Royal Ascot

Aughamore Stud's Michael Gleeson has said that producing Asadna (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), arguably the most impressive two-year-old winner there has been so far this season and a genuine Royal Ascot contender, eclipses anything the family-run farm has achieved in the sales ring.  Gleeson runs one of the shrewdest breeding and pinhooking operations in Ireland along with his brother Laurence. The Westmeath men have made a habit of producing a number of big results at the sales in recent years and are now savouring what looks a real Coventry S. contender...

The second episode of An American Dream: The Return to Royal Ascot, a series following American Harlan Malter's ambitious quest to return to Royal Ascot with a horse sired by his G1 King's Stand S. runner Bucchero (Kantharos), was released by Great British Racing International (GBRI) and Ascot Racecourse on Sunday. The new episode follows Malter and Florida-based trainer Joe Orseno as they attempt to win Gulfstream Park's inaugural Royal Palm Juvenile S. with Mattingly (Bucchero), who finished second to No Nay Mets (Ire) (No Nay Never) in the automatic...

Alice Haynes and Ado McGuinness, who have emblazoned the value on offer at the breeze-up sales by hitting the ground running with their respective purchases this season, have described shopping in that market as a hugely important aspect of their business.  Well-known breeze-up consignor Eddie Linehan of Lackendarra Stables agrees with Haynes and McGuinness that the value has favoured the buyer when it has come to shopping at the middle to lower tiers of the market due to the amount of choice in that sector. However, Linehan, who admitted that...

When Porta Fortuna (Ire) (Caravaggio {Ire}) won the G3 Coolmore Stud Irish EBF Fillies Sprint S. at Naas on Sunday, there was a collective cheer from her new partners across the pond. Medallion Racing, a racing partnership put together by Taylor Made Farm, bought the two-year-old filly after her five-furlong win at the Curragh in April with partners Barry Fowler, Steve Weston and Dean Reeves. She took the Sunday stakes at Naas in just her second start, her first for the new partners, and now will head to Royal Ascot....

Two-time Pennsylvania-bred Horse of the Year and GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner Caravel (Mizzen Mast) continues to train at Churchill Downs following her victory in the $300,000 Unbridled Sidney S. on Kentucky Oaks Day. Owned in partnership by Qatar Racing, Marc Detampel and Madaket Stables, Caravel is likely to make her next start at Royal Ascot in the G1 King's Stand S. Tuesday, June 20. The Brad Cox-trainee galloped about 1 3/8 miles Friday under exercise rider Fernando Espinoza. Caravel would be Cox's first starter at Royal Ascot. "One...

When the market determines the value of something, they call it "the going rate." In the case of George Weaver's two juvenile winners at Gulfstream last Saturday, however, a recent pricing had meant that neither was going anywhere. No Nay Mets (Ire) (No Nay Never) was staying in the same ownership; and Crimson Advocate (Nyquist) was staying in the same barn. And now both, from going nowhere, are on their way to Royal Ascot next month. No Nay Mets, in particular, has had an extraordinary month. On Apr. 17, he...

2nd-Horseshoe Indianapolis, $34,000, Msw, 5-15, 2yo, 4 1/2f, :52.90, ft, 2 lengths. LAUGH NOW (c, 2, Vino Rosso--Little Pao, by Tiznow) had the last laugh here, and broke his maiden as well as tallied the first victory as a sire for Vino Rosso (by Curlin). The stallion also had  the third place finisher Zaino in the Royal Palm Juvenile S., a qualifier for Royal Ascot. Eighth last out at Keeneland Apr. 27 after breaking inward and tiring on that unveiling, conditioner John Ennis armed his colt with a pair of...

It was Mike Tyson who famously said, 'everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.' Racing is a sport where the metaphoric punches can be unrelenting.  Therefore, when New York-based trainer Tom Morley dreamed up the idea of purchasing a filly with the idea of returning home to England to try and win the G2 Queen Mary S. at Royal Ascot, he knew the plan was a daring one.  But credit to Cynane (Omaha Beach), bought for $250,000 through Oracle Bloodstock at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale,...

Trainer George Weaver booked a traveling companion for his earlier Royal Palm Juvenile winner No Nay Mets as Crimson Advocate went gate-to-wire in the filly's division, stamping her own ticket to next month's Royal Ascot meet. One of the few fillies in the field with prior experience--a third sprinting 4 1/2 furlongs at Keeneland Apr. 26--Crimson Advocate got the best break of the field and never gave the others a chance, opening up a length in the first furlong and never letting anyone get a step closer. Wesley Ward's Ocean...

A recent RNA out of the OBS April Sale, No Nay Mets booked his ticket to Royal Ascot with a win Saturday in the inaugural Royal Palm Juvenile. Facing a field of mostly first-time starters, the son of Ireland-based No Nay Never was given only a mild 10-1 shot but broke right to the front from an outside gate under Luca Panici. With the best speed of the group, he out-sprinted his rivals to clear into the far turn through a half in :45.44 and only pulled further away from...

Cynane (Omaha Beach), who became the first winner for her freshman sire (by War Front) with a front-running, 2 3/4-length debut victory in a five-furlong turf sprint at Belmont Park May 11, will likely make her next appearance in the G2 Queen Mary S. for 2-year-old fillies during the prestigious Royal Ascot meeting, trainer Tom Morley said Friday. "That's the plan at the moment," said Morley. "She came out of the race really well and she's got a great mind and really good appetite--she was screaming for her feed tub...

The G1 Platinum Jubilee S. will be renamed in memory of Her Late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, Ascot Racecourse announced on Thursday. Beginning with the 2023 edition on the final day of Royal Ascot, the race will be known as The Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee S. Sir Francis Brooke Bt. His Majesty's Representative at Ascot, said, "The Late Queen's close association with Ascot Racecourse was well known throughout the world, but no race at the Royal Meeting previously carried the name of Queen Elizabeth II. "His Majesty The King has...