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Portland's victory at the King George V Cup has heightened excitement for Aidan O’Brien's Royal Ascot plans, showcasing the colt's potential over a mile and a half. As Wathnan Racing deliberates its strong juvenile lineup for the prestigious event, Dream Composer aims for success in the Wokingham Stakes at Royal Ascot. Additionally, Marie's Rock's transition to flat racing sets the stage for her participation in the Queen Alexandra Stakes at Royal Ascot. The anticipation and strategic preparations for these contenders at Royal Ascot underscore their significance in the upcoming races.
Portland delivered an impressive performance to win the Listed-class King George V Cup, showing potential for a role in Aidan O’Brien’s plans for Royal Ascot.
Making his first attempt at a mile and a half, the colt was positioned in third place for much of the race before overtaking the leaders and holding off a strong challenge to secure the victory.
O’Brien’s representative, Chris Armstrong, expressed satisfaction with the win and mentioned potential race options for Portland at Royal Ascot, including the King Edward over a mile and a half or the Queen’s Vase over a mile and six.
“It’s nice to get another run into him, give him a confidence booster and he’ll come on another bit from it.
“When the second horse got up his inside and came at him, he put the head down well. He’s as game as the day is long.” Chris said.
James Doyle faces a challenging task in selecting his Royal Ascot mounts for the juvenile races due to the impressive lineup of 2YO horses from Wathnan Racing.
Over the past few weeks, five first-time-out winners wearing the distinctive blue, gold, and red silks have emerged, proving their talent and potential.
Aesterius, trained by Archie Watson, triumphed over five furlongs at Bath, while stablemate Electrolyte secured victory over six furlongs at Ayr. Additionally, Richard Fahey's Columnist and Catalyse achieved success over six furlongs at Chester and Hamilton, and Karl Burke's Leovanni is a strong contender for the Queen Mary race after her win at Nottingham.
“I think what we’ve got to do is get a bit closer to it, we all know horses, they can start coughing or anything can happen, so we’ll just get closer to the time,” said Wathnan’s racing manager Richard Brown.
“I think they are all pretty different. The horse that won at Bath (Aesterius) is a big horse who will come on quite a lot for it.
“Richard Fahey’s Starspangledbanner (Catalyse) impressed me, as he moved like a very good horse.
“Columnist really impressed me too, because he went a very hard pace and then quickened again, which is hard to do, and James Doyle was very impressed with Archie’s horse (Electrolyte).”
Brown went on: “The gameplan was to buy a group of two-year-olds and hopefully out of that group a couple might get to Ascot. We’re on track with that, which is great because it’s not easy to do.
“We’ll get closer to the time and if everything is still okay, we’ll take our chance in hopefully some Ascot races.
“We have a couple more entered this week and they could throw their hat into the ring, too. I bought Ardad as a breezer and he won six days before winning the Windsor Castle.
“We’re with some of the best two-year-old trainers in the country, they know what they are doing but there’s absolutely zero pressure on them to get them to Ascot, they’ll only go if they are absolutely 100 per cent.”
Dream Composer produced a stellar performance at Epsom and now his connections are setting their sights on potential success at Royal Ascot.
The consistent sprinter made a strong debut at the Surrey Downs, finishing impressively under the guidance of Epsom novice Joe Leavy.
Now, with a previous victory in the race preceding the Derby, owners Peter Clarke Racing Partners are eagerly anticipating another opportunity to participate in the Royal meeting, should their contender secure a spot in the Wokingham Stakes.
“We’ve been very lucky and won at Sandown, Ascot, Goodwood and all the big tracks, but it was something special to win on Derby day just before the main race,” said Graham Anstiss, who founded the Peter Clarke Racing Partners syndicate in honour of his late father-in-law.
“If he gets in the Wokingham, we will probably take up the run. Epsom was a massive gamble because we had Joe Leavy who had never ridden the track and Dream Composer had never run at the track.
Saturday’s victory wasn't just a significant moment for trainer James Evans and apprentice jockey Leavy, but also a poignant one for the ownership group.
Dream Composer has won seven out of nine races over five furlongs, but competing in the Wokingham Stakes will test the 6YO sprinter at six furlongs, where he aims to demonstrate his skill and secure another triumph on a larger platform.
“When he was a 3YO, he came fourth at Royal Ascot and probably should have won that day, he just got stuck in a load of traffic and came flying at the end.
“The problem is every time we try him at six, even though he finishes his races really strongly, we’ve never had much success. He just seems to love the five furlongs – and the harder and faster they go the better.” continued Anstiss.
Marie's Rock, a 9YO hurdler, is transitioning to flat racing with hopes of competing at Royal Ascot. After finishing fifth at York in the Group Three Bronte Cup, her connections, Middleham Park Racing, are feeling optimistic about her potential. Despite a slow start, she showed promise by passing five rivals in the closing stages of the mile-and-six-furlong race.
Known for her successes in hurdling at Cheltenham, Punchestown, and Doncaster, Marie's Rock is now aiming to add to her illustrious career in flat racing.
Her next race is expected to be the two-mile-and-six-furlong Queen Alexandra Stakes at the Royal meeting, with the Pontefract Castle Fillies' Stakes on June 23 also being considered as an alternative.
Her connections have plans for future black-type races for her later this summer before she returns to hurdling.
“It was the first time she was on the Flat so you can forgive her that,” said Tom Palin of Middleham Park Racing.
“According to Timeform, she ran to 100 which I think that gives us plenty of scope and plenty of encouragement that there’s avenues to explore on the Flat and we might be able to pick up some black type and maybe a win or two before the more traditional season, for her, begins.
“She will have an entry at Ascot in the Queen Alexandra and there’s also a fillies’ Listed race at Pontefract the day after and that’s over one-mile-four, so a huge discrepancy in distances.
“And we will work on what the ground is. At Ascot you can get the very soft Ascot, she could get the very quick Ascot, so we will look at those two and then it might lead us into a Lillie Langtry at Goodwood – those kind of races.
“There are lots of options for her in those fillies-only staying races.”
Clive Washbourn is feeling confident about his homebred mare, Caius Chorister, as Royal Ascot approaches. He is optimistic that she has a strong chance in the Gold Cup.
Washbourn expressed his belief in Caius Chorister's potential, stating, "Caius Chorister just keeps improving, and I have high hopes for her at the upcoming Gold Cup.
Despite finishing behind Coltrane and Sweet William in her two races this year, it's worth noting that we've been racing with a 3lb penalty due to our previous race at Saint-Cloud, which seems to have gone unnoticed by commentators."
Washbourn exudes great confidence in the abilities of his mare, emphasising, "We will absolutely turn form around on both of those horses, and both the ground has been good to soft and really quite heavy at Sandown.
“This horse bounces off good and good to firm ground, and I would suspect normally at Ascot you're going to get better ground." He said
Washbourn, known for breeding horses, has also bred other horses besides Caius Chorister, including Laura Bay, named after his partner. Laura Bay clinched her first win at Newbury in May, and it was clear how monumental that victory was to Washbourn based on his exuberant celebration.
With Caius Chorister confident in his chances in the Gold Cup, it's highly probable that another extravagant celebration will light up the big screen.