’t have gone much smoother, to be honest. He is a real, tough warrior and I had to do most of the running on my own, which is never easy, but it just shows what a classy sprinter he is. That is why Charlie is the great trainer he is. He thinks about all of the little things that on the big day need to come together. Blue Point has beaten Battaash each time they have met. I was not really worried about him, I was more worried about the rain coming down. Luckily, it only drizzled and hasn’t really effected the ground for now. He was very tough – he was out on his own. Battaash drew alongside me but he was six or seven horse-widths away from me, so was never really in my sights. They have met a few times and Blue Point has always come off best. There is no disputing that.”

Battaash finished second to Blue Point for the second consecutive year. The 2/1 favourite was beaten a length and a quarter – half a length less than in 2018. The Dark Angel five-year-old was ridden by Jim Crowley and trained by Charles Hills. Hills said: “He probably just got a little bit outstayed again today, really. It’s got to have tested his stamina a bit; he was drawn wide and unfortunately the horse we thought we’d follow early on into the race slipped coming out of the stalls, and we got a bit detached from the race, maybe. He’s run a really good race, though.”

Third was front-running three-year-old Soldier’s Call, trained by Archie Watson and ridden by Danny Tudhope. He finished a length and a half behind Battaash at 16/1 and a nose ahead of last year’s third, Mabs Cross.

CIRCUS MAXIMUS PROVES KING OF ASCOT IN ST JAMES PALACE STAKES, GR.1

Circus Maximus (Galileo-Duntle) became the first horse since Dawn Approach (2013) to run in the 12-furlong Investec Derby before winning the £538,750 G1 St James’s Palace Stakes over a mile. Supplemented at a cost of £45,000, Circus Maximus, trained by Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore, held on gamely in the closing stages of the mile contest to score by a neck, denying the fast-finishing King Of Comedy (4/1), trained by John Gosden, in second. Too Darn Hot, the 2/1 favourite and also trained by Gosden, was a further three-quarters of a length back in third. Circus Maximus was a creditable sixth in the 12-furlong Investec Derby at Epsom Downs on June 1, but the drop back to a mile and the addition of blinkers proved the right combination this afternoon.

O’Brien was registering his 67th winner at the Royal Meeting and a 30.62/1 double today following Arizona’s win in the G2 Coventry Stakes. This was also the master of Ballydoyle’s eighth win in the G1 St James’s Palace Stakes and first since Gleneagles in 2015. O’Brien said: “Maria (Niarchos-Gouaze), Derrick Smith, John Magnier and Michael Tabor [owners] all decided at 11.45am at the six-day stage that they were going to supplement Circus Maximus for this race and we just ran with it. It is a big challenge for the horse to drop back down in trip. That’s why we put the blinkers on him as he didn’t have much time to learn how to race back at a mile, so that helped him. We were worried about the pace of the race for Circus Maximus back over a mile having raced over a mile and a half.”

Circus Maximus’s 10/1 victory handed jockey Ryan Moore a 55^th Royal Ascot winner. It was his second success in the race – he took it in 2015 on Gleneagles, again for today’s winning trainer, Aidan O’Brien.

John Gosden, who trains both the colts in Newmarket, commented: “One ran out of track and the other found that it was a little too stiff a mile. King Of Comedy just ran out of track and he ran a blinder. He needed another 25 yards. He is a horse that in the end will go a mile and a quarter. Adam (Kirby) said it was a pity he had to come round and through them. Too Darn Hot has run a very good race. He has come to win his race, got in front. It is just stamina. It wasn’t for him today. It is a stiff mile here and it just caught him out. He is a very powerfully built horse – he looks like a sprinter/miler. Frankie said he feels like a Jersey (7f) horse, and that is what he is. He was a champion two-year-old, who won the Dewhurst in great style. He needs seven furlongs or an easy mile. The G1 Sussex Stakes (mile, Goodwood, Wed, July 31.) will be next for him.”

ADDEYBB IMPRESSES IN WOLFERTON STAKES

Addeybb’s (Pivotal-Bush Cat) impressive success in the £100,000 Wolferton Stakes was trainer William Haggas’ ninth Royal Ascot victory, and his first in the 10-furlong Listed race. Racing on favoured ground the 5/1 chance, a five-year-old son of Pivotal, was eased down to beat 9/2 favourite Magic Wand (Aidan O’Brien/Ryan Moore) by two and a half lengths under Danny Tudhope.

Haggas said: “We thought Addeybb was in really good nick, the ground came right for him, and he has won well. I know it was only a Listed race, and he’s a Group Two winner in a Listed race, but it was a strong field for the grade. He has just been really well these last two weeks and that combined with the cheekpieces and the ground – it all just came right for him today. He has won a Group Two on soft ground, but the most important thing for us is that he is back to himself and even better is that in his next race he will only have a Listed penalty. He will be going up to Group class now, but he does need this ground and I think he needs this trip too. His owner Sheikh Ahmed is a good supporter of mine and I’m delighted to win with this horse. We lost him a bit last year with the dry ground, but it was like it was written in the stars today.”

Asked about Sea Of Class, who runs in tomorrow’s G1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes, he said: “I don’t want to bottom her at this stage of the season. She’s in great form and looks amazing. It’s a fabulous race, but all the races she is going to run in are fabulous races. We just want to do right by her. I must stress, I’m keen to run, but I’m not keen to bottom her.”

Magic Wand, trained by Aidan O’Brien, and sent off the 9/2 favourite, came home two and a half lengths second. O’Brien commented: “I am delighted, she ran a great race. She prefers better ground, but I am delighted by her run. I think she could go to Belmont or somewhere like that next.”

Mark Johnston trained the third home, 5/1 chance Elarqam, who was beaten a nose by the runner-up. Johnston said: “The ground is soft and he has clearly handled it perfectly well, but has run out of petrol coming to the line. I said turning for home the danger is behind, and Ryan [Moore, on Magic Wand] was stalking us. We have no complaints, I think the horse is in great form and has run a great race – these conditions have just found him out. It has taken us a while to decide between a mile and a quarter or a mile, and this tells us that a mile and a quarter is the limit of where he can go. A mile and a quarter on good ground would be his ideal.”