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| Sumita Pawar |
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Enchanted Empress started slowly but managed to win the Listed-class Orbital Veterinary Services National Stakes at Sandown.
Hawaiian, the favorite, took the lead but couldn't maintain the pace in the challenging conditions. Enchanted Empress, trained by Dominic Ffrench Davis, finished strong to beat Rock Hunter by half a length.
This 4-1 winner had previously defeated the same runner-up by a neck at Ascot, continuing the successful start for the promising young sire Sergei Prokofiev. Zminiature, the victor of the Brocklesby, also finished impressively to secure third place.
“She’s a tough filly, she just got herself out of trouble as she sat back in the stalls a little bit and missed the kick,” said Ffrench Davis.
“She had the class and speed to get herself out of trouble. We always thought she was an Albany filly, but I think we’re leaning now towards the Queen Mary because she’s got sharper with every run.
“It should be ideal, David was very much of the mind that five furlongs at Ascot was going to be fine.
“She’s got a fantastic attitude, she hadn’t done a lot between her last run and Ascot and here and she was actually a bit fresh today.
“She took a bit of waking up in her first run, but I think she knows what it’s all about now.”
He further commented on the victorious horse owned by Amo Racing: "Kia (Joorabchian) has made significant investments in the sport and he deserves to see some success. It's satisfying to develop a strong enough horse to compete at Royal Ascot."
“She seems to cope with any ground, she won on the all-weather at Wolverhampton, she won goodish ground at Ascot and it didn’t bother her here today. A good horse will go on any ground.”
Nashwa will not be participating in either the Queen Anne Stakes or the Prince Of Wales's Stakes. Instead, her connections have decided to wait until later in the campaign.
The impressive Gr.1 Falmouth Stakes winner from last year was last seen finishing behind Facteur Cheval in the Dubai Turf at Meydan in March. Although she is reported to be fit and well, she won't be returning for Britain's summer event next month.
Owner Imad Alsagar mentioned in the Nick Luck Daily Podcast, "Nashwa is in good condition, but she is a big filly and requires time for her preparation. When she won the Falmouth, it took her two races to reach her peak."
"Sometimes, work doesn't bring the filly into form. She doesn't have to prove what she already proved last year so we decided to miss the first half of this year.
"That means we're not going to Ascot for the Prince of Wales's or the Queen Anne. And we will start her in the second half of the season, there are plenty of races. We haven't decided where yet but what's most important is that she comes to herself.
"The Falmouth is a possible target, as is the Juddmonte International but we haven't decided where to go yet."
The mare trained by John and Thady Gosden had odds of 16/1 in the antepost lists for the Prince of Wales's Stakes, alongside stablemate Inspiral.
Asfoora, a Group Two champion in her home country, will be competing in the Temple Stakes this Saturday as part of her journey to become the next successful sprinter from Australia at the royal meeting.
The newest Australian contender for Royal Ascot honors is making her debut in front of the ITV cameras at Haydock this Saturday.
Having won eight times at up to Group 2 level in Australia, Asfoora is currently at 8-1 odds for the King Charles III Stakes at the upcoming royal meeting.
Australian sprinters have triumphed in the King Charles, formerly known as the King’s Stand Stakes, five times in this century, and Asfoora will be the only representative from Australia this year.
While her regular jockey Mitch Aitken will be partnering with her in the Temple Stakes this weekend, Oisin Murphy is expected to take over at Ascot.
Trainer Henry Dwyer announced that the 5YO mare will spend the entire summer in Britain for a European campaign, expressing optimism that she will emerge as a strong contender in this year's premier sprint races.
He said, “We have twice run second to Imperatriz who is the best sprinter in Australia so we were partly coming over to get away from her but lo and behold she has been retired! We might have pulled the wrong rein there but we are more than happy to be here.
“We are not here for a haircut but hopefully she can kick off at Haydock, go to Royal Ascot, Glorious Goodwood, York and then maybe France or Ireland.
“She has only had 18 starts and wasn’t over-taxed early. Her owner Mr El-Fahkri is a racing man and breeder but has no ambitions to retire her so we have an ambitious summer plan for her.
“I wouldn’t have come here if I thought she didn’t measure up. It’s a trip, not a holiday. It would mean a hell of a lot to win on Saturday – it has been a stressful few weeks, and it is a leap of faith to come over and test my ability to travel a horse.”
He said that when we arrived in Australia, it was a surprise because we are probably ranked as the eighth, ninth, or tenth best sprinter in the country.
“In all reality, I think she is in the top three five-furlong horses in Australia and all our best sprint races are over six furlongs, so the calendar at home didn’t suit us. In what seems a very even year over here, I think she can more than measure up.
“She is gutsy and very consistent. Her only poor run came when we gave her a silly task and she has been unlucky a couple of times. We won’t run over six furlongs again so that is why we travelled her so we can keep her at five and five and a half furlongs.
“To state the obvious, Asfoora’s best asset is that she is a fast horse. She is not a hard-going sprinter, the ones that go as hard as they can for as long as they can before getting tired late. She is a sprinter that can sit on a really high cruising speed and can find a length or two at the end of a five-furlong race.”