Field Of Gold produced a scintillating display on the opening day of Royal Ascot in the Group 1 St. James’s Palace Stakes, showcasing an exceptional turn of foot under jockey Colin Keane for joint trainers John and Thady Gosden.
The Guineas form came to the fore, as the best milers from across Europe locked horns, with the Irish Guineas winner Field Of Gold reversing form from Newmarket with Ruling Court finishing third, while French Guineas winner Henri Matisse split the pair in second. The time was 1:38.40.
A three-year-old grey by Kingman (GB), who also won the St. James’s Palace Stakes, Field of Gold is from the mare Princess de Lune (Ire) by Shamardal. The fourth dam of Field of Gold is American champion Serena’s Song.
From The Guardian – Gosden said afterwards that if Field Of Gold had not run in the Irish Guineas, a step up in trip in the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown next month would have been a possibility, but his winner is more likely to wait for the Sussex Stakes, over a mile at Glorious Goodwood, for which he was cut to even-money favourite from around 4-1.
“This year, he has been exemplary in everything he has done,” Gosden said. “He is a pleasure to train because he’s a pretty laid‑back character, which is very useful. It was never the plan to go to Ireland, it became the plan [after his defeat at Newmarket], so he’s had a trial, two Guineas and this. It’s a lot of racing and we’re not even beginning to be halfway through the season.
“When they win like that, they make it look easy, but they are taking a lot out of themselves, so I wouldn’t want to be seen as someone trying to run him back in the Eclipse quick off this.”
WIN AND YOU’RE IN
Australian-based syndicate O T Racing claimed their first Royal Ascot winner in the Queen Anne Stakes (G1) with 14-1 shot Docklands (GB), who just got the better of Rosallion (IRE) in a photo finish.
The victory gave Docklands an automatic starting position and fees paid into the US $2 million FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) through the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series: Win and You’re In.
Nearly two hours later, another outsider, American Affair (GB), won the King Charles III Stakes (G1) at 11-1, and gained an automatic starting position and fees paid into the US $1 million Prevagen Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1).
The Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series is an international series of 93 stakes races in 15 countries whose winners receive automatic starting positions and fees paid into a corresponding race at the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, scheduled to be held Oct. 31-Nov. 1 at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, California.
Newmarket-based trainer Harry Eustace won his first Group 1 in the Queen Anne Stakes with Docklands, defeating 5-2 favourite Rosallion in a photo finish under Australian rider Mark Zhan. The five-year-old son of Massaat (IRE) finished second to star miler Charyn (IRE) in last year’s race, but managed to go one better against a quality 10-runner field. Zhan dropped his whip before the finish, but it did not stop him from clinching his first Royal Ascot winner in a thrilling renewal.
The race was run at a slow pace which resulted in a 2-furlong sprint to the line. The winning time was 1:39:59 on ground that was good to firm, good in places.
Winning jockey Zhan said: “He was very, very tough. I had a few nervous moments through the race and none more so than the photo. I never like a photo. It’s incredibly special.
“For sure we would be tempted [by the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile]. He’s a horse we’ve travelled to Australia through the winter. He takes it very well, if anything he thrives on it. Terry is very ambitious, and he loves campaigning them internationally. He’s now going to be running in all the big ones and Ascot’s the biggest in Europe and the Breeders’ Cup is the biggest in America. It doesn’t get bigger than that.”
American Affair, owned by Barraston Racing and J S Goldie, was another shock winner at 12-1 in the King Charles III Stakes. It was also a double whammy for Scottish trainer Jim Goldie, who had yet to win a Group 1 or a Royal Ascot contest. The five-year-old gelding’s victory also provided jockey, Paul Mulrennan, his first win at the meeting for 10 years. American-bred Frost At Dawn finished second by a neck at a huge price of 28-1, and last year’s Prevagen Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint Champion, Starlust (GB), ran third. The winning time was 59:64 on ground that was good to firm, good in places.
American Affair, by Washington DC (IRE), rose up through the ranks this season, winning handicaps at both Musselburgh and York in April and May respectively, before finishing fifth in the May 24 Temple Stakes (G2) at Haydock last time out.
Goldie, who began training in 1994, said: “I’ve trained the family for three generations, so it’s very sweet. He won his maiden over seven furlongs at Wetherby, but he keeps getting faster and five furlongs is the right trip. I was quite confident he’d do it today. I knew he was one of the fastest horses in there. I’m getting towards the end of my career, so it means a lot.
“We brought him down from Scotland Sunday, gave him a day to settle. Everything went to plan, and the preliminaries went well, too. We tweaked a few things from Haydock. He had a red hood on him for the first time, which really worked.
“Probably we would have to think about [going to the Breeders’ Cup]. He’s a fast horse, which you probably need for the Breeders’ Cup. He’s done well on the all-weather track too, so hopefully by the end of the season it’s still going well, and we are still thinking about America. And he’s got an American name! Hopefully, it can come through.”
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