It still won’t quite be business as usual this week at Royal Ascot as the Breeders’ Cup Challenge visits Britain for the first time in 2021 with four ‘Win and You’re In’ races and world #1 Palace Pier ready to strut his stuff on Tuesday’s opening day.
However, with five-figure crowds and a formal dress code – but no Royal Procession, it seems – at least a degree of what passes for normality is set to return after the Covid-affected behind-closed-doors meeting of 2020.
As part of a government trial, up to 12,000 paying customers will be admitted daily to witness affairs on Her Majesty’s famous strip of Berkshire turf. It will be by far the largest attendance on a British racecourse since the sport came to an abrupt standstill after the Cheltenham Festival of March 2020.
Royal Ascot also comes back bigger than it once was, with all five days now permanently expanded to feature 7-race cards with the addition of various handicaps, some of which appeared for the first time in 2020. Prize money, drastically reduced in 2020, will be just over £6 million for the 35-race total.
After a major shake-up 12 months ago, the running order reverts to a more familiar programme, front-loaded with no fewer than three G1s in the first four races – starting with a bang as the Queen Anne Stakes reassumes its customary spot as curtain-raiser as Day 1, Race 1.
Also part of the British Champions Series, the straight mile contest is the first Breeders’ Cup Challenge contest in Britain this term, offering a guaranteed fees-paid slot in the FanDuel Mile at Del Mar.
The Queen Anne is set to feature the latest appearance of Palace Pier, bidding to confirm his status as the world’s #1 racehorse in the TRC Global Rankings. Trained by John & Thady Gosden, the 4-year-old, who has tasted defeat only once in his life, is also current #1 according to the IFHA’s ‘World Best Racehorse rankings’ as sponsored by Longines.
The likely odds-on favourite will be ridden by Frankie Dettori, ready for his usual starring role at his favourite venue; he’s been leading Royal Ascot seven times, including the last two seasons.
Palace Pier’s rivals include reigning BC Mile champ Order Of Australia and a pair of previous Queen Anne winners in Accidental Agent (2018) and Lord Glitters (2019).
A star card also features the return of world-class sprinter Battaash, out to repeat last year’s victory in the King’s Stand Stakes, where Extravagant Kid and Maven provide U.S. interest for trainers Brendan Walsh and Wesley Ward.
Royal Ascot regular Ward also saddles the filly Kaufymaker, likely favourite against her male counterparts in the Coventry Stakes, while the G1 St James’s Palace Stakes is headed by 2000 Guineas winner Poetic Flare.
Queen Anne Stakes: A bit of context
History: founded in 1840 and commemorates the monarch who established racing at Ascot in 1711. Run as Trial Stakes until 1929. Elevated to G1 status in 2003. Returns to usual opening slot as first race of the meeting for 2021 after being second on the menu on last year’s Covid-affected programme.
Star turn: Frankel (2012) – according to Timeform, a “career-defining” performance to beat Excelebration by 11 lengths. His Timeform rating of 147 is the highest in history, surpassing Sea-Bird’s 1965 Arc by 2lb.
Most wins (trainer): Saeed Bin Suroor (7) Charnwood Forest (1996), Allied Forces (1997), Intikhab (1998), Cape Cross (1999), Dubai Destination (2003), Refuse to Bend (2004), Ramonti (2007).
Most wins (jockey): Sir Gordon Richards (6) Sunderland (1925), Sundry (1927), Coldstream (1931), Fair Trial (1935), Pambidian (1949), Southborne (1952).
Frankie Dettori (6) Markofdistinction (1990), Allied Forces (1997), Intikhab (1998), Dubai Destination (2003), Refuse To Bend (2004), Ramonti (2007).
Breeders’ Cup Challenge
The winner of the Queen Anne will receive an automatic fees-paid berth in the FanDuel Mile at the 2-day championships at Del Mar on November 5-6. A minimum travel allowance of $40,000 will also be provided for all starters based outside of North America; the Challenge winner must already be nominated to the Breeders’ Cup programme or be nominated by the pre-entry deadline of October 26 to receive the rewards.
Already qualified (4): Jet Dark (L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate), Succeso (GP Club Hipico Falabella), Smooth Like Strait (Shoemaker Mile), Danon Kingly (Yasuda Kinen)
Breeders’ Cup past performance
Won in the past by subsequent BC Mile winners Barathea (1994) and the great Goldikova (2010); other Queen Anne winners to have appeared in the BC Mile in recent years include Toronado (eighth), Ribchester (fifth) and Lord Glitters (ninth), plus last year’s winner Circus Maximus, who was fourth in 2019 before being beaten only a neck by stablemate Order Of Australia as Aidan O’Brien saddled an unprecedented 1-2-3 at Keeneland.
Tepin won the Queen Anne for U.S.-based Mark Casse in 2016, having taken the BC Mile at Keeneland the previous autumn. Kalanisi, who landed the Queen Anne in 2000, went on to win the BC Turf, while 2013 winner Declaration Of War was narrowly beaten after being switched to dirt in the Classic.
Top contenders for 2021
Palace Pier (John & Thady Gosden/Frankie Dettori) – won last year’s St James’s Palace Stakes and sure to start hot favourite after his impressive display in G1 Lockinge Stakes at Newbury; world #1 looks head and shoulders above rivals here and rates banker material, though best form has come on ground with ‘soft’ in the going description.
Order Of Australia (Aidan O’Brien/Ryan Moore) – seasonal debut for shock 73/1 winner of last year’s BC Mile; surprise win was better form than anything he had done in the past, and he did not reproduce it on only subsequent outing in Hong Kong.
Lope Y Fernandez (Aidan O’Brien/Seamie Heffernan) – beaten only a length in BC Mile and easy winner in minor listed company on reappearance; possible excuses last time in Lockinge (not like give in the ground) but beaten out of sight behind Palace Pier and needs serious improvement.
What they say
John Gosden, trainer of Palace Pier
“He’s a lovely horse and he did everything right last year until the end, when he ran on very soft autumn ground, which he hated. He’s come back well this year and we are happy with him. There’s plenty to look forward to with him. He handled the [soft] ground in the Lockinge, and maybe some like Lope Y Fernandez didn’t, so I think that now we are back now on summer ground you’ll see a lot more horses come into play on it.”
Aidan O’Brien, trainer Order of Australia
“We were delighted with him at the Breeders' Cup and he ran well in Hong Kong too. We are training him as miler this year and have had it in mind to start him off in the Queen Anne Stakes all season; he goes straight there without a run, just like Circus Maximus last year. The track should suit him well and he seems to be in great order.”
Aidan O’Brien, trainer of Lope Y Fernandez
“We hope he’ll leave his disappointing run in the Lockinge behind him – even though he won on soft ground as a 2-year-old, we’ve always felt that firmer ground is what he really wants. I still think we haven’t seen the very best of him on the track; the better the ground, the better he is.”
James Tate, trainer of Top Rank
“Top Rank has won on soft ground in the past but, like many Dark Angels, he’s changed as he’s got older and is a bit more muscular and lighter on his feet. It was soft enough for him at Newbury and I’m looking forward to seeing him on quicker ground. He’s in really good form and might even have come on a bit for Newbury, so it’s Palace Pier, round two [Top Rank was third in the Lockinge] – these are animals, so there’s always a chance of turning the tables."