Royal Ascot: Field Of Gold strikes to deliver performance worthy of occasion

Royal Ascot’s uncanny ability to deliver performances to suit the occasion was to the fore once again on Tuesday as Field Of Gold, the odds-on favourite, overwhelmed his rivals in the St James’s Palace Stakes with a sustained burst of speed a quarter of a mile out that put the result beyond doubt well before the furlong pole. If there is a better performance over a mile by a three-year-old later on in the season, it feels long odds-on that Field Of Gold will be the horse to produce it.

John & Thady Gosden’s grey colt was one of three Classic winners in the field, though his winning performance was further evidence that, had Ruling Court not been allowed first run in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, the fast-finishing Field Of Gold would surely have taken that too. Ruling Court was only third here, nearly four lengths behind Henri Matisse, the French 2,000 Guineas winner, who was in turn three and a half adrift of Field Of Gold at the line.

Kieran Shoemark shouldered the blame for Field Of Gold’s defeat at Newmarket and Colin Keane, newly appointed as the Juddmonte operation’s retained rider in Europe, enjoyed one of the smoothest rides of his career in his saddle on Tuesday.

“Good horses make it look easy,” Keane said. “I don’t know when was the last time three Guineas winners clashed, but Field Of Gold was very good at the Curragh and very good again today. If anything, the leaders probably didn’t bring us far enough and we got there plenty soon, but he’s tough and genuine. I am fortunate enough to be riding him and, at this moment, he is the best horse I have sat on.”

Gosden said afterwards that if Field Of Gold had not run in the Irish Guineas, a step up in trip in the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown next month would have been a possibility, but his winner is more likely to wait for the Sussex Stakes, over a mile at Glorious Goodwood, for which he was cut to even-money favourite from around 4-1.

“This year, he has been exemplary in everything he has done,” Gosden said. “He is a pleasure to train because he’s a pretty laid-back character, which is very useful. It was never the plan to go to Ireland, it became the plan [after his defeat at Newmarket], so he’s had a trial, two Guineas and this. It’s a lot of racing and we’re not even beginning to be halfway through the season.

“When they win like that, they make it look easy, but they are taking a lot out of themselves, so I wouldn’t want to be seen as someone trying to run him back in the Eclipse quick off this.”

Royal Ascot stages three of its eight Group One races on the opening afternoon and while the Juddmonte colours prevailed in the feature event, two trainers from outside the small group of powerhouse bloodstock operations celebrated landmark wins earlier in the day.

Harry Eustace’s Docklands, at 14-1, edged out the 5-2 favourite, Rosallion, by a nose in the opening Queen Anne Stakes, while American Affair, from Jim Goldie’s stable 20 miles south-west of Glasgow, had a neck to spare over Frost At Dawn in the King Charles III Stakes. For both trainers, it was the first Group One success of their career.

Docklands, ridden by Mark Zahra (nearside), just beats Rosallion to win the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

“I have lost my voice,” Eustace said after his win with Docklands, who was winning for the first time since taking the Britannia Handicap at this meeting in 2023. “That was pretty sweet. He has been an absolute legend for us and if ever there was a track where you’d want a horse that’s a specialist, it’s here because it’s the best racing.”

American Affair’s latest win before Tuesday’s Group One success was in a handicap at York’s Dante meeting in May off a mark of 98.

“I have trained the family for three generations, so it’s very sweet,” Goldie, who saddled his first runners in 1995, said.

“I was quite confident he could do it today. He has the talent. I knew he was probably one of the fastest horses in the race, but it’s how you control that. We’ve come down a day early, got him relaxed and it all fell into place. It means a lot.”

Hopes for a winner in the Royal colours were dashed later in the afternoon as Willie Mullins’s Reaching High, the 11-4 favourite, finished ninth behind Henry de Bromhead’s Ascending (20-1) in the Ascot Stakes Handicap after a tricky passage in the straight.

The scarlet and purple silks will be on a likely favourite again on Wednesday when Rainbow’s Edge, a lightly-raced four-year-old filly, goes to post for the Kensington Palace Stakes at 5.35pm.

See The Fire a red-hot fancy

Jeff Smith, the owner of See The Fire, paid a £70,000 supplementary fee to get her into the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot on Wednesday, and it can prove to be money well spent when his four-year-old filly goes to post for the feature event on day two of the meeting.

See The Fire is a daughter of Arabian Queen, who won York’s International Stakes at 50-1 in Smith’s colours back in 2015, and showed glimpses of top-level ability in the autumn of her three-year-old season.

She has looked much-improved with another winter behind her, however, and travelled like the best horse in the Gordon Richards Stakes at Sandown in April before lack of a run started to tell in the closing stages.

See The Fire (4.20) then stepped up significantly for the outing in the Middleton Stakes at York, where she powered a remarkable 12 lengths clear of her field and stopped the clock in a time that backed up the visual impression of the form.

A 3lb sex allowance from the market leaders, Los Angeles and Anmaat, is another plus and she is an attractive bet at around 5-1 to underline her improvement with a first Group One success on Wednesday.

Royal Ascot 2.30 A huge field of lightly-raced juvenile fillies includes seven unbeaten runners and 13 that won last time out, but Karl Burke’s Zelaina has dominated the market since running away with a Nottingham maiden earlier this month. She achieved no more or less than several rivals, however, and while American-trained challenger Lennilu is an obvious danger, the 12-1 on offer for Staya catches the eye too. George Scott’s filly travelled extremely well and then quickened impressively to win at Yarmouth first time up in a strong time.

Royal Ascot 3.05 This mile-and-three-quarter trip is at least two furlongs more than most of these three-year-olds have tried as yet, so plenty can be expected to progress for the experience and Francis-Henri Graffard’s Asmarani could take the biggest step forward. He ran well enough to finish a close second in a Group Three when dropped back to 11 furlongs last time but has plenty of stamina on both sides of his pedigree and this trip will probably be his optimum.

Royal Ascot 3.40 A repeat of her form when pulling nearly five lengths clear of her field in the Dahlia Stakes at Newmarket should be enough to see Cinderella’s Dream register another Group Two win.

Royal Ascot 5.00 A pair of lightly-raced four-year-olds – My Cloud and The Liffey – dominate the betting for this year’s Royal Hunt Cup and fit the profile of several recent winners of this ultra-competitive handicap, but neither has as much experience as Qirat over Ascot’s straight course and Ralph Beckett’s runner appeals as a better bet at around 12-1. He was headed in the final strides of the Victoria Cup over seven furlongs here, and on very similar ground, when making his seasonal debut in May and both the run and first-time blinkers could prompt further improvement.

Royal Ascot 5.35 Stephen Thorne’s Independent Expert could outrun her odds of around 16-1. Her trainer is in only his second season with a licence but has an impressive 23pc strike rate this year and has also shown an aptitude for improving recruits from other stables. His first runner at the Royal meeting got off the mark for her new yard with a decisive victory at Naas last time and a 7lb rise in the weights does not look too severe.

Royal Ascot 6.10 The usual big field for the Windsor Castle but Rogue Legend stands out on his form to date and a rival may well need to show abnormal improvement to give him a race.