Stallion Prospects Aplenty

STALLIONS PROSPECTS APLENTY 
Sheikh Joaan Al Thani has not been shy about spending money on his racing recruits, both at public auction and privately. His outlay is reaping rich rewards, and Royal Ascot 2014 could hardly have started in more promising fashion for Al Shaqab Racing. 
Toronado (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}), absent from the track for exactly 300 days before his imperious return in the G1 Queen Anne S., provided Richard Hannon Jr. with his first Royal Ascot winner, much to the relief of the young trainer, who succeeded his father at the helm of East Everleigh Stables earlier this year. 
“That’s great, I can go home now,” joked Hannon. “It’s wonderful to get the meeting off to a start like that. I was nervous this morning and am starting to feel a bit better now. Royal Ascot is such a great place and it is brilliant for the owner–he is sending plenty of horses our way.” He continued: “It was a pretty smooth success–he is a nice horse. He probably needed that and he was getting tired approaching the line. He was awesome today and will come on for the race–he had not run for a long time. It was important to get him back and winning.” 
Relief was an equally palpable emotion for trainer John Quinn, who sent out The Wow Signal (Ire) to add a real wow factor to the G2 Coventry S. A son of the subfertile former Coolmore stallion Starspangledbanner (Aus), The Wow Signal had impressed on his sole previous start at Ayr, where he won his maiden by nine lengths. Such a dazzling margin prompted immediate offers to his owner, Ross Harmon, from a range of buyers, but it was Sheikh Joaan, through his representative Harry Herbert, who promised that the young colt would stay within Quinn’s Yorkshire stable. 
“I said to the owners, ‘God, if this one goes I might never get another as good’, but Harry matched the price and was the first to say he would leave him with me. I’m very grateful for that,” said the trainer, whose son, Sean, bought The Wow Signal after watching the horse gallop at the same course during the Brightwells Ascot Breeze-up Sale in early April. 
Quinn is no stranger to success on the flat, but he is also an adept handler of jumpers and sent out Countrywide Flame (GB) (Haafhd) to win the 
G1 Triumph Hurdle at last year’s Cheltenham Festival. It’s likely, however, that The Wow Signal has now replaced him as the apple of the trainer’s eye. 
Quinn said of his precocious colt: “He worked on Saturday morning and I nearly crashed my 4×4 trying to keep up with him. We thought he was very good, but you need a top-class colt to win a Coventry. I’d have been disappointed if he wasn’t in the mix, but this is the Olympics, so I’m over the moon.” 
He added: “Six furlongs here is fine, but this fellow is crying out for seven furlongs and a mile. He will turn up in the Guineas next year with a good chance. He had to run and win today, but he’s very good and I’ll campaign him this season accordingly.” 
With both Reckless Abandon and Al Kazeem (GB) having been withdrawn from stud this season with poor fertility, The Wow Signal’s success serves a reminder to the European breeding scene of the loss of his sire Starspangledbanner from the Irish ranks for the same reason. By Choisir, who won the G1 King’s Stand S. and G1 Golden Jubilee S. on his 2003 visit to Royal Ascot, Starspangledbanner won the Golden Jubilee S. himself before going on to land the G1 July Cup during his European sojourn, but struggled to get many of his mares in foal on his retirement to stud. Having been temporarily returned to training, he is now back in his native Australia, at Rosemont Stud in Geelong, where he has successfully covered a limited book of mares. The Wow Signal may yet make up for his sire’s absence in Europe when he eventually retires to stud as one of the ever-increasing number of potential stallions Sheikh Joaan now has on his hands. 
Chasing The Wow Signal home in second was Cappella Sansevero (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), the colt who had topped Monday night’s Goffs’ London Sale at €1.3 million. Running for the first time in the Qatar Racing colors of Sheikh Joaan’s cousins, his performance pleased advisor David Redvers, who said: “It was a hell of a race and the winner is clearly a very good horse. Ours is a horse for the future and we’re excited about that.” 
A sad postscript to the race was the fatal injury in running to another Showcasing colt, Case Statement (GB), who had also passed the Goffs sales ring on Monday, selling for £180,000 to Qatari trainer Jassim Al Ghazali, having won well at Limerick in early June. 

Revelry With the Racing… 
With the much-anticipated rematch between the English and Irish 2000 Guineas winners Night Of Thunder (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Kingman (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) in the G1 St James’s Palace S. delivering an electrifying finish that saw the latter gain revenge for his defeat at Newmarket, the first day of Royal Ascot provided plenty to satisfy the racing purists. But of course the meeting is not just about the top-class action on the track. It’s a social occasion without rival in the English summer sporting calendar, and one that the many visitors from afar have been keen to be part of for many years. 
One notable absence from Ascot this year is a star challenger from the Australian sprinting ranks, but even with no Takeover Target (Aus), Miss Andretti (Aus) or Black Caviar (Aus) to roar home, the Australian race fans still descended on the Berkshire track in their droves. Fast becoming an Ascot tradition is the Inglis picnic, which is now in its eighth year and once again drew a huge crowd of thirsty revellers. 
Joining hosts Arthur Inglis and John Coates this year were Rob Roulston and Bernard Saundry of Racing Victoria, along with Gai Waterhouse and breeders Arthur and Georgie Mitchell of Yarraman Stud, Andrew Maloney from Segenhoe Stud, Cressfield Stud’s Bruce Neill and Scott and Grania McAlpine, who bred recent G1 Doomben 10,000 winner Spirit of Boom (Aus) (Sequalo {Aus}) and his fellow Group 1-winning half-brother Temple Of Boom (Aus) (Piccolo {GB}).