Slade Power completed an unforgettable Royal Ascot for Irish trainer Eddie Lynam when he notched a scorching win in Saturday’s Diamond Jubilee Stakes.
Jockeys shunned what has been the favoured stands’ rail this week with the majority of the field heading to the far side rail from the centrally positioned stalls, leaving a smaller group of five to race down the centre.
There was nowhere to hid, with Astaire and Gordon Lord Byron challenging each other on in the early exchanges and setting a ferocious gallop. Slade Power, who had been hotting up before the start, relished the early speed and jockey Wayne Lordan admitted that his horse was on terms slightly earlier than planned, passing the front-runners heading into the final furlong.
Sprinting away from the pack, it looked as though Slade Power had it in the bag, but then the 3yo Due Diligence and Aljamaaheer rallied strongly to mount a late challenge. However, the 7-2 favourite finished best to beat runner-up Due Diligence by one-and-a-half lengths, with Aljamaaheer third.
Slade Power’s win came four days after stablemate Sole Power won the Gr1 King’s Stand Stakes for the same owners on Tuesday. The Power family are known for their bookmaking exploits and would have been particularly pleased with Slade Power’s Gr1 win as they were also the winning breeders and confirmed that the colt is still entire.
Lynam had placed a £500 double bet at 66-1 on his two top sprinters winning and collected handsomely. He said his sprint duo would now be aimed at the July Cup at Newmarket. Lynam was also on the mark with Queen Mary heroine Anthem Alexander on Wednesday, so Slade Power’s victory means Lynam returns to Ireland with three winners from four runners, making it his personal best Royal Ascot festival.
“Without a doubt it’s the best week of my training career,” said Lynam, but the County Meath trainer was characteristically self-deprecating about his achievement. “Trainers get 10 per cent (of prize-money) for a reason – it’s only 10 per cent to do with us. I’m very lucky to have very good horses, good owners and a good family to back me up, and marvelous staff. It’s been a great week and there’s nowhere I love having winners more than here. I knew he’d pull up and I saw a couple flying home but he got there. Because we bred him it’s special.”
Jockey Lordan was understandably pleased with the performance. “He travelled real well and I got there a little bit soon but I had plenty left and I’m delighted. He always gets a little bit warm and if he wasn’t doing it I’d be worried. It feels great; we don’t come across these horses very often.”
The victory was a third consecutive one for favourites on a day that turned out to be one to forget for bookmakers.
The ‘Power’ duo could square up to Due Diligence again in the July Cup, with the trainer of the runner-up suggesting that would be the next target. Of his charge, Aidan O’Brien said: “I’m very happy. It’s his first time with the older sprinters and we really couldn’t be happier. Ryan Moore said he was getting a little bit lonely and wanted to drift over. All the pace was on the other side but he ran home really well. We felt he would learn a lot today and we think he did. The July Cup looks the obvious race.”
As always, Ascot has been full of thrills, spills and great racing. A full recap of the week’s results is listed below:-
First Day, Tuesday, 17 June 2014
Gr1 Queen Anne Stakes (British Champions Series)
TORONADO (IRE) (Al Shaqab Racing) Richard Hannon 4-9-00 Richard Hughes [8] 4/5f
Gr1 Coventry Stakes
THE WOW SIGNAL (IRE) (Al Shaqab Racing) John Quinn 2-9-01 Frankie Dettori [1] 5/1jf
