Hi all,
Inside today’s main piece, you’ll find the first part of my Royal Ascot 2024 review. Today, I’m highlighting the key moments from the first four days of racing at the Royal meeting.
Royal Ascot 2024 Review – Part 1
The sun shone down on racegoers, and the ground was genuinely quick over the five days. It was delightful that the weather played ball given the rain and cloud we’ve endured over the past few months. As ever, Royal Ascot was a rollercoaster ride for many punters. I had a profitable week—not my most profitable ever, but here’s the highlight: I made a profit on each of the five days.
Here are my thoughts on each of the first four days of Royal Ascot:
Tuesday: Day 1
Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Rosallion gained a third Group 1 success by landing the race of the week, the St James's Palace Stakes. Runner-up Henry Longfellow got first run on the winner, but Rosallion’s class and speed came to the fore as he secured victory close to the finish.
Rosallion is improving with each race and can prove too good for the older milers this summer. He’s now a strong favourite for the Sussex Stakes and rightly so. My only concern would be his hold-up style, which makes him vulnerable in a tactical race at a track like Goodwood. Henry Longfellow should also be able to win a Group 1 and will likely head for the Sussex Stakes.
The disappointment of the race was 2,000 Guineas winner Notable Speech. Like the winner, he was keen in the early stages, but the 6/4 favourite didn’t run his race. The Charlie Appleby yard had a poor Royal Ascot, which provides some excuse for his lacklustre performance. He’ll probably head for the Sussex Stakes, and he’s not one to give up on just yet.
The one to watch from the race could be sixth-place finisher Almaqam. A Listed winner at Sandown on his previous start, he was doing his best work at the finish but didn’t have the speed to compete over a mile in this company. The colt was thrown in the deep end here rather than going for the Group 3 Hampton Court Stakes over 1m 2f, which in hindsight wasn’t the best option. His dam won over 1m 4f, and he looks to be crying out for a step up in trip.
Wednesday: Day 2
A couple of pacemakers ensured a well-run Group 1 Prince Of Wales's Stakes. A strongly run race suited Auguste Rodin, who was always well-positioned behind the front runners. He took the lead 2f out and held off the closers Zarakem and Horizon Dore.
Horizon Dore came with a promising run between the final two furlongs, but his effort flattened out close to home. Zarakem looked much improved and shaped like he’s worth a try over 1m 4f; he could meet the winner again in next month’s King George.
Auguste Rodin is a horse who bursts clear by 3 or 4 lengths when hitting the front but does enough to maintain his lead. When rivals come to challenge, he finds enough to hold them off, as he did here.
Inspiral was disappointing once again, but you can’t give a horse like Auguste Rodin ten lengths at the start and expect to win.
Thursday: Day 3
This year’s Gold Cup produced probably the finish of the week as Kyprios got the better of Trawlerman. Long-time leader Trawlerman was challenged by Kyprios two furlongs out, and the pair fought a sustained duel to the line, with Kyprios just getting the upper hand close to home to win by a length.
Given Kyprios had suffered a life-threatening injury in 2023, he has to be some horse to come back and fight out a finish like that. He’s up there with the likes of Yeats, Stradivarius, and Ardross as one of the best stayers of all time for me. He’s what racing is all about—a gorgeous looking horse with the heart of a lion. If they can keep him sound, there’s no reason why he can’t come back to win the Gold Cup next year and the year after.
The first two pulled five lengths clear of third-place Sweet William. Trawlerman will likely head to the Goodwood Cup, and the drop back to two miles at a front-runner's track will make the 6-year-old tough to beat there.
Friday: Day 4
Fairy Godmother had nowhere to go 2f out, and Ryan Moore had to switch the filly to the near side to make her effort. Once in the clear, she motored home to catch Simmering in the final 50 yards to land the Group 3 Albany Stakes.
An eyecatching victory for sure. However, in a race where it paid to be played late, she probably wasn’t in a bad position, but it was still some effort to get up and collar Simmering, who had been produced perfectly by Jamie Spencer and had a much clearer run.
While the daughter of Night Of Thunder has the scope to improve and could stay a mile as a 3-year-old, quotes of 5/1 for next year’s 1,000 Guineas were frankly ridiculous.
With no Vandeek or Elite Status in the line-up, the door was open for Inisherin to win the Commonwealth Cup. He didn’t disappoint favourite backers and only needed to produce a routine performance to beat a substandard field of 3-year-old sprinters. His cause was also helped by runner-up Jasour failing to settle in the early stages of the race.
Inisherin is July Cup-bound, and in a weak sprinting division, there’s no reason why he can’t beat the older sprinters there. I think Jasour is the fastest horse in the race, but he needs to settle. He just doesn’t race as efficiently as the winner. I can see him dropping back to 5f and coming back for the five-furlong Group 1 at next year’s meeting.
Opera Singer No Match for Porta Fortuna Over a Mile
Newmarket’s 1,000 Guineas form held up well as Porta Fortuna landed the Group 1 Coronation Stakes. Runner-up to Elmalka at Newmarket, she turned around the 1,000 Guineas form with the latter, who could only finish fourth here.
Given her liking for quick ground, Porta Fortuna will no doubt end the season at the Breeders' Cup, where she was runner-up last year.
Opera Singer was weak in the pre-race betting, suggesting the run was still needed. Still, she ran a good race to finish a length second. She needs 1m 2f and could even stay 1m 4f, so getting within a length of a top-class miler was a good performance. Expect plenty more improvement from Opera Singer next time over 1m 2f.
Ramatuelle, a close-up third in the 1,000 Guineas, was expected by the market to come out in front here but could only occupy the same position as at Newmarket. A drop back in trip looks to be beckoning for Ramatuelle.
Elmalka also looked in need of further than a mile here as she didn’t have the pace to go with the three fillies who finished in front of her. That said, she doesn’t have the scope to improve like Opera Singer.
In tomorrow’s column, I will look back on Saturday’s action. Plus, there’ll be a handful of future winners from Royal Ascot 2024 for the tracker.
As the proverb goes, “After the Lord Mayor's show comes the dust-cart,” and Monday’s racing is a bit like that. Given the effort I put in last week, I don't feel the need to delve into today's races. I'll leave it to those who are either eager or in need of action.
Good luck with your Monday bets.
John