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| Staff Writer |
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Some of the top horses from seven countries are set to compete in the G1 and early-closing G2 races at Royal Ascot. Among the headliners are Chain Of Lightning, a leading Australian sprinter, French heavyweights Big Rock and Facteur Cheval, US challenger Crimson Advocate and Japanese contender North Bridge.
This year, Royal Ascot is offering a record prize-money of £10 million, with each of the eight G1 prizes worth a minimum of £650,000 and no race with a prize less than £110,000.
Chain Of Lightning, trained by Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman, is being prepared for the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes over six furlongs. Moody is no stranger to success at the event, having won the same race with racemare Black Caviar back in 2012. Australian sprinters have a great track record at Royal Ascot, with seven wins in total across the King Charles III Stakes (formerly King’s Stand) and the Jubilee Stakes.
Chain Of Lightning recently secured her first G1 success for Moody and Coleman at Randwick's T J Smith Stakes in April. She then finished sixth in the G1 All Aged Stakes at the same track two weeks later.
“Chain Of Lightning is in good order,” said Moody. “She ran at Randwick 10 days ago on a very heavy track and did not handle it, but she has come through the race well.
“The plan of attack with her at the moment is a little unique,” he went on. “She will have her next and probably only lead up run between now and Ascot in the G1 Doomben 10,000 on May 18.
“Then she will head to the broodmare sale on May 24, so it depends on who owns her after that but, if she is still in my care, it would be my intention to travel her over for Royal Ascot on June 5.
“She is a strong, robust mare, who is pretty bombproof. She is not as big as Black Caviar, but there is certainly plenty of size and strength about her. She appreciates a little bit of cut in the ground and her form in recent seasons has been curtailed by very firm tracks.
“Firm by our standards is very firm by UK standards, so I think she will appreciate the surface at Ascot, and she is very good over seven furlongs, which in my opinion is what you need to win over the 1200m there. She does not have the class of a Black Caviar – not too many have – but under the right conditions, I think she can be competitive anywhere.”
Reflecting on Black Caviar, Moody added: “It is quite extraordinary that it was 12 years ago, although when I go out the back and pat her four-year-old son and two-year-old daughter, I suppose it does hit hard for me every now and again!
“I have a lot of good memories after the race, although beforehand it was quite hard with all the expectation. Because I had been over a couple of times before, it was nice to get that success.
“We were gutted a year earlier when we brought Hinchinbrook and he went amiss on the eve of the race. I think Chain Of Lightning sits in the mould of a Hinchinbrook or a Magnus, who was third in the King’s Stand Stakes, in terms of quality.”
Last week, Asfoora, the companion of Chain Of Lightning, arrived in Newmarket. Henry Dwyer's mare is all set to prepare for the King Charles III Stakes and is scheduled to participate in a prep run at the G2 Temple Stakes, which will take place on May 25 at Haydock Park. Asfoora has already won twice at G2 at Caulfield and has come close to winning twice at G1 level. Her most notable performance was when she chased the world's highest-rated sprinter, Imperatriz, in the Moir Stakes at Moonee Valley in September.
Dwyer said, “Asfoora had a quiet weekend after arriving on Thursday night, but she had a saddle on her back on Monday and all went well. She had another canter this morning and I would imagine we will do a bit of pace work with her on Wednesday.
“She is not the easiest to place in that she is one of our better sprinters in Australia – not the best by any means but in the top ten. However, most of our best sprints are over 1200m, whereas in the UK there is a good programme over 1000m at Haydock, Ascot, Goodwood and York, which is why we decided to travel.
“Her last three wins have come over 1100m, but she has form over 1200m and everyone tells me the King Charles III Stakes rides more like a six-furlong race.
“It won’t be an easy task for her, although it is all relative to the competition. We have bumped into Imperatriz a couple of times and, if we can be semi-competitive with the world’s best sprinter, we are hoping that will translate to the UK.
“It is very exciting to be bringing a runner to Royal Ascot. I have been to the meeting three or four times in the past and it is always a lovely experience. To have a runner there has long been an ambition of mine and hopefully Asfoora can tick that box well.”
Jerome Reynier's Facteur Cheval has already proven himself on the global racing stage, having triumphed in the nine-furlong G1 Dubai Turf at Meydan earlier this year, beating a competitive field. The promising five-year-old secured a top-four finish in four consecutive G1 events in Europe last season, including a strong performance in Ascot's Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (sponsored by QIPCO) where he finished behind Big Rock. Reynier expressed satisfaction with Facteur Cheval's progress since his return from Dubai, and is excited to see him perform at Ascot, especially now that he has demonstrated his ability on good ground at the highest level.
“The Queen Anne Stakes is the target as he travels well and likes plenty of pace in the race. We feel that he is a pure miler, who was able to stretch out to nine furlongs in Dubai, and the programme in Europe is very good for a horse like him. After Royal Ascot, he will head back to Goodwood for the Sussex Stakes and then we will consider the second part of the season, although I imagine he will again end up in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.
“Dubai was the first time he has been on a plane and in a different environment in the build-up to a race, so we were very pleased with the way he handled everything. He is very mature now and it is possible that he could travel even further afield.”
Trainer George Weaver is hopeful that Crimson Advocate, the winner of last season's G2 Queen Mary Stakes, can replicate her success in the King Charles III Stakes. The double was previously achieved by Lady Aurelia, trained by Wesley Ward, in 2016 and 2017. Weaver expressed confidence in Crimson Advocate's performance and is looking forward to bringing her back to Royal Ascot for the race against male competitors.
“We have had trouble getting a race into her this year because a couple of intended engagements have been taken off the turf. The next race we are looking at is the Mamzelle Stakes over five and a half furlongs at Churchill Downs on May 11.”
There are four entries from Japan, generating a lot of interest. Among them is North Bridge (Takeshi Okumura), who secured third place in the recent G1 FWD QEII Cup at Sha Tin and has also been to Qatar this year. The Gold Cup features two potentially intriguing Japanese runners, T O Royal (Inao Okada) and Blow The Horn (Tatsuya Yoshioka), who came first and second in the two-mile G1 Tenno Sho at Kyoto last weekend. Obamburumai (Keiji Yoshimura), the winner of the Golden Eagle in Sydney, is entered for the Queen Anne.
Since 2003, 220 runners from 10 different jurisdictions outside Europe have participated in Royal Ascot. These regions include the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Africa, Bahrain, the UAE, and Qatar.
All eight Gr.1 races at Royal Ascot are part of the QIPCO British Champions Series. Additionally, four Royal Ascot contests are included in the Breeders’ Cup Win & You’re In Programme – the King Charles III Stakes, Queen Anne Stakes, Prince of Wales’s Stakes, and Norfolk Stakes.