Across the pond

BaroqueAgain1 · Tue Jun 20, 2017 5:35 pm

To add to MTO's remarks...While I listened to Scot on TVG for much of the time between races, I found that the racing coverage by NBCSN was way superior. Ascot must have let them put cameras wherever they wanted, so we got close-ups of horses in the ring, going down to the start, behind the gate and loading, plus some very nice, close coverage (must have a car alongside the track?) of the races in progress. and all in high-definition.

I've DVR'd the NBCSN program, so I'm going to go back and watch from the 5:30 AM start to catch any cool stuff I missed.

Afrashad · Tue Jun 20, 2017 5:42 pm

BaroqueAgain1 wrote:Quite an upset in the St. James's Palace as Barney Roy wins, with Lancaster Bomber 2nd, Thunder Snow 3rd. The heavy favorite, Churchill, never kicked in the stretch and finished 4th.
I wonder if a combination of the heat and the firm ground is going to lead to some horses just not running their best? Lancaster Bomber was one of the pacesetters, but held on for 2nd, when he might usually be swallowed up in the stretch.
Second win today for Godolphin, which must be a big morale booster for the Boys In Blue after all the sturm und drang of the past few weeks.

I did say after the Irish 2000 Guineas that Barney Roy was the horse who could possibly challenge Churchill, so I can't say I was overly surprised with his win.

BaroqueAgain1 · Tue Jun 20, 2017 7:28 pm

Good pick, A.

Starine · Tue Jun 20, 2017 8:39 pm

Loads of good racing at Ascot today but of course Lady Aurelia was the highlight for me. What a classy filly.

BaroqueAgain1 · Tue Jun 20, 2017 9:28 pm

She is the epitome of a pocket rocket.

I'd love to see her show her well-muscled little derriere to the Down Under sprinters in The Everest, but shipping to another hemisphere is probably too big an ask even for her.
I'll just be happy with her winning out in Europe and the States.

Sparrow Castle · Tue Jun 20, 2017 10:39 pm

BaroqueAgain1 wrote:She is the epitome of a pocket rocket.
I'd love to see her show her well-muscled little derriere to the Down Under sprinters in The Everest, but shipping to another hemisphere is probably too big an ask even for her.
I'll just be happy with her winning out in Europe and the States.

Sounds like The Everest hasn't been ruled out completely yet.
https://twitter.com/TVG/status/877191924297244672

BaroqueAgain1 · Tue Jun 20, 2017 11:24 pm

Thanks for the link, but it's giving my computer all sorts of grief when I try to play the video.

What did he say? Did he list The Everest as a possibility?
When is that race?

Sparrow Castle · Wed Jun 21, 2017 1:18 am

BaroqueAgain1 wrote:Thanks for the link, but it's giving my computer all sorts of grief when I try to play the video.
What did he say? Did he list The Everest as a possibility?
When is that race?

Oh sorry. It's Hazelton's interview with George Bolton right after the race. He said something like they hadn't planned races beyond this one but they'd sit down and discuss options...end goal has been to see her in the Breeders' Cup at Del Mar his backyard...also there's a very big race in Australia 3 weeks before the BC, it's $10 million, that will get a look as well. The Everest is October 14.

BaroqueAgain1 · Wed Jun 21, 2017 1:46 am

Thanks.
I wonder if they'd have to choose between The Everest and the BC at Del Mar if the races are only three weeks apart. I think Wesley likes to give his filly more time between races, plus she'd have to deal with the quarantine and long ships to and from if she went to Australia.
Even the great Black Caviar didn't exactly thrive when she made the long trip to Royal Ascot. Yes, she won, but I'm pretty sure she didn't race again only three weeks later.

peeptoad · Wed Jun 21, 2017 9:23 am

I hope LA goes to the BC Turf sprint. The 5F seems right up her alley and it would be nice to see her race states-side at the top level...hopefully they continue with her next year and hit up some of the other big races overseas. She was ultra-impressive yesterday... just the way she re-accelerated in deep stretch really impressed me.

BaroqueAgain1 · Wed Jun 21, 2017 11:35 am

Saw an interview with Wesley Ward and it sounded like she is aiming for Del Mar. He acknowledged that it would be an 'either/or' situation with the BC/Everest, and he pointed out that the Australian race is six furlongs, while the BC Turf Sprint is her preferred five. Happily, he did say that there are plans to race her at four, if she's happy and competitive. So, maybe Australia could be on her dance card next year?
Just watched Highland Reel take the Prince of Wales's Stakes over a very nice field. What a game, fast horse he is. A great horse, IMHO, who has tested (and proved) his class all over the world.
Jack Hobbs looked absolutely gorgeous before the race. Could model a heroic statue of the ideal TB stallion, but he didn't run to his looks. Never quickened in the stretch and finished last.

