It’s hard to believe that it’s now 14 years since Choisir blazed the sprint trail to Royal Ascot. Steve reflects.
There has arguably never been a better front-running straight track sprinter than Choisir and he ably demonstrated that twice, in five days, at the Royal Meeting.
Racing Post journalist Graham Dench recently described his presence as ‘intimidating’ and wrote of his performances ‘changing the nature of international sprinting for the next decade or so’. His colleague Jon Lees said, at the time, that Choisir’s Golden Jubilee win was ‘a brutal demonstration of raw speed’.
I think, for many Australian punters, Choisir’s success was a case of ‘one that got away’ and not once but twice. We just weren’t attuned then to the notion of staying up to watch the Royal Meeting.
Incredulously, he started at 25/1 in the King’s Stand Stakes after much bigger prices had been bet. We all know of his straight track prowess. Especially his remarkable win in the Lightning Stakes (Gr 1, 1000m) at Flemington when he raced unaccompanied on the flat side.
And well all knew he could back up having seen him ‘win’ at Group Three level against his own age on Derby day in 2002 (only to lose in a bizarre third against first protest) and then beat the older horses at Group Two level on Oaks day.
Joe Janiak’s unforgettable Takeover Target (Celtic Swing) followed the lead three years later in the King’s Stand Stakes when he beat 27 others at a delicious 9/2. Like Choisir, he’d won the Lightning Stakes earlier in the year. Not as well remembered is that Falkirk (Tale Of The Cat) was beaten just a length into fourth place and Glamour Puss (Tale Of The Cat) was less than a half length further back in seventh.
Takeover Target was, of course, followed by Miss Andretti (Ihtiram) and Scenic Blast (Scenic) – each of whom had also won the Lightning Stakes. The bookies had seemingly cottoned by now with Miss Andretti a 9/4 chance but then reverted to a more generous mode with 9/1 Scenic Blast. Magnus (Flying Spur) and Takeover Target were third and fourth respectively behind the Lee Freedman-trained Miss Andretti.
Meanwhile Choisir’s son Starspangledbanner, also ridden by Murtagh, and Black Caviar (Bel Esprit) were to win the Golden Jubilee. Star Witness (Starcraft) and Brazen Beau (I Am Invincible) also ran exceptionally well at Ascot.
Alas, this year there’ll be no runners for Australian-based trainers but the Royal Meeting won’t be entirely devoid of Australian connections.
Black Caviar’s principal owner Neil Werrett will be on hand to see Kool Kompany (Jeremy) contest the Queen Anne Stakes (Gr 1, 1m) and hopes to have the Fozzy Stack-trained promising three-year-old Gino Severini (Fastnet Rock) also competing next week.
“I have an interest in a number of horses with Fozzy as part of packages put together by Hubie de Burgh and they’ve generally done very well. The first group, now three-year-olds, include Gino Severini and the best of them who’s Alexios Komnenos who I think probably should have beaten Churchill last year,” he said.
We touched on Alexios Komnenos, by none other than Choisir and who stretched Churchill (Galileo) at Group Three level last year before being injured, in last week’s column. “The reports are still positive about him after speaking with Fozzy last night,” Werrett said.
“We hope to have him right for Derby weekend at the Curragh where we also hope to run a nice two-year-old named Commander Grigio (Fastnet Rock) who won at his second start last month.”
Australia’s most likely Royal Ascot winner may well be the Terry Henderson OTI-owned Fastnet Tempest (Fastnet Rock) who will press for favouritism in the Royal Hunt Cup (1m) after successive wins at Ascot and Chester in May.
He’s prepared by William Haggas who’s enjoyed major handicap success with wins in the Royal Hunt Cup, Wokingham Stakes (6f) and the Britannia Stakes (1m) at the Royal Meeting. Fastnet Tempest scored a remarkable win at Chester where he came from last on the home turn on the tight track.
The sentimental favourite at the Royal Meeting will be the Jeremy Gask trained 11-year-old Medicean Man (Medicean) who will contest the King’s Stand Stakes for the sixth consecutive year. He finished fourth in 2012 and 2014, was beaten an agonising short head into second place in 2015 and was still competitive last year when a two lengths sixth behind Profitable (Invincible Spirit).
Gask, originally from South Australia, is heading home for the new season and is likely to be based at Newcastle, New South Wales. “At this stage, I plan to be back late July but doubt much will be ready by any sooner than August. I’ve absolutely loved it here (UK) but it’s time to bring the family home,” Gask said.