The meeting began with the Queen Anne Stakes, which was won in game fashion by the Canadian mare Tepin.
Tepin has swept all before her on turf in the US, her Grade 1 wins including the Breeders' Cup Mile, and she came into the Queen Anne clear top-rated on her home form. She ultimately didn’t need to be at her very best to win—she remains rated 127—yet in many ways this was the most impressive of all her wins as there were so many things she had to prove, away from her own patch for starters but also without both Lasix for the first time and a nasal strip that's always been fitted before, whilst she'd never raced on a straight track either.
Runner-up Belardo couldn't quite peg back Tepin but is in the form of his life (has been raised from 125 to 126) and again beat all of those that reopposed from the Lockinge. He could well add another Group 1 to his CV before the season's out. Lightning Spear didn't go on as was perhaps expected when tried in pattern company last season but he has left Olly Stevens and joined a top yard (David Simcock) and made a highly promising start for them by finishing third here, stayed on having been left with a lot to do. He’s been raised to a rating of 125 from 119 and is one to follow for the rest of the season.
***Profitable maintained his unbeaten status this year in the King’s Stand Stakes without needing to improve on his Temple Stakes performance (remains on 125).The Clive Cox-trained Profitable has flourished as a four-year-old this term, not dissimilar to the same yard’s Lethal Force who took the six-furlong sprint scene by storm back in 2013, and this breakthrough Group 1 success very much underlines the rapid progress he's made. He also deserves extra credit here given he raced closer to the pace than any of those that finished around him, which included runner-up Cotai Glory (now 121 from 115) and third Goken (now 117 from 109). Supplementing Profitable for the July Cup was mentioned by his trainer as a possibility after the King’s Stand but he's only tried six furlongs once before and, though he didn't seem to have a problem with it then, he's a totally different entity now and isn't sure to be so brilliantly effective over that distance at Newmarket. The Nunthorpe Stakes and Prix de l'Abbaye are other likely targets for him.
***The Group 1s come thick and fast on day one of Royal Ascot, and Galileo Gold’s success in the St James’s Palace Stakes saw his rating rise from 123 to 126. Galileo Gold is in an unusual position as a 2000 Guineas/St James's Palace winner with a point still to prove, the title of top three-year-old miler not yet his by right, beaten once already by Awtaad (third here and now rated 124 from 124p) at the Curragh and seen to better effect than both him and The Gurkha (second here and now rated 127p from 125p) the way this race played out.
Dettori soon had Galileo Gold across from the outside stall to sit second, all the more of an advantage as it transpired with his main rivals held up in tandem last but one, but to focus on his positional edge is to underestimate the high-class performance that went into completing the job. The Sussex Stakes looks the ideal next big target for Galileo Gold, and his easy-going style lends itself to Goodwood, where he won last year's Vintage, though he wouldn’t be sure to beat The Gurkha should they meet again (The Gurkha only made his debut in April and his lack of polish possibly contributed to his defeat here, while his rider perhaps anticipated a stronger pace than transpired).
The Prince of Wales’s Stakes Stakes on day two was won in determined style by My Dream Boat. My Dream Boat proved better than ever—now rated 126 from 122—even if he was slightly fortunate to land a Group 1, the way the race unfolded suiting him too, with his turn of foot proving decisive.
My Dream Boat making his move away from the runner-up Found (as much by accident as design) probably helped as well, giving her little to respond against. My Dream Boat is likely to find things tougher in further races at this level, though the Champion Stakes, particularly on soft ground, is likely to be one of the better options. Found ran up to her best and remains on 123, while A Shin Hikari has been left on 133, with his bitterly disappointing effort put down to a combination of the relatively quick turnaround following his big performance in France and failing to settle fully in front.
***Arguably the feature race of the whole meeting, the Gold Cup on Thursday, was won by the short-priced favourite Order of St George who gave his trainer Aidan O’Brien his seventh win in the race. Order of St George stood out on form—rated 129 and receiving weight from most of the field as a four-year-old—and didn't have to better the level of his wide-margin Irish St Leger win from last autumn to land this race by three lengths. Order of St George is an above-average Gold Cup winner and one that could dominate the division for several seasons should connections choose that route, though equally he would command the greatest respect in a soft-ground Arc. Runner-up Mizzou hadn't been seen to best advantage when seventh in last year's Gold Cup, but he proved better than ever (120 from 119+) finally getting a thorough test of stamina. Mizzou’s record at Ascot suggests the Long Distance Cup at the track in October as the obvious target for him later in the season, especially with Order of St George unlikely to be aimed at that, though there ought to be further good races in him before then. Sheikhzayedroad ran right up to best (117) on his first start since the Dubai Carnival to finish third, though he was ridden to pick up the pieces and his quirks were all fully on show as well as his ability (kept on well despite hanging right and looking awkward from two furlongs out).
***Quiet Reflection stood out on form for the Commonwealth Cup on Friday—rated 122 and in receipt of weight from most of her rivals as a filly—and she didn't need to be at her best to win under a very confident ride. While Quiet Reflection’s style of victory masked her degree of superiority, she has to take on her elders now, which will be tougher, with the Sprint Cup rather than the July Cup possibly next. Kachy ran well (now rated 119 from 116) to finish second, beaten only a length despite veering badly left in front over a furlong out. He won the Molecomb Stakes at Goodwood last year and the King George at that meeting looks a suitable option, likely to have no problem back at five furlongs.
***French filly Qemah proved better than ever (raised from 114 to 118) to win the following race on the card, the Coronation Stakes.
She did well too, given that a few things weren't ideal for her early on, failing to settle fully and forced to race rather wide in rear, though she did have a clearer run than most. Runner-up Nemoralia looked to hold leading claims on her win at York, but she failed to confirm that form on easier ground in this better grade (now rated 117 from 119p). She met some trouble, but not to the extent of the third Alice Springs (now rated 116 from 110) and essentially was not good enough on the day.
***Henry Candy landed his first Royal Ascot winner since 1979 when Twilight Son won the Diamond Jubilee Stakes on Saturday. The Candy horses have generally have been slow to come to hand this year, and Twilight Son’s reappearance five weeks earlier was symptomatic of that, but as expected he proved all the sharper for that outing in what was always the main target of course. Twilight Son came back to something like his best—he’s had his master rating raised from 125 to 127, though that’s because the form of his second to Muhaarar in the Champions Sprint last autumn has been upgraded—to record this second Group 1 win, adding to the Sprint Cup last September. Crucially, as it turned out, he was never far away and he kept on well to hold off a host of rivals in the closing stages, headed by Hong Kong challenger Gold-Fun (now 126 from 123), the front-running Signs of Blessing (now 120 from 117) and Magical Memory (now 126 from 124). Twilight Son is not a standout in what is a competitive sprinting division at present, one dominated by four-year-olds, but he’s proving himself time and again on the biggest days and looks certain to be there or thereabouts in all of the other big six-furlong sprints to come.
