The opening day at Ascot was bright and sunny, full of colour, pageantry and top drawer racing.
South African hopes ran high, but it was not to be our day, and although the hoped for results failed to materialise, Mike de Kock and his team will be back to fight another day.
The Queen Anne Stakes was won in devastating fashion with a vintage ride from Richard Hughes aboard Toronado, who justified every bit of his pre-race hype.
Frankie Dettori was back to his big race best, winning the Gr2 Coventry Stakes aboard the appropriately named The Wow Factor for John Quinn.
The King’s Stand Stakes was another galloping lesson from Richard Hughes, notching his 2nd Group 1 win of the day when bringing Sole Power from off the pace, weaving his way through runners to win by 1.25 lengths and making it back to back victories for the 7yo son of Kyllachy.
The hotly anticipated St James’s Palace Stakes evolved into the expected showdown between Kingman and Night Of Thunder and the race delivered in every sense of the word, with Kingman showing a devastating turn of foot to surge past Night Of Thunder and clinch victory by a facile 2.25 lengths.
Domination dominated the the Ascot Stakes and the day was rounded off with the Windsor Castle Stakes taken by American raiders Wesley Ward and Victor Espinoza, with Hootenanny winning his Ascot debut.
For the full round up of the day’s results, see the Racing Post.
Wednesday’s programme starts at 3:30pm South African time and the highlight on the day’s card will undoubtedly be the Gr1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes, which features Mukhadram, Dank, The Fugue and Treve.
There was some light drizzle at 6.30am, but no measurable rain overnight and the going remains good.
Wednesday’s Schedule
| Time | Race | Age | Prize Fund | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3:30pm | The Jersey Stakes (Group 3) | 3 | £75000 | Seven furlongs |
| 4:05pm | The Queen Mary Stakes (Group 2) | 2 fillies | £100000 | Five furlongs |
| 4:45pm | The Prince of Wales’s Stakes (Group 1) | 4+ | £525000 | One mile two furlongs |
| 5:25pm | The Duke of Cambridge Stakes (Group 2) | F&M | £135000 | One mile |
| 6:00pm | The Royal Hunt Cup (Heritage Handicap) | 3+ | £175000 | One mile |
| 6:35pm | The Sandringham Handicap (Listed) | 3 fillies | £70000 | One mile |
A full copy of the day’s card can be found at the Racing Post and live streaming of the day’s action can be accessed via the Dubai Racing Channel, Filmon’s HRTV channel or Channel 4 feed and RacingUK offers a subscription service available here.
