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This year's Royal Ascot promises thrilling races with a mix of established stars and rising contenders promising spectacular key races like the Prince of Wales's Stakes, Queen Mary Stakes, and Norfolk Stakes,and highlighting anticipated clashes and potential dark horses. Explore the hopes for Karl Burke's stable, featuring Fallen Angel and Elite Status, alongside the return of last year's runner-up Sonny Liston in the Royal Hunt Cup.
In the upcoming Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot on Wednesday, White Birch and Auguste Rodin are expected to face off once again.
Last year, Auguste Rodin won both the Derby contests, but now White Birch has won all three of his races this season and holds the edge. Despite this, bookmakers are favouring Aidan O’Brien’s runner, anticipating a strong performance following the Tattersalls Gold Cup.
Other contenders include French horses Horizon Dore, Zarakem, and Blue Rose Cen, as well as Inspiral, Alflaila, and 2020 winner Lord North. Additionally, James Tate’s Royal Dress has been added to the Gr .2 Duke of Cambridge Stakes, while last year’s winner, Breege, is also among the 19 potential participants.
Notably, there is no representative from Aidan O’Brien, although his son Joseph has multiple options to choose from.
John and Thady Gosden’s Laurel and Willie McCreery’s Ocean Jewel are two other strong contenders to watch out for.
The Queen Mary stakes is expected to have a large field with 36 young horses competing, including Wesley Ward’s Burning Pine and Saturday Flirt, Aidan O’Brien’s Fairy Godmother, and Andrew Balding’s Kassaya, who is a half-sister to Guineas winner Chaldean.
In the Queen’s Vase, there are 17 entrants, with seven of them belonging to Aidan O’Brien, including the promising Highbury, who achieved a commanding victory by seven and a half lengths in the last race.
Notable names to keep an eye on include Balding’s Derby fifth Sayedaty Sadaty and Roger Varian’s Defiance.
A total of 66 contenders are still in the running for the Royal Hunt Cup, with last year’s runner-up Sonny Liston leading the weights.
Other noteworthy horses towards the top include Ouzo, Holloway Boy, Notre Belle Bete, and Beshtani.
Ahead of next week's Royal Ascot, trainer Jamie Osborne is eyeing potential success for Emaraaty Ana as he plans to bring at least eight of his stable runners to the prestigious event.
Emaraaty Ana, along with Osborne's other horses Ouzo and Sean, has an outside chance of securing black-type success for the trainer who last celebrated a victory at the Royal meeting in 2016.
Despite facing a tough challenge in the upcoming Group One race after returning from the Middle East, Osborne remains hopeful that his horses can secure some prize money at the event.
“Emaraaty Ana will probably run in the King Charles III,” Osborne said.
“He’s done very well for us so far; won in Doha, he ran well on (Dubai) World Cup night. He’s come back and built back up to this and hopefully we will find something for him to win this summer a little bit away from the best races.
“But he’s there, he’s fit and he’s ready, so we will roll the Royal Ascot dice, even though I know that we are kicking the ball from the halfway line.
“It’s a bit of fun and let’s see if we can nick some prize money.”
Sean, like Emaraaty Ana, had a successful period in the United Arab Emirates, where he achieved placements in two Group races. Upon his return to the UK, he finished fourth in the Diomed Stakes, showcasing a commendable performance.
Osborne said of the 7YO: “I’ve got to decide where to go with him. His choices are the same as Ouzo’s – Hunt Cup or Wolferton. Both him and Ouzo will be entered in the Wolferton, but I will split them up, though.”
Osborne will have two fillies, Kolossal and Drawn To Dream, running for him for the first time.
Drawn To Dream could potentially appear twice if the 4YO German import recovers from her showing in the Copper Horse to conclude the opening day.
Osborne said: “We had Duty Of Care laid out for the Ascot Stakes, but sadly he’s picked up an injury and won’t be able to make it, he was one that I thought would run very well. I thought that race was made for him.
“We’ve also got Imperial Fighter, he’s at 95, very marginal if he gets in (the Hunt Cup). I’ve entered him at Sandown on Saturday and we may head in that direction.
“Kolossal is in the Duke of Edinburgh handicap and she could run very well. Thunder Blue is in the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the ex-Amo horse.
“In the Wokingham, (we have) Wodao. Executive Decision probably won’t get in (that race), but I’m going to try and get a penalty for him before then.
“We could run Drawn To Dream in the Queen Alexandra as well, depending how she gets on on the Tuesday.
“They are all in tough races, it is a tough ask. A few half-chances.”
Make Haste Hoping to Live Up to Expectations
Hoping to uphold her name's promise, Make Haste is set to represent Diego Dias in the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot. This speedy filly, sired by Blue Point, is the favourite for the fillies' Group Two race on the second day of the Royal meeting.
Her dominant debut victory at Naas last month signals her potential, and jockey Gavin Ryan's effortless ride to a three-and-a-quarter-length win has raised expectations for her performance at the prestigious summer event.
Dias said: “We’re looking forward to next week and the filly heads there in top form.
“We’ve always liked her at home and Gavin rode her in her work at Dundalk before her debut and felt she would be a nice filly going forward. We think she is special and we like her a lot.
“I think she will get further than five furlongs in time, but we will look forward to the Queen Mary Stakes over five furlongs first.”
