Meehan on the scoreboard again

Jayarebe repelled the late thrust of hot favourite King’s Gambit to secure victory in the Hampton Court Stakes at Royal Ascot.

So impressive when winning the London Gold Cup at Newbury last month, King’s Gambit was a 2/1 market leader to successfully graduate to Group Three level under William Buick, but a tardy start put him on the back foot from the off and he was still last of all rounding the home turn.

After taking a while to find top gear once in the clear, King’s Gambit was flying at the finish, but it was too little, too late and he had to make do with the runner-up spot.

Jayarebe (7/1), who dominated his rivals in Newmarket’s Feilden Stakes before being beaten as a warm order for the Dee Stakes at Chester, was always handily positioned by Sean Levey and dug deep after hitting the front early in the straight to hold off King’s Gambit by three-quarters of a length.

Trainer Brian Meehan was landing his second winner of the week following the shock 80-1 victory of Rashabar in Tuesday’s Coventry Stakes, with Levey also doubling his tally following Rosallion’s St James’s Palace Stakes triumph on the same afternoon.

“He’s been doing all the right things at home. Chester didn’t suit him, he’s got a huge stride, I think it’s something like 26ft, which is a massive stride for a horse like this,” said the jockey.

“We know he stays, I got a great break from stall 12 and I committed early because I knew he’d stay strong to the line.

“Do you know what, it’s having the horses that have a chance of winning. They are so hard to find here, it’s so competitive. So far, so good; two big chances have won and there are still chances to come, so fingers crossed.”

Meehan said: “He was sitting third and Sean was able to get a breather in and that was key, it never happened at Chester and that was his undoing, along with the track, he didn’t like the track.

“Today, Sean had to be forceful to get the position, but once he did, Sean was able to take back, have a little breather and that man is riding out of his skin at the moment, it is so impressive.

“He knows the horse inside out and comes in every week and rides work. It was the same as Rosallion earlier in the week, it was a wonderful ride.”

He added of Jayarebe: “He’s getting better and is still lightly raced. With practice, he is improving and the red hood was a good addition today. It’s more about curbing his exuberance, but when we were saddling, he was calm and we’re going in the right direction.

“What more does he have to do and at this stage he is on the up. This was always the plan – it was Newmarket, Chester, then here. I always said to his owner that we would then explore an autumn campaign and then look at some of the international races for him.

“The Eclipse is a possibility as well, but we will see how he is and I’ll talk to Sean.”

On King’s Gambit, Harry Charlton said: “It looked like a disaster from furlong one – we were in the worst possible position on this round course, and he’s run monstrously well to get anywhere near them.

“You can see how good he is, and we’ll enjoy him down the line.”

Bethell strikes in Britannia

Mickley provided trainer Ed Bethell and jockey Callum Rodriguez with a first Royal Ascot success after completing his hat-trick in the Britannia Stakes.

A winner at Southwell and Doncaster earlier in the year, the three-year-old was among the market principals at 15-2 and after being held up in the middle of three groups of runners, he displayed a smart change of gear to grab the lead.

Skukuza came from out of the pack in an attempt to reel him in, but Mickley was well on top as he passed the post three-quarters of a length clear.

Bethell, who earlier in the week saddled his Sprint Cup hero Regional to finish second in the King Charles III Stakes, said: “It’s a great feeling. I’m just delighted for everyone at home.

“Barry, who has led him up and rides him every day, he’s done a tremendous job on the horse, and Callum got down to a very low weight (8st 11lb), which he never normally does. That took a big effort from him but he had confidence in the horse, so we wanted to keep them together.

“He’s an interesting horse. He does absolutely nothing at home, so I couldn’t tell you where the limit is. He’s got size and scope and he looks the ideal horse to go out to Hong Kong now.

“It is like winning the lottery this race, you can never be confident, so it’s a great day for the whole yard. We are a young team and we’re only just getting started.”

Rodriguez added: “I’m over the moon – it’s the stuff of dreams. We went so close earlier in the week and I’m so glad to get it done.

“It was very smooth for me. I was pretty confident in this horse’s ability and I just wanted to keep it as smooth as possible.

“We got a good run and he was a lot more streetwise today than in his first four starts, so I’m very pleased.”

Moore passes Dettori landmark

Port Fairy knuckled down admirably to provide Aidan O’Brien with a fifth victory in the Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot, at the same time helping her jockey Ryan Moore become the leading active Royal Ascot jockey as the rider passed Frankie Dettori’s tally of 81.

Previously successful with Bracelet (2014), Even Song (2016), Magic Wand (2018) and Warm Heart (2023), the Ballydoyle handler was double-handed in this year’s renewal, with Ryan Moore siding with 12-1 shot Port Fairy over her stablemate Rubies Are Red.

