By Tom Frary
One race after breaking his duck for the 2026 Royal Ascot meeting, James Doyle was riding the wave again as Jeff Smith's Generic (Kameko) brought up a quickfire double in the G3 Hampton Court Stakes.
Last seen finishing seven lengths adrift of Constitution River in Chester's Dee Stakes, the Andrew Balding-trained homebred stayed on best in a strongly-run renewal to deny Ballydoyle's 11-8 favourite Endorsement (Wootton Bassett) by a length at 18-1. The Hugo Palmer-trained Glacius (Too Darn Hot) was a head further back in third.
“There was a bit of a contest for the lead early and my only slight worry was getting daylight turning in, but he was very brave up to the line,” Doyle said. “He's quite an exciting horse–he looked quite green and lost at Chester but kept going there and Oisin [Murphy] was very complimentary about him.”
Balding added, “He probably was overpriced today. We thought we were in the mix, as it was a strong time at Chester. He was very difficult to train last year–he was quite heavy and had a few soundness issues, but he was gelded over the winter and it's made all the difference. I had put him in the handicap here on Saturday, but I just felt that this looked open enough and worth a go.”
“I thought James gave him a peach of a ride and I'm really delighted for Jeff and thrilled as he's by Kameko who is so under-rated,” he added. “This horse is very much like his dad. I think we have to let the dust settle now and look at our options, but I think this is the ideal trip and he's the type of horse who could go travelling, so we'll look at some nice international races.”
Hugo Palmer was delighted that Glacius was beginning to show his true colours on his seasonal bow following a difficult spring. “I think that, with a run, we would have won but he wasn't ready,” he explained. “We've been waiting and waiting and waiting for this horse. I had a lot of belief in him. He was in the Guineas, he was in the Derby and had all those opportunities, but he wasn't there. He's only been there for the last three weeks. I hope that we can go on from here and have a fun season.”
Generic and James Doyle win the Hampton Court Stakes! #RoyalAscot pic.twitter.com/OZQbRyZj2R
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 18, 2026
Pedigree Notes
Generic, who becomes the fourth Group winner for his sire, is out of Adalene (Makfi) who is also responsible for the Prix Cleopatre-placed Crohanne (Havana Gold). The second dam is the Group 3 winner Marine Bleue (Desert Prince), whose progeny list is headed by the dual Group 2 winner and Group 1-placed UAE runner Military Law (Dubawi) and the Listed scorer Marina Piccola (Halling).
The latter's sons of French Fifteen, French King and Mutabahi, scored at Group 1 and Group 3 level respectively while the family also includes the Falmouth heroine Nahoodh (Clodovil). Adalene's two-year-old filly Sally (Earthlight) was a €14,000 purchase by Razza Latina at the Goffs Autumn Horses-In-Training Sale, while she also has a yearling full-sister to Generic.
Thursday, Royal Ascot, Britain
HAMPTON COURT STAKES-G3, £175,000, Ascot, 6-18, 3yo, 9f 212yT, 2:04.94, g/f.
1–GENERIC (IRE), 128, g, 3, by Kameko
1st Dam: Adalene (GB), by Makfi (GB)
2nd Dam: Marine Bleue (Ire), by Desert Prince (Ire)
3rd Dam: Mirina (Fr), by Pursuit Of Love (GB)
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. (€62,000 Wlg '23 GOFNOF). O-J C Smith; B-Adalene Partners; T-Andrew Balding; J-James Doyle. £99,243. Lifetime Record: 4-2-2-0, $171,834. *1/2 to Crohanne (GB) (Havana Gold {Ire}), GSP-Fr. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Endorsement (Ire), 128, c, 3, Wootton Bassett (GB)–Embellish (Ire), by Galileo (Ire). O-Derrick Smith, Mrs John Magnier, Michael Tabor & Westerberg; B-Embellish Syndicate; T-Aidan O'Brien. £37,625.
3–Glacius (GB), 128, c, 3, Too Darn Hot (GB)–Predawn (Ire), by Fastnet Rock (Aus). O/B-Vefa Ibrahim Araci; T-Hugo Palmer. £18,830.
Margins: 1, HD, NO. Odds: 18.00, 1.38, 33.00.
Also Ran: Oceans Four (GB), Maho Bay (GB), Italy (GB), Mountain Cat (Ire), My Love Is King (GB), Morshdi (GB), Oxagon (Fr).
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