Dias has been successful with young stock during his short training career, notably achieving a victory at Goodwood's summer meeting with Mansa Musa last year. However, he believes that he now has arguably the best horse in his Kildare base—a horse who has garnered significant interest from wealthy owners following her impressive debut win.
“It looks like she is the best I have trained,” continued Dias. “We looked after Malavath and prepped her for the sales and she was special too, and we have had a few nice ones, but this filly is very special. There was plenty of interest after her win.
“We go to Ascot with a live chance and she’s worthy of being one of the favourites with the way she won so impressively.”
Stablemate Brosay will also run in the Windsor Castle at Berkshire. Brosay, previously a winner at Goodwood, has been bought by a new syndicate and finished third at Tipperary. Trainer Dias believes Brosay has improved since the Tipperary run and has decided to give him a chance.
Elite Status Bounces Back from Setbacks to Contend
Karl Burke sees Elite Status as a strong contender for the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot next week. After finishing third as a favourite for the Norfolk Stakes last year, the Havana Grey colt faced setbacks but recently made a successful comeback with a dominant performance at the Carnarvon Stakes in Newbury.
Burke is pleased with the progress of Elite Status and is optimistic about his chances.
“Elite Status is in great form, he put up a fantastic performance at Newbury and came out of the race really well, so we’re very much looking forward to the Commonwealth on Friday,” he told Sky Sports Racing.
“He improved nicely (over the winter) and we’ve been very happy with him for a long time.
“He just had a few niggles and kept banging the back of his sesamoid (last season), which isn’t a serious injury but it’s a horrible one and when they catch that sore point, they lose their action in their races and that’s why he lost his form.
“Touch wood, he’s kept clear of that injury so far this year and he’s in great form.”
Karl Burke has noted that the Kevin Ryan-trained Inisherin, sporting the colors of owner Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum, could pose a significant threat if he is indeed supplemented, as anticipated, much like Elite Status.
He joked: “Sheikh Obaid and Kevin Ryan might supplement a lead horse for him, which is nice of them to do!
“I think Inisherin will be very hard to beat, he’s obviously a very good sprinter.
“Vandeek is on a bit of a recovery mission, obviously he was a great horse last year and I’m sure he’ll return in good form next week, but I think we’re right up there with those type of horses.”
In the upcoming Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes, Karl Burke is excited to race Swingalong, who clinched third place in the previous year's Commonwealth Cup and is anticipated to make significant progress following her recent return at York last month.
“Swingalong looks in great shape and needed that run in the Duke Of York a bit more than I thought,” the Spigot Lodge handler added.
“She’s moving brilliantly and the ground will be no concern for her, whichever way it goes.
“She’s a high-class filly and loves Ascot, she’s run two great races there last year in the Commonwealth and on Champions Day. We’re very much looking forward to seeing her run.”
Burke has a strong presence in the juvenile division, with Andesite set to compete in the Coventry Stakes and Shareholder as a hopeful for the Norfolk Stakes.
Shareholder, purchased for €460,000 by the prominent owners Wathnan Racing, showed great potential by winning on his debut at Beverley despite evident signs of inexperience.
Burke said: “Shareholder bounced out of his win at Beverley really well, I couldn’t be happier with him.
“We only had him two or three weeks before last Saturday and I made it well known that he wasn’t really eating as well as I’d have liked, but he’s come out of the race well and looks fantastic.”
Fallen Angel Ready to Repay Faith in Coronation Stakes
Karl Burke is very confident that Fallen Angel, his Irish 1,000 Guineas winner, will be a formidable contender in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot. Despite a disappointing performance as the favorite in the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket, Fallen Angel showcased her true potential at the Curragh three weeks later.
Burke believes that she will face tough competition from Roger Varian’s Elmalka and Aidan O’Brien’s Opera Singer, but he is optimistic that his star filly is the one to beat.
“She’s in great form, came back from Ireland in good order, she did a nice piece of work on Tuesday and we couldn’t be happier with her,” he told Sky Sports Racing.
“I thought it was a fantastic performance (at the Curragh), to be honest. She got into a great rhythm early and watching from the stands from halfway, I was pretty relaxed, I thought we had them all covered and I knew she’d keep galloping right to the line.
“It will be an interesting race, there’s some great fillies in there and obviously Aidan’s filly that was behind us at the Curragh is going to step forward, but they need to step forward, we only have to maintain our form from the Curragh for us to be the one to beat and, if anything, I don’t see why she can’t improve again.
“I don’t think she’s ground dependent whatsoever, if it’s good ground or on the easy side of good or just on the quicker side of good, it will make no difference to Fallen Angel.”
Whatever happens over the round mile at Ascot, Burke is already looking forward to stepping his filly up to a mile and a quarter later in the summer.
He added: “I would be strongly saying that she’ll stay further. We toyed with the idea of going for the Prix de Diane on Sunday, but we’ll save the step up for later in the year – there’s only one Royal Ascot.
“The Nassau is one (possible race) at Goodwood, but I’d say she’ll have a short break after Ascot. She’ll have a short break after this, as she’s had three quickish runs and been prepared all winter for a Guineas, so she’ll have a short break and we’ll bring her back in August, I’d imagine.”