By Tom Frary
Atoning for the eclipse of the Aykroyds' Derby hope Pride Of Arras, their other prized homebred Amiloc (Postponed) maintained his unbeaten sequence in Friday's G2 King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot. Sent off the 11-8 favourite for the mile-and-a-half “Ascot Derby”, the Ralph Beckett-trained Listed Cocked Hat Stakes winner followed Ballydoyle's Galveston (Frankel) before taking over two out and asserting for a 3/4-of-a-length verdict under Rossa Ryan. Zahrann (Night Of Thunder) closed to be second, two lengths ahead of the tiring Galveston.
“Rossa said the ground felt quick on him and you could see his stride shortening in the last half-furlong–he was feeling the ground so I think we will bear that in mind in future,” Ralph Beckett said. “We had conversations last night and this morning about whether we should come. Patrick Cooper, Mr Aykroyd's nephew and Mrs Aykroyd's racing manager, decided this was a good idea and I agreed, so it all worked out.”
“I don't think we've ever had one with five straight wins, so that's good. I wouldn't be afraid to take anybody on with him on slower ground. He is entered in everything, although it is going to take a bit of getting over today by the look of him. If it came up soft next month for the King George, or with a bit of juice, I am sure we would be here.”
Rossa Ryan added, “Amiloc was never really comfortable on that sort of ground and that was the only concern I had. He seemed to move okay to post but, when we came out of Swinley Bottom I was just feeling it a small bit. He is one tough cookie and I would imagine when he gets on slower ground, he will be a better horse again. It is exciting. It is a pity he is gelded, but he is a lovely horse for absolutely brilliant owners.”
Johnny Murtagh said of the runner-up, “Zahrann lost nothing in defeat. Ben [Coen] just said they quickened up from four out and just had him off the bridle a little bit earlier than ideal. I am not saying he wants soft ground, but a little bit more juice in it would help him travel a bit longer. He had a hard race today and he has been progressive quickly, so maybe he'll have a quiet couple of weeks. You would love to think he might be an Arc horse one day, and the connections would love that race. He has a bit to go to get there, but he might.”
Pedigree Notes
Amiloc, who is his Listed Lingfield Oaks Trial-placed dam Colima's name spelt backwards, is a half-brother to the dual Group 3 winner and G1 Metropolitan runner-up Brimham Rock (Fastnet Rock) and the Listed Gillies Fillies' Stakes winner and G2 Middleton Stakes runner-up Chamade (Sepoy). The second dam is the Listed Valiant Stakes-placed Coyote (Indian Ridge), whose other black-type performers were the G3 Park Express Stakes winner and G1 Irish 1,000 Guineas-placed Oh Goodness Me (Galileo) and the Listed Braveheart Stakes winner and G3 Prix Gontaut-Biron-placed Eradicate by Montjeu, sire of Colima's sire Authorized. Her yearling is a colt by Territories.
Friday, Royal Ascot, Britain
KING EDWARD VII STAKES-G2, £250,000, Royal Ascot, 6-20, 3yo, c/g, 11f 211yT, 2:28.67, g/f.
1–AMILOC (GB), 128, g, 3, by Postponed (Ire)
1st Dam: Colima (Ire) (SP-Eng), by Authorized (Ire)
2nd Dam: Coyote (GB), by Indian Ridge (Ire)
3rd Dam: Caramba (GB), by Belmez
1ST GROUP WIN. O-Mrs David Aykroyd; B-Mr & Mrs David
Aykroyd; T-Ralph Beckett; J-Rossa Ryan. £141,775. Lifetime
Record: 5-5-0-0, $271,558. *1/2 to Brimham Rocks (GB)
(Fastnet Rock {Aus}), MGSW & G1SP-Aus, $747,569; 1/2 to
Chamade (GB) (Sepoy {Aus}), SW & GSP-Eng. Werk Nick
Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Zahrann (Ire), 128, c, 3, Night Of Thunder (Ire)–Zannda (Ire),
by Azamour (Ire). 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. O/B-The Aga
Khan's Studs; T-Johnny Murtagh. £53,750.
3–Galveston (GB), 128, c, 3, Frankel (GB)–Bizzarria (GB), by
Lemon Drop Kid. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE.
(2,000,000gns Ylg '23 TATOCT). O-Mrs J Magnier/M Tabor/D
Smith/P M Brant; B-Hascombe & Valiant Stud Ltd; T-Aidan
O'Brien. £26,900.
Margins: 3/4, 2 1/4, HF. Odds: 1.38, 2.75, 20.00.
Also Ran: Wimbledon Hawkeye (GB), Green Storm (Ire), Nightwalker (GB), Regal Ulixes (GB), Minhad (GB), Opportunity (GB). Scratched: Convergent (Ire), Puppet Master (Ire).
ALL HEART! AMILOC WINS THE KING EDWARD VII STAKES! #ROYALASCOT pic.twitter.com/eRkzOlFkNr
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 20, 2025
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