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| Sumita Pawar |
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Although Age Of Kings appeared to be Aidan O'Brien's second choice based on jockey bookings, the entire demonstrated his true potential in the Gr.3 Jersey Stakes.
Despite finishing poorly in the Irish 2,000 Guineas a month prior and being considered Aidan O'Brien's second choice based on jockey bookings, Age Of Kings proved his worth in the Gr.3 Jersey Stakes with a strong finish and a one-length victory under the guidance of jockey Wayne Lordan.
Zoology owned by Qatar Racing and trained by James Ferguson, alongside Streets Of Gold
With his fourth win of the week, O'Brien surpassed John & Thady Gosden in the competition for the Royal Ascot Leading Trainer award due to having more seconds.
Age Of Kings Reigns At Royal Ascot
O’Brien said, “Age Of Kings tries hard. Wayne kept it uncomplicated and said he'd get a mile if we wanted. The Guineas was only his first run of the year, it was a very good run, and he came forward from that.
"We've had lots of placed horses [this week] and it is hard to have winners. I am so delighted for the lads. We came here for many years without having winners so we know what it is like.”
Lordan said, “Age Of Kings had good runs last year, then had a bit of a setback and his first run back this year was in the Irish Guineas. He finished eight lengths behind Paddington and obviously improved for it. He's a very straightforward horse who gets a mile well, so I just kept it simple. It is a track that you can jump [from the stalls] and go forward and keep going forward, and that's exactly what he did.
"At two he had a few runs and maybe got a bit weak, but he's come back and he's stepped forward nicely, even in his work. Aidan likes to throw plenty at it [O'Brien also ran The Antarctic, finished 13th] and I'm glad I was on this fella. I'll take a Royal Ascot winner any day.”
James Ferguson said of Zoology, “It was a super run. They went very hard and, in the mid-stage of the race, you just think he’s struggling to keep up, but they’ve all come back and he’s stayed on very well. It’s a tough race this, and the fast ground certainly suited him.
“He is a horse that was massively overpriced. He has done absolutely nothing wrong and ran a super race in the Greenham when he obviously didn’t like the ground. Back on a sounder surface, he’s run an absolute belter of a race and I’ve got very high hopes for this horse. I think he could be a superstar.”
On where the horse may go now, he added, “I think I’ll get home and work that out a bit later because now it looks like we are going to be stepping up to a mile, which I probably didn’t think about before the race. It’s a nice problem to have.”
Oisin Murphy added, “Zoology got away well, traveled super behind Covey and the winner, and he stayed on very well to the line. It is likely we will go up to a mile now. That was a career-best by a long way, so I am very pleased.”
Streets Of Gold’s trainer Eve Johnson Houghton said, “He ran a blinder, I am absolutely thrilled with him. That’s probably the hardest race he has run in and, on Timeform figures, that’s probably the highest he’s ever run to. He is in the Bunbury Cup, we might go there or we might try to find an easy race to win – we will see.”