BaroqueAgain1 · Wed Jun 21, 2017 12:59 pm

Con Te Patiro takes the Sandringham Stakes over the straight mile, proving that Wesley Ward doesn't just train sprinters.

Very cool-headed ride by Jaimie Spencer, as he kept the nearly-black filly near the back until late, and then brought her storming through the field to win by a couple of lengths. Really nice turn-of-foot from the Scat Daddy filly.
This is a beautifully-bred three-year-old; by the late Scat Daddy out of Temple Street, by the late Street Cry. Yeah...they aren't making anymore like this. Big loss for breeding, especially Scat Daddy, who was only 11 when he died late in 2015.

Sparrow Castle · Wed Jun 21, 2017 5:47 pm

Lady Aurelia's King's Stand win earns her a huge Timeform rating

Lady Aurelia has been given an updated Timeform rating of 135 after her scintillating success in the King's Stand Stakes on Tuesday.
The three-year-old was an awesome seven length winner of last year's Queen Mary at this meeting, and this performance was even more incredible, pulverising high-class opponents who were unable to lay a glove on her.

Her rating of 135 is just 1 lb below Habibti, who dominated the European sprint scene as a three-year-old back in 1983, and the Australian super-mare Black Caviar, who also achieved that figure when at the peak of her powers in Australia in 2012. The rating also makes her the top three-year-old in training, 7 lb ahead of Caravaggio who runs in Friday's Commonwealth Cup.

Lady Aurelia's rating suggests that she will dominate the top five-furlong races around the world, with Wes Ward's filly likely to return to Britain to contest the Nunthorpe Stakes at York in August.

https://royal-ascot.timeform.com/news-a ... ng-2162017

Sparrow Castle · Wed Jun 21, 2017 7:06 pm

Ward filly Princess Peggy knocked over by bike after Ascot gallop

Princess Peggy has the most unlikely excuse for possibly missing her royal date in the Albany Stakes on Friday.

Having flown safely from Wesley Ward's stables in the US, the two-year-old filly was felled by a cyclist as she returned from morning work at Ascot on Wednesday.

The Ascot stewards officially noted the incident, reporting: "She was struck by a bicycle when crossing the street to return to the stable yard after having completed her morning exercise, losing her footing and falling to the ground."

Needs to pass the vet

The stewards added that a vet had examined the daughter of Scat Daddy and reported she had sustained superficial abrasions and will need to pass the vet on Friday morning before the opening 6f race.

https://www.racingpost.com/news/news/pr ... 290280?utm

BaroqueAgain1 · Wed Jun 21, 2017 7:40 pm

How the hell did that happen!? It's not like a horse is too small to be noticed by a bicyclist, unless he had his head down with his eyes closed.

Poor filly. It would be awful if she misses her chance at Royal Ascot because of some stupid human.

BaroqueAgain1 · Thu Jun 22, 2017 10:35 am

TVG interviewed Wesley this morning and he said that the crossing guards had stopped traffic while the filly was crossing a road after her workout. The bicyclist plowed through and ran into her hindquarters, causing her to lose her balance. She got some superficial abrasions, but passed her vet check today and should be able to run tomorrow.
Ray Paulick tweeted: Wesley Ward, when asked on TV about condition of bike rider who ran into his Royal Ascot runner Princess Peggy. "He's lucky I wasn't there."

BaroqueAgain1 · Thu Jun 22, 2017 11:31 am

The most exciting race of the meet may have been the 2 1/2-mile Gold Cup, as Big Orange barely kept his nostril in front of the hard-closing Order of St George. Almost a dead heat after 20 furlongs? Wow.

barbaro111 · Thu Jun 22, 2017 11:53 am

BaroqueAgain1 wrote:The most exciting race of the meet may have been the 2 1/2-mile Gold Cup, as Big Orange barely kept his nostril in front of the hard-closing Order of St George. Almost a dead heat after 20 furlongs? Wow.

Great race---love the name Big Orange

BaroqueAgain1 · Thu Jun 22, 2017 12:49 pm

Godolphin is having a landmark Royal Meet, as they run 1st and 2nd with Atty Persse and First Nation.
Atty Perrse, named after 1930's champion trainer, is by Frankel, named after training great Bobby Frankel.

And this is Frankel's first Royal Ascot winner.

stark · Thu Jun 22, 2017 1:05 pm

Misc questions, just curious.....

1) Do you think it's easier for a jockey in a straightaway race vs. turns where he has to worry about going wide?

2) Do you think the American way of having assistant starters in every stall is a necessary thing?

3) Latino/Hispanic jockeys.....so many good ones in the states, have any been successful across the pond?

4) I'm guessing the average weight for American jocks is about 112.....what do you think it is across the pond?

thanks.