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Royal Ascot Recap, Day 2
By Michaela Moricova
Wednesday’s card at Royal Ascot offered only one G1, but no horse racing fan could have been disappointed by how the Prince of Wales’s Stakes panned out. Mostahdaf absolutely smashed the star-packed field and delivered the first win for Thady & John Gosden of this year’s festival. Moreover, Frankie Dettori also got off the mark in the G2 Queen’s Vase, which we will cover in a separate article.
Velazquez Closes the Case With Crimson Advocate
As usual, the US raiders made themselves known at Royal Ascot, and it wasn’t a surprise that one of them shone brightly in a race for two-year-old sprinters. CRIMSON ADVOCATE didn’t belong among the favorites of the G2 Queen Mary Stakes over five furlongs, jumping out of the gate in 10/1. The George Weaver trained filly had a great start, though, was very quick on her feet, and led the field at the near side. Under John Velazquez, she was going strong even in the closing stages, her rivals losing touch with the winner from Gulfstream Park; however, one proper rival emerged in the end. Relief Rally (Marquand) flew out of the pack and threatened the leading filly; still Crimson Advocate managed to hold on the first place by a nose. The daughter of Nyquist scored her premiere Graded victory in 59.96s and ensured the first Royal Ascot success for trainer George Weaver.
Rogue Millennium Climbs Higher
The Duke of Cambridge Stakes was the second G2 of the day, being open to four-year-old and older fillies who clashed over a mile. The race was open as about four fillies wouldn’t shock anybody by snatching up the victory; however, ROGUE MILLENNIUM‘s triumph came as a sort of a surprise, given she was just a Listed winner. Still, she ran well in her previous Graded attempts, so under Daniel Tudhope, it’s fair to say her odds of 10/1 might have been a bit unreasonable. The daughter of Dubawi showed some eagerness from the start, yet the jockey managed to keep her in the field, and once he unleashed her, she quickly joined a trio of her rivals, vying for the G2 glory. Thanks to a long continuous finish, Rogue Millennium recorded her most significant success by a neck to Random Harvest (Osborne). She crossed the wire in 1m 41.33s, bringing joy to her trainer Tom Clover.
Frankie Dettori still waited for this year’s first triumph at Royal Ascot at that moment, finishing third aboard Prosperous Voyage here.
Brilliant Mostahdaf Seizes the Prince of Wales
The favorites didn’t shine even in the peak of the afternoon. The Prince of Wales’s Stakes welcomed a field of six four-year-old and older horses, with MOSTAHDAF being only the fifth chance here, offered at 10/1. Indeed, he didn’t succeed among the elite in the past, but the Thady & John Gosden-trained horse has always looked like a G1 winner in the making. And the son of Frankel confirmed that at Royal Ascot by an impressive victory under Jim Crowley, handling the distance of a mile and a quarter superbly. He traveled in the last place and the jockey then showed him the way in the final stretch, which was everything Crowley needed to do as Mostahdaf handled everything else. With ease, the brown horse pulled away from the field to land the prince of Wales in 2m 5.95s, leaving second Luxembourg (Moore) behind by four lengths.
Luxembourg made the race like he did when scoring the G1 Tattersall Gold Cup, but this time, he was more or less empty when asked to pick up. Ultimately, his team should be hay for holding onto the second place in front of the third Adayar (Buick). My Prospero (Marquand) finished fourth, with the second favorite Bay Bridge (Kingscote) bettered only the biggest outsider Classic Causeway (Learoux), offered at 100/1.
Don’t miss Frankie’s Fanfare, Part 11: Dettori Makes His Final Royal Ascot a Winning One
