Cover image courtesy of Royal Ascot
G1 The Gold Cup, (two miles, four furlongs) 4000m - 1.25am AEST (4.25pm local)
Prizemoney: £650,000 (AU$1,238,000)
While copper has its origins in his moniker, Ballydoyle's star stayer Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}–Polished Gem {Ire}, by Danehill {USA}) was all gold after adding to his 2022 triumph in a thrilling renewal of Thursday's G1 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot, becoming the first to regain his crown in the 2 1/2-mile contest since Kayf Tara (GB) (Sadler's Wells {USA}) did so at the turn of the century. His one-length victory provided Aidan O'Brien with a record-extending ninth edition, while Ryan Moore, now on four, remains some way shy of Lester Piggott's haul of 11.
“It was really impossible to come back from what he came back from and, at one stage, we weren't sure he would live,” O'Brien admitted. “This horse has got back to the very top level, which is just incredible. It shouldn't have happened and I don't know how it happened, but I think it happened because of all the people who have been around him and done so much day in, day out. They have been so committed, they communicated so well and everyone put him first. He got an infection in his joint and it got into the joint capsule. Usually what happens is that they lose the movement in the joint, and for a while he did, but it came back. Then it was getting him to stand, and then to walk, then to trot, then teaching him how to canter again, because he had to move all his body in different ways again. He always had the most incredible mind and that was always his power.”
Unbeaten in three starts this year, Kyprios won the 2022 G1 Gold Cup and in total has won 11 of his fifteen starts. This was his fifth win at Group 1 level.
Kyprios is the last of 10 foals, all winners, seven at stakes level, produced by dual Broodmare of the Year Polished Gem (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), herself out of G1 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine Trusted Partner (Affirmed). Polished Gem was a winner at two and fourth in the G3 Athasi S. while Kyprios’s siblings include dual G1 Irish St Leger heroine Search For A Song (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), G1 Prince of Wales's Stakes-winning sire Free Eagle (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}), G2 British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes winner Sapphire (Ire) (Medicean {GB}) and G3 SAJC Queens Cup winner Valac (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) who travelled to Australia after placing four times in his first eight starts, but thrived in Australia winning twelve times on the flat and over jumps.
G2 The Norfolk S., (five furlongs) 1000m - 11.30pm AEST (2.30pm local)
Prizemoney: £150,000 (AU$285,700)
Wathnan Racing's 2-year-old colt Shareholder (USA) (Not This Time {USA}–Cloudy Dancer {GB}, by Invincible Spirit {Ire}) had only announced himself a G2 Norfolk S. candidate 12 days ago when winning Beverley's Two Year Old Trophy Conditions S. and made light of the quick turnaround to capture the Royal Ascot prize. Held on to by James Doyle early among the group racing up the centre, the Karl Burke-trained 12-1 shot was in front passing the two-furlong pole and asserted to score by a length from Tropical Storm (GB) (Eqtidaar {Ire}), with a head back to Arizona Blaze (GB) (Sergei Prokofiev {USA}) who narrowly denied the red-hot 10-11 favourite Whistlejacket (Ire) (No Nay Never {USA}) a placing.
“He's still learning, his debut was a bit messy at Beverley which is a hard place to teach a horse,” Doyle said of the colt, who recorded the third-fastest time in the race's history at Ascot and was just two ticks off Valiant Force (USA) (Malibu Moon {USA})'s time of 12 months earlier. “I tried to keep a lid on him for as long as possible, as I just wanted to give him time to get organised. He took time to get balanced up but, once he did, he always felt as though he had enough in the tank to keep going. He's got a big engine. Karl was very confident and when he is that confident, you respect his opinion.”
Burke is thinking predominantly of sprinting with the winner. “Shareholder did a lot wrong first time, but I knew he'd step forward from that, even physically and although he was two or three kilos lighter coming here today he looked bigger and stronger,” he explained. “I think this is a very good horse and he'll stay six furlongs as well–I would say he's speed and I'm sure he'll be a Commonwealth Cup horse. I don't think he'll be a Guineas horse, he hasn't shown us that, although he relaxed very well today so I suppose he has a chance.”
Unbeaten in two starts, the juvenile colt was a €460,000 (AU$739,000) Arqana May Breeze Up graduate sold by Gaybrook Lodge to Blandford Bloodstock, and previously had been sold as a yearling at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale by Frankfort Park Farm to MC Bloodstock for US$62,000 (AU$93,000).
“With Olly Tait, we put together a proposal to buy some breeze-up horses with a view to maybe having a couple that could get to Ascot. What has happened in the past two days, you couldn't even dream it would go like this,” said Wathnan Racing's bloodstock advisor Richard Brown.
