By Tom Frary
One of Frankel's plethora of TDN Rising Stars, Amo Racing's 1.1million gns Tattersalls October Book 1 purchase Ancient Egypt served notice that he is a genuine Derby contender in Friday's Listed Newmarket Stakes.
All at sea when last seen trailing Bow Echo and co in the Royal Lodge here, the Charlie Johnston-trained relative of the brilliant Midday was able to bowl along in front of My Love Is King (Kingman) as they raced apart from the other three.
Maintaining the gallop down into the dip and up the other side, the blueblood, who was mysteriously allowed to start at inflated odds of 16-1, saw off that rival to score by two lengths. Once he had the early lead, it just felt like a familiar story unfolding for a stable that fares so well at this track.
“He's not quite the finished article yet, he's a baby so he will mature with more time,” jockey Rowan Scott said. “He looks like he'll get further–it was a nice and even gallop and he found a bit more when one came to me.”
This was a first success in the race for Charlie Johnston, whose father Mark captured it with Delsarte, Windhoek and Permian. Successful at Beverley and Goodwood prior to his ultimately fruitless first Pattern-race test in the Royal Lodge, Ancient Egypt was following countless other Kingsley House runners in relishing the Rowley Mile's chalk downland terrain that seems to suit them so well.
“Once he won his two novices, we felt we had to dip our toe in the water in a higher grade at the end of the season but it was always in the back of my head that we might be trying to run before we could walk,” Johnston Jr said. “You only have to watch him today to see he's still an immature baby. He was quite colty on his first two starts and while it was a disappointing run in the Royal Lodge, I didn't lose faith in the horse.”
“This spring both Rowan and David [Egan] have been in to sit on him a couple of times and the feedback I was getting is that we should be going a mile and a half straight away. The original plan had been to go to Chester next week, but he worked with Lazy Griff last Saturday and I thought he was in great order, so I felt we shouldn't bypass this opportunity today.”
“He will stay the extra two furlongs standing on his head and his next run will be at Epsom,” he added. “He's got a nice blend of speed and stamina, which you need for a test like that and came down the dip here okay although Epsom is obviously another challenge altogether. I don't get sent many horses with this kind of price tag, so to deliver with them is important.”
Ancient Egypt's dam Atone (Oasis Dream), who was a 300,000gns purchase by BBA Ireland from the Juddmonte draft at the 2022 Tattersalls December Sale, is a full-sister to the aforementioned Midday whose top-level exploits included three editions of the Nassau and a Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf. She in turn produced the dual Group 3 winner Midterm by Frankel's sire Galileo, Frankel's Height of Fashion winner and Ribblesdale runner-up Mori and another Galileo in the Musidora second Noon Star.
Frankel was also responsible for Midday's Group 3-winning and British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes-placed half-sister Sun Maiden, while her other half-sibling of note is the Nell Gwyn winner and Nassau third Hot Snap (Pivotal), producer of the G3 Priory Belle scorer Swelter (Kingman). Also related to Nureyev's Oaks heroine Reams Of Verse and the sire Elmaamul, Atone who had earlier produced the G3 Park Express Stakes runner-up Redressed (Le Havre) has a two-year-old colt by Lucky Vega and a yearling filly by Grunt to come.
JCB NEWMARKET STAKES-Listed, £60,000, Newmarket, 5-1, 3yo, c/g, 10fT, 2:03.80, g/f.
1–ANCIENT EGYPT (IRE), 128, c, 3, by Frankel (GB)
1st Dam: Atone (GB), by Oasis Dream (GB)
2nd Dam: Midsummer (GB), by Kingmambo
3rd Dam: Modena, by Roberto
TDN Rising Star. 1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. (1,100,000gns Ylg '24
TATOCT). O-Amo Racing Limited; B-Yulong Investments
(Australia) Pty; T-Charlie Johnston; J-Rowan Scott. £34,026.
Lifetime Record: 4-3-0-0, $73,592.
2–My Love Is King (GB), 128, c, 3, Kingman (GB)–Fallen In Love
(GB), by Galileo (Ire). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O/B-Normandie Stud
Ltd; T-John & Thady Gosden. £12,900.
3–Archers Bay (Ire), 128, c, 3, Wootton Bassett (GB)–Foxtrot Liv
(GB), by Foxwedge (Aus). 1ST BLACK TYPE. (30,000gns 2yo '25
TATAHI). O-Walter Moraes & Ajay Anne; B-Foxtrot Liv
Syndicate; T-Marco Botti. £6,456.
Margins: 2, 1 1/4, 2 1/4. Odds: 16.00, 3.30, 12.00.
Also Ran: Lyneham (Ire), Poseidon's Warrior (Ire).
🟣 Ancient Egypt lands the Listed Newmarket Stakes pic.twitter.com/DqZ0Ktvidp
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) May 1, 2026
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