By Tom Frary
It is taking almost a crowbar to deny Joseph O'Brien at Royal Ascot this week, but luckily for Wathnan and James Doyle they had the equine equivalent as the operation's recent acquisition Earth Shot (Time Test) got up to deny the Owning Hill runner Johanna Walsh (Sea The Stars) late in a thrilling G2 Ribblesdale Stakes.
Rated highly from an early point by William Haggas, the bargain 90,000gns Tattersalls October Book 2 purchase who is a half-sister to Wednesday's Prince of Wales's pacemaker Devil's Advocate had been sold by Childwickbury Stud's Paul and Sally Flatt for considerably more after narrowly missing out to the subsequent Prix de Diane third Inis Mor in Goodwood's Height Of Fashion last month.
Needing to be nimble in a renewal in which Lady Roisia (St Mark's Basilica) stumbled and unseated Hector Crouch exiting the stalls and continued riderless among the group, the 4-1 second favourite who had been compromisingly wide on the home turn kept coming to overhaul Johanna Walsh close home and prevail by a head. Gilded Prize (Frankel) was a length away for Juddmonte, whose 13-8 favourite Legacy Link (Dubawi) was disappointing in seventh backing up from the Oaks.
“She's always been a beautiful filly and I thought she possibly should have won at Goodwood,” Haggas said. “We always had hopes she would be good and, I guess, for a middle-distance filly, winning the Ribblesdale is second best to winning the Oaks–it's a hell of a prize to win.”
Doyle was getting off the mark for the week and said, “When there's a loose horse involved, you're obviously hostage to fortune a bit but I found a lovely, relaxed rhythm–she is that way. She looks at things and takes it all in in a good way, so she saves plenty. When we got to the turn, she started to zoom into it really good and she really stuck her neck out.”
“This is a meeting we always target and we know how important it is to have winners here, but we also know how humbling it can be,” he added. “We've had lots of good chances over the past couple of days and fell a long way short, not just short, so it really does put manners on you and you really do have to take it in when you get a winner on the board here. You have to really enjoy it.”
Joseph O'Brien said of Johanna Walsh, “It was a messy enough race with the loose horse, who probably interfered with us a bit but the winner was probably affected as much as we were. We are very proud of her run, delighted for Wells [Watson] who owns her and Andrew who bought her. Her best days are ahead of her.”
Oisin Murphy said of Gilded Prize, “It was a super run. She got a lovely trip inside and it opened up nicely for her. It was a bit messy late on with the loose horse and Dylan's horse wandering about, but she had every chance.”
Got there very late! Earth Shot wins the Ribblesdale Stakes! #RoyalAscot pic.twitter.com/BATUKRO9AN
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 18, 2026
Pedigree Notes
Earth Shot is the fourth foal out of the Bronte Cup winner and Lancashire Oaks-placed Precious Ramotswe (Nathaniel), whose aforementioned son of Too Darn Hot, Devil's Advocate, is Listed-placed. She is a granddaughter of Rebecca Sharp (Machiavellian), who captured the Coronation Stakes here, while another family member is Frankel's Frankly Darling who won this in 2020 and went on to be third in the delayed Covid-19 Oaks.
Connected to the Derby and Arc-winning sire Golden Horn, Precious Ramotswe's two-year-old colt Sea Fortress (Sea The Stars) was a 400,000gns purchase by Stroud Coleman Bloodstock at Tattersalls October Book 1. She also has a full-sister to Devil's Advocate foaled this year.
Thursday, Royal Ascot, Britain
RIBBLESDALE STAKES-G2, £250,000, Ascot, 6-18, 3yo, f, 11f 211yT, 2:30.18, g/f.
1–EARTH SHOT (IRE), 128, f, 3, by Time Test (GB)
1st Dam: Precious Ramotswe (GB) (GSW-Eng, $118,998), by Nathaniel (Ire)
2nd Dam: Miss Pinkerton (GB), by Danehill
3rd Dam: Rebecca Sharp (GB), by Machiavellian
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. (90,000gns Ylg '24 TATOCT). O-Wathnan Racing; B-Hascombe & Valiant Stud Ltd; T-William Haggas; J-James Doyle. £141,775. Lifetime Record: 4-2-2-0, $240,791. *1/2 to Devil's Advocate (GB) (Too Darn Hot {GB}), SP-Eng. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Johanna Walsh (Ire), 128, f, 3, Sea The Stars (Ire)–Miss Aiglonne (GB), by Dawn Approach (Ire). 1ST BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (€460,000 Ylg '24 GOFORY). O-Wells Watson; B-Sunderland Holding Inc; T-Joseph O'Brien. £53,750.
3–Gilded Prize (GB), 128, f, 3, Frankel (GB)–Grand Jete (GB), by Dansili (GB). TDN Rising Star. O-Juddmonte; B-Juddmonte Farms Ltd; T-Francis-Henri Graffard. £26,900.
Margins: HD, 1, 2 3/4. Odds: 4.00, 9.00, 5.00.
Also Ran: Brilliant Star (GB), Composing (Ire), Warriors Whisper (Ire), Legacy Link (GB), Venetia (GB), Dark Lucinda (Ire), Golden Orbit (GB), Maldives (Ire). DNF: Lady Roisia (GB).
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