Royal Ascot Recap, Day 4
By Michaela Moricova
Friday’s card at Royal Ascot featured two G1 races for three-year-olds. At first, sprinters clashed in the Commonwealth Cup, where SHAQUILLE delivered an unlikely victory under Oisin Murphy, upon which star TAHIYRA fulfilled the role of a favorite in the G1 Coronation Stakes. Moreover, three-year-olds showed up also in the G2 King Edward II Stakes as the Epsom Derby runner-up KING OF STEEL confirmed to be a pretty unique animal by running down his rivals. During the afternoon, Ryan Moore achieved his fifth victory in this year’s Royal Ascot, winning a Class 2 handicap aboard OKITA SOUSHI.
Extraordinary Shaquille, Extraordinary Commonwealth Cup
The youngest G1 of Royal Ascot attracted a field of thirteen three-year-old sprinters, among which Little Big Bear (Moore) was the red-hot favorite. In the closing stages, the Aidan O’Brien trained bay went forward and tried to secure his second victory in the elite company, but he suffered a surprising defeat to SHAQUILLE by one and ¼ of a length. A 9/1 offered colt has shown great talent since his debut, but his trainer Julie Camacho took an easier route with him. Last time out, the son of Charm Spirit earned his first Graded success, and with Oisin Murphy in the saddle, the colt looked like a lively contender here.
However, the race could’ve been over for the duo right at the beginning. Shaquille reared in the gates in the worst possible moment, lost a couple of lengths, and had to settle at the rear of the field. As the Commonwealth Cup is a race over six furlongs, such a disadvantage could’ve hampered any other’s horse’s performance but not Shaqueille’s. He didn’t mind it, gallop with ease and enthusiastically picked it up when the jockey pressed him. The brown colt swung by his rivals and then left also Little Big Bear behind, making this year’s Commonwealth Cup quite a memorable one. He won the G1 event in 1m 13.15s, with Little Big Bear finishing second and outsider Swingalong (Lee) crossing the wire in third.
Third G1 Triumph for Tahiyra
Royal Ascot 2023 doesn’t favor the favorites at all, especially in the biggest races of the week. Still, there was a substantial chance it would be different in the G1 Coronation Stakes over a mile, as TAHIYRA is a type of filly who doesn’t know how to disappoint and simply do anything wrong. The daughter of Siyouni won twice as a two-year-old, including the G1 Moyglare Stud Stakes at Curragh, while in the ongoing season, she lost only in her debut. Back then, Tahiyra lacked some fitness to score the 1000 Guineas, but the next time out, she was utterly brilliant in the Irish 1000 Guineas and delivered a big one for trainer Dermot Weld.
Once again, he saddled the bay filly to Chris Hayes, who had some issues at the beginning of the race because Tahiyra didn’t want to settle down. Fortunately, he managed to make her relax eventually, and when the field hit the final stretch, the favorite oozed class and energy. She left all of her rivals behind quickly, and even though she switched to the fence a bit too violently, she had enough in the tank to secure a win by a length in 1m 41.69s. Remarquee (Hornby) showed a remarkable turn of foot to take second place in front of third Sounds of Heaven (Whelan).
The Future is Bright for King of Steel
It might’ve seemed like a fluke when KING OF STEEL finished a close second in the Epsom/Cazoo Derby twenty days ago. The Roger Varian-trained grey won just a maiden in 2022 and didn’t show much in his G1 outing; moreover, he recorded his seasonal debut in the Derby and still gave a breath-taking effort. Under Kevin Stott, he lost only to Auguste Rodin, and on Friday, everybody awaited the son of Wootton Bassett’s run. And King of Steel silenced all doubters with another spirited performance, resulting in a comfortable victory this time.
He galloped in the last place throughout the race; Stott then took him outside in the final stretch, upon which King of Steel smoothly went past the field to take the lead. Subsequently, he ran away from his rivals and crossed the wire in 2m 35.30s, with second Continuous (Moore) losing to him by three and half a length. Artistic Star (Hornby) came in third, while the favorite of the Epsom Derby, Arrest (Dettori), didn’t make amends for his unlucky Derby run, finishing last but one in fifth.
Don’t miss Frankie’s Fanfare, Part 11: Dettori Makes His Final Royal Ascot a Winning One