“All credit to Karl Burke and his team. It is important to mention Richard Morgan-Evans and his team in Newmarket. Every horse we buy goes to Richard and they have a tailor-made, individual programme which involves immediate turnout in paddocks and giving them that recovery time,” he added. “Richard is a very important part of the process. It is usually said that it's too tight a turnaround to get a horse from the Arqana Sale to Royal Ascot, but we like a challenge and I thought this was the horse to do it.”
His sire, who retired to stud in 2017, has 34 stakes winners, and Shareholder is out of unraced Cloudy Dancer who is a daughter of the Listed winner Ronaldsay (GB) (Kirkwall {GB}) and half-sister to the sire Gale Force Ten (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}).
G2 The Ribblesdale S., (one mile, four furlongs) 2400m - 12.45am AEST (3.45pm local)
Prizemoney: £250,000 (AU$476,200)
Securing the outright record of Royal Ascot winners, Ryan Moore was at his determined best to win a war of attrition on Ballydoyle's 3-year-old filly Port Fairy (Ire) (Australia {GB}–Fabulae {Ire}, by Fastnet Rock) in the G2 Ribblesdale S.
Temporarily swamped two out by the smooth-travelling Lava Stream (Ire) (Too Darn Hot {GB}), the 12-1 shot stayed in the fight against the rail and despite being a neck down soon after battled gamely to wrest the advantage from her inside the final furlong. As if driven by her rider's quest for an 82nd Royal Ascot winner, the chestnut dug deep to prevail by a neck and take Moore past Frankie Dettori for the Royal Ascot record. There was a 1 3/4-length margin back to the 9-4 favourite Kalpana (GB) (Study Of Man {Ire}) in third.
“In Chester she was a bit green and a baby and we just thought Epsom was going to come too quick for her, so we gave her a bit of time,” Aidan O'Brien said of his fifth Ribblesdale winner. “Ryan said maybe try a visor on her at home before coming here, so we put it on her and her work really stepped up. She looks like she'd be a lovely Irish Oaks filly now, as she stays well. Anna [O'Brien] bred the horse and has done everything with her. Ryan was brilliant on her–he didn't panic even when the second went by. It was class.”
Port Fairy has two wins from four starts and this was her first win at stakes level, taking her sire’s record to 41 stakes winners. She is the second foal and first runner for her unplaced dam, Fabulae, who is a half-sister to G2 Champions Juvenile S. runner-up Alder (Ire) (Australia {GB} and the G3 Derrinstown Stud 1,000 Guineas Trial runner-up Radiantly (GB) (Aussie Rules {USA}).
Her third dam is the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup heroine Shiva (Jpn) (Hector Protector), whose listed-winning daughter That Which Is Not (Elusive Quality) produced the G3 Ballysax S. scorer and G1 Irish Derby runner-up Piz Badile (Ire) (Ulysses {Ire}). Shiva is a half-sister to Oaks heroine Light Shift (Kingmambo), dam of sire Ulysses whose career peaks came in the G1 Juddmonte International and G1 Eclipse S.
G3 The Hampton Court S., (one mile, 2 furlongs) 2000m - 2.40am AEST (5.40pm local)
Prizemoney: £150,000 (AU$285,700)
Iraj Parvizi's Listed Dee S.-third placed 3-year-old colt Jayarebe (Fr) (Zoffany {Ire}–Alakhana {Fr}, by Dalakhani {Ire}), who made an impressive black-type breakthrough in April's Listed Feilden S, bounced back in style to secure a career high in Thursday's G3 Hampton Court S at Royal Ascot.
Jayarebe broke smartly from the outside gate, but was trapped wide in a prominent position before accepting a tow in a share of third. Looming large when taking closer order off the home turn, the 7-1 chance hit the front passing the quarter-mile marker and was driven out in the closing stages to withstand the late thrust of King's Gambit (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}) by 3/4-of-a-length in game fashion.
“Sean [Levey] got him in a great position, he was able to get a breather in and that was key,” explained trainer Brian Meehan. “That never happened at Chester [Dee S.] which, along with the track, was his undoing. Once he got the position, Sean was able to just take back and get a little breather. That man is riding out of his skin at the moment and it's so impressive the way he's riding. He knows the horse really well, as he comes in every week. Jayarebe is getting better and is still lightly raced. He's a superstar horse and he's on the up. I said to his owner that we wanted to explore an autumn campaign, with some international races, so we'll stick with the plan, although the [G1] Eclipse [at Sandown] is a possibility.”
Jayarebe has now won three of his five starts and is one of 62 stakes winners for former shuttler Zoffany, who was in Australia from 2012-2015. Jayarebe is out of Listed Prix Joubert winner Alakhana (Fr) (Dalakhani {Ire}) whose three foals to race are all winners.