A winner at Dundalk before being touched off by Forest Fairy in the Cheshire Oaks, Port Fairy was fitted with a visor for her latest assignment and tracked the pacesetting Oaks fourth You Got To Me for much of the mile and a half journey before moving towards the front passing the two-furlong marker.

The daughter of Australia was soon joined by and briefly passed by the strong-travelling Lava Stream, but Port Fairy battled back to claim Group Two honours by a neck under a power-packed Moore drive, with 9-4 favourite Kalpana beating You Got To Me to third.

O’Brien said: “We just thought Epsom was going to come too quick for her [after she finished second in the Cheshire Oaks] so we gave her a bit of time. Ryan said maybe try a visor on her at home, when she was coming here, so we put a visor on her the last day, and her work really stepped up. She looks like she’d be a lovely Irish Oaks filly now, and she gets it well, she stays well. And Ryan was brilliant on her – he didn’t panic even when the second went by her. It was class.

“It’s incredible for Ryan to have achieved what he has, and at his age – he must be 10 years younger than Frankie [Dettori], isn’t he?”

Moore added: “It was a good fight. She has improved a lot this year. She wouldn’t show you a great deal in the mornings, she’s a very relaxed horse. I had a nice run round, she’s straightforward, very uncomplicated, and she really tried hard.”

Danny Tudhope, rider of runner-up Lava Stream, said: “She’s very much improving, very quickly. She’s a talented filly. I thought she could run well today, obviously she was up against it, stepping up again, but she’s proven that she’s good enough at this level.

“I’m thrilled with that.

“We know what we have and we can learn from this.

“The horses in front of me just weren’t taking me into the race, she was just cruising. She wears a hood, she might have thought about it a little bit but she did knuckle down and try and get back against the winner.

“I think I might ride her a bit more quietly because one thing she does do is travel up.”

Oisin Murphy, rider of Kalpana who was third, added: “Kalpana ran another career best. She got the mile-and-a-half well. It was a good, even tempo, it was a proper stamina test. Well done to Ryan and the Ballydoyle team.”

Trainer Ralph Beckett claimed his second career victory in the King George V Stakes as progressive Lope De Vega gelding Going The Distance brought up a four-timer in the competitive mile and a half handicap.

Drawn out wide in stall 18, rider Rossa Ryan elected to tuck in and get plenty of cover towards the rear of the field in the early stages and he still only had a couple of rivals behind on turning into the home straight.

Gasper De Lemos led from City Burglar at that point but they ran out of gas with two furlongs to go and way out wide Going The Distance was picking up a head of steam.

He maintained his late surge to hit the front half a furlong out and while Neski Sherelski (33/1) and Jamie Spencer put up stern resistance over towards the far rail, the 9/1 winner had half a length in hand at the line.

Go Daddy was third at 25/1, with Fouroneohfever fourth at 10s and front-runner Gasper De Lemos (12/1) hanging on for fifth.

It was a fourth winner at the Royal meeting for jockey Ryan who said: “The biggest applause has to go to the lads in Kimpton, they’re brilliant. Fair play to Ralph, he’s been plotting this lad all year.

“There was a question mark about the ground but he did a nice bit of work last week and we were all hopeful that he’d run a big race.

“To get a winner for Mr Chan and his team, it’s hard starting to get on some of the horses Frankie was riding and trying to do something with them, but to get a Royal Ascot winner is brilliant.

“I was a bit sick going home last night after just getting touched off in the Hunt Cup but it’s amazing what 24 hours can do.

“I got shuffled out turning in, but he’s very gutsy. To be fair, he picked himself up at the top of the straight and he kept galloping for me. He had a little look around when he was in front but he did it well and he should go on. When he gets on softer ground, he’ll be better again.”

Runner-up Neski Sherelski pleased his trainer Joseph O’Brien, who said: “He ran great and it was a fantastic ride from Jamie. I’m very proud of the horse – frustrating not to win, but he ran great. We’ll see how he pulls up and speak to Barry, who owns him, but we probably won’t be rushing him back – that was a big run on hard ground, but he’s really exciting for the future.”

William Muir, trainer of the third Go Daddy, added: “I’m delighted. I came here thinking he had a big, big chance. The step up to a mile and a half would suit. If it had been soft ground, he’d have won easy. But he copes with this ground fine and he’s run a blinder. As I said to Lewis [Edmunds] coming in, we can go wherever we want now. He’s proved now – he had the form on the book at Newbury, we didn’t get a run and we finished sixth beaten two lengths, take the winner out [King’s Gambit], and the winner is the biggest certainty of the week later in the day… I knew we’d beat the others from the London Gold Cup and they were favourite and second-favourite.”