Gr1 King’s Stand Stakes (British Champions Series & Global Sprint Challenge)
SOLE POWER (Sabena Power) Edward Lynam IRE 7-9-04 Richard Hughes [8] 5/1
Gr1 St James’s Palace Stakes (British Champions Series)
KINGMAN (Khalid Abdullah) John Gosden 3-9-00 James Doyle [7] 8/11f
Ascot Stakes (Handicap)
DOMINATION (Carol Cleary) Charles Byrnes IRE 7-9-07 Fran Berry [17] 12/1
Windsor Castle Stakes (Listed)
HOOTENANNY (USA) (Derrick Smith, Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor) Wesley Ward USA b2-9-03 Victor Espinoza [25] 7/2f
Second Day, Wednesday, 18 June 2014
Gr2 Jersey Stakes
MUSTAJEEB (Hamdan Al Maktoum) Dermot Weld IRE 3-9-04 Pat Smullen [19] 9/2jf
Gr2 Queen Mary Stakes
ANTHEM ALEXANDER (IRE) (Noel O’Callaghan) Edward Lynam IRE 2-9-00 Pat Smullen [12] 9/4f
Gr1 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes (British Champions Series)
THE FUGUE (Lord Lloyd-Webber) John Gosden 5-8-11 William Buick [7] 11/2
Gr2 Duke Of Cambridge Stakes (Formerly The Windsor Forest Stakes)
INTEGRAL (Cheveley Park Stud) Sir Michael Stoute 4-9-00 Ryan Moore [9] 9/4f
Royal Hunt Cup (Heritage Handicap)
FIELD OF DREAM (N Jackson) Jamie Osborne hb7-9-01 Adam Kirby [33] 20/1
Sandringham Handicap (Listed)
MUTEELA (Hamdan Al Maktoum) Mark Johnston 3-8-13 Paul Hanagan [22] 9/2f
Third Day, Thursday, 19 June 2014
Gr2 Norfolk Stakes
BAITHA ALGA (IRE) (Al Shaqab Racing) Richard Hannon 2-9-01 Frankie Dettori [7] 8/1
Gr3 Tercentenary Stakes (Formerly The Hampton Court Stakes)
CANNOCK CHASE (USA) (Saeed Suhail) Sir Michael Stoute 3-9-00 Ryan Moore [7] 7/4f
Gr2 Ribblesdale Stakes
BRACELET (IRE) (Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Sue Magnier) Aidan O’Brien IRE h3-9-00 Joseph O’Brien [3] 10/1
Gr1 Gold Cup (British Champions Series)
LEADING LIGHT (IRE) (Derrick Smith, Sue Magnier & Michael Tabor) Aidan O’Brien IRE p4-9-00 Joseph O’Brien [14] 10/11f
Britannia Stakes (Heritage Handicap)
BORN IN BOMBAY (George Strawbridge) Andrew Balding 3-8-04 David Probert [26] 14/1
King George V Stakes (Handicap)
ELITE ARMY (Godolphin) Saeed bin Suroor 3-9-01 Kieren Fallon [14] 4/1jf
Fourth Day, Friday, 20 June 2014
Gr3 Albany Stakes
CURSORY GLANCE (USA) (Merry Fox Stud Ltd) Roger Varian 2-9-00 Andrea Atzeni [17] 14/1
Wolferton Handicap (Listed)
CONTRIBUTER (IRE) (George Bolton) Ed Dunlop 4-9-05 George Baker [15] 9/1
Gr2 King Edward VII Stakes
EAGLE TOP (Lady Bamford) John Gosden 3-9-00 William Buick [5] 12/1
Gr1 Coronation Stakes (British Champions Series)
RIZEENA (IRE) (Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum) Clive Brittain 3-9-00 Ryan Moore [7] 11/2
Queen’s Vase (Listed)
HARTNELL (Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum) Mark Johnston 3-9-03 Joe Fanning [2] 7/2
Buckingham Palace Stakes (Handicap)
LOUIS THE PIOUS (Frank Gillespie) David O’Meara h6-9-04 Silvestre De Sousa [29] 33/1
Fifth Day, Saturday, 21 June 2014
Chesham Stakes (Listed)
RICHARD PANKHURST (Rachel Hood) John Gosden h2-9-03 William Buick [7] 10/1
Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes (Handicap)
ARAB SPRING (IRE) (Ballymacoll Stud) Sir Michael Stoute 4-9-10 Ryan Moore [12] 11/4f
Gr2 Hardwicke Stakes (Group 2)
TELESCOPE (IRE) (Highclere Thoroughbred Racing-Wavetree) Sir Michael Stoute 4-9-01 Ryan Moore [8] 7/4f
Gr1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes (British Champions Series & Global Sprint Challenge)
SLADE POWER (IRE) (Sabena Power) Edward Lynam IRE 5-9-04 Wayne Lordan [4] 7/2f
Wokingham Stakes (Heritage Handicap)
BACCARAT (IRE) (Sir Robert Ogden) Richard Fahey 5-9-02 George Chaloner (