Royal Ascot’s 2-year-old king, Wesley Ward, holds a strong hand with a pair of fancied runners as he bids for a third success in Thursday’s Norfolk Stakes, the third of four Breeders’ Cup ‘Win and You’re In’ Challenge races at the five-day festival.
Run at a straight five furlongs, the G2 is a much coveted prize for juvenile sprinters – and Thursday’s opener is also a race that has produced plenty of runners in the short history of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint.
Ward has won the most recent two runnings of that $1 million contest, scoring last year at Keeneland with Norfolk Stakes runner-up Golden Pal, whose petrol just ran out on ground softer than ideal 12 months ago.
Ward saddles maiden special weight winners Lucci and Nakatomi this time around – but Aidan O’Brien might be putting a sizeable fly in the ointment with Dundalk winner Cadamosto, a son of Ward’s 2013 winner, No Nay Never.
Thursday’s feature is the Gold Cup, Royal Ascot’s G1 centrepiece, in which hugely popular 7-year-old Stradivarius bids to emulate great stayer Yeats to become only the second-ever horse to complete a four-timer in the historic two-and-a-half-mile event.
Frankie Dettori’s mount, nicknamed ‘Mighty Mouse’ at the Gosden yard owing to his diminutive stature, will start hot favourite – but extra spice has been added to the race with the supplementary entry of Serpentine, last year’s shock Derby winner at Epsom for Aidan O’Brien. He will be the first Derby winner since Blakeney in 1970 to run in the Gold Cup; the 1969 Derby winner was second to out-and-out stayer Precipice Wood.
Norfolk Stakes: A bit of context
History: established 1843 as the New Stakes. Renamed in 1973 after Her Majesty’s Representative at Ascot between 1945 and 1972. Promoted to G2 status in 2006.
Star turn: Johannesburg (2001) – first of Aidan O’Brien’s three Norfolk Stakes winners went unbeaten through seven races as a 2-year-old, crowned champion on both sides of Atlantic after memorable success on dirt at the Breeders’ Cup.
Most wins (trainer): Mathew Dawson (4 wins between 1851 and 1884), James Ryan (4, 1875-1890), John Porter (4, 1887-1898), Atty Persse (4, 1907-1928).
Most wins in modern era (since 1973): Richard Hannon snr (3) Niche (1992), Lucky Lionel (1995), Baron’s Pit (2002).
Peter Chapple-Hyam (3) Turtle Island (1993), Dutch Art (2006), Winker Watson (2007).
Aidan O’Brien (3) Johannesburg (2001), Waterloo Bridge (2015), Sioux Nation (2017).
Most wins (jockey): Lester Piggott (9): Abermaid (1961), Tin King (1965), Falcon (1966) Swing Easy (1970), Faliraki (1975), Emboss (1977), Precocious (1983), Magic Mirror (1984), Niche (1992).
Breeders’ Cup Challenge
The winner of the Norfolk will receive an automatic fees-paid berth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint 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 North America; the Challenge winner must already be nominated to the Breeders’ Cup programme or nominated by the pre-entry deadline of October 26 to receive the rewards.
Breeders’ Cup past performance
The Norfolk Stakes is clearly of potential significance when it comes to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, having produced runners in all three editions so far – notably last year’s BC hero Golden Pal, who made all at Keeneland after a narrow defeat at Royal Ascot on softish ground he cannot have appreciated.
While last year’s Norfolk Stakes winner The Lir Jet did not take up the BC option, Lippizaner was fourth in both races.
The 2019 Norfolk Stakes winner A’Ali was well fancied but never landed a blow from a double-figure draw at Santa Anita. Shang Shang Shang, Ward’s Norfolk Stakes winner in 2018, did not run in the Juvenile Turf Sprint but Pocket Dynamo, the horse she touched off, did make it to Churchill Downs, where he was ninth behind all-the-way winner Bulletin.
No Nay Never, who won the Norfolk for Ward in 2013, was a narrowly beaten favourite in the BC Turf Sprint as a 3-year-old.
Top contenders for 2021
Lucci (Wesley Ward/John Velazquez) – 3-length debut winner on turf at Belmont, making all over small field with Ascot partner John Velazquez up; said to have been working well since arriving in Newmarket and stable first string according to betting.
Cadamosto (Aidan O’Brien/Ryan Moore) – son of 2013 winner No Nay Never looked pretty smart with comfortable victory on April debut on Dundalk all-weather; comes here rather than Tuesday’s Coventry Stakes as powerful trainer seeks third win in seven years (and fourth overall).
Nakatomi (Wesley Ward/Oisin Murphy) – gelded son of Firing Line beat better-fancied Ward-trained stablemate Happy Soul on sloppy dirt on Keeneland debut (ran on strongly after tracking pace); runner-up has franked form in no uncertain terms with two wide-margins wins since.
What they say
Wesley Ward, trainer of Lucci and Nakatomi
“At home, we’ve been working Lucci and Nakatomi together. Nakatomi was coming out on top, but then they had a workout in Newmarket on the Limekilns and Lucci turned the tables. He just bounced straight through to the front and would not give up the lead. Just the way his body is, he looks like a big old sprinter.”
Aidan O’Brien, trainer of Cadamosto
“He won impressively at Dundalk. We really wanted to get at least a second run into him but we didn’t want to run him on soft ground; he’s very fast and wants quick ground. He’s been waiting a long time since his debut and, for that reason, it wouldn’t be a big surprise if he took a fair step forward from whatever he does at Royal Ascot.” (speaking to Attheraces)
George Boughey, trainer of Navello
“The plan before the National Stakes at Sandown was the Norfolk Stakes and we’ve not changed our minds since his third there. The ground that evening at Sandown was pretty slow and Hugo Palmer’s horse [Ebro River] was very impressive. He hardly picks his feet up off the ground, which suggests a quick-ground action. I think we might see a different horse in the Norfolk to the one we saw at Sandown.”