The Wathnan Racing silks were carried to victory by James Doyle in another two-year-old race at Royal Ascot 2024 as Shareholder won the opening Group 2 Norfolk Stakes on day three.

Just 24 hours on from guiding Leovanni to success in the Queen Mary for trainer Karl Burke, Doyle booted similarly easy-to-back stablemate Shareholder (12/1) to a one-length verdict over Tropical Storm (11/1), with 14/1 chance Arizona Blaze back in third. The Aidan O’Brien-trained 10/11 market leader Whistlejacket had to settle for a close fourth having been outpaced at a crucial stage.

Shareholder broke a step slowly from stall four and pulled quite hard for his head in the very early stages but soon settled into a rhythm as Binadham showed good speed in the five-strong, far-side group which also contained the winner.

The Man led the larger middle cluster, with Arizona Blaze and David Egan ploughing a lonely furrow on the near side.

Shareholder moved smoothly into contention approaching the final furlong and a half and took up the running before the furlong pole, from which point he was kept up to his work and stayed on strongly down the middle of the course as runner-up Tropical Storm ended up alone more towards the far side and Arizona Blaze took third after sticking to his guns by the stands’ rail.

Doyle said: “He’s still learning. I tried to keep a lid on him for as long as possible, until we got down to the inside pole, I just wanted to give him time to get organised.

“His debut was a bit messy at Beverley, it’s a hard place to teach a horse, but he learned plenty. He’s got a big engine. A big thank you to Karl Burke, he’s produced these horses lovely, which isn’t an easy thing to do.

“He was very confident, Karl, so when he is confident, you respect his opinion.”

Of the owners, Doyle added: “It’s great for British racing to have a superpower like this really getting behind British racing. It’s been a tough sell, our sport, hasn’t it, so we have to really take note when people want to invest and they deserve all the success.”

Burke added: “He’s a very good horse. He came with a big reputation, we’ve only had him six weeks or so.

“He’s taken a big step forward mentally from Beverley, he did everything wrong there and still won, beating a decent animal of Richard Fahey’s, so I was pretty confident we has a good horse, we just needed to find out how good.

When asked about the future, he added: “I’d say he’s speed. I think he will definitely stay six and I’m sure he’ll be a Commonwealth Cup horse. I would think we’ll step him up next time but I’ll speak to the guys.

“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.”

Connections of beaten horses pleased

Andrew Balding, trainer of runner-up Tropical Storm, said: “I’m delighted. He can mix it at a high level. He’s done very little wrong, but is still a maiden – which is a bit frustrating, but his time will come, I’m sure.”

Adrian Murray, who saddled the third Arizona Blaze, added: “He ran an absolute blinder. You’re on the world stage here, it’s tough. David was saying that he would probably even be better if we stepped him up a furlong. He said six on good ground, maybe five on soft.”

Murray added that Arizona Blaze is a “very versatile horse”, noting the surfaces he has previously won on.

He said: “We’ve entered him in all the top two-year-old races, so we will pick and choose where we go, and will see how he comes out of the race today.”

When asked how Arizona Blaze compares as a model to last year’s winner of the race, he said: “He’s a gorgeous horse, a beautiful horse. He would be very much on a par [with last year’s winner]. This fellow is probably more mature – he’s built like a three-year-old. He has a lot of strength about him.”

Oak towers above Buckingham rivals

Wathnan racing, successful earlier in the afternoon with Shareholder in the Norfolk Stakes, doubled up and made it three for the week when English Oak (100/30 favourite) ran away with the Buckingham Palace Stakes.

Up 9lb for a Haydock win before Wathnan bought him, Ed Walker’s four-year-old sprinted clear to prevail by three lengths from Billyjoh.

Walker said: “We believed for a long time he was very good and last year he just wasn’t getting things right in his races. He just wasn’t behaving and getting a bit upset in the stalls.

“Fair play to everyone at home, they’ve all done such a good job and a big thank you to Dave and Sue Ward who owned him up until a few weeks ago, they’ve been huge supporters of my yard and had Starman and have done wonders for my career.

“Richard Brown (of Wathnan) and I go back a long way and when he asked if I could recommend this horse, you shoot from the hip and I wear my heart on my sleeve, and I’m just glad it paid off.

“It was a very tough decision for Dave and Sue and they love their horses. I think it will be bittersweet for them, but they are big into their breeding now and have Starman to support and are increasing their broodmare band – and getting money in makes it work.

“I’ve been banging on about Ascot since he crossed the line here last autumn behind Rohaan, targeting this race or the Wokingham. After his performance at Haydock, the Buckingham Palace was the obvious target.

“It’s been a long plan and there’s been a change of silks, but it’s been great.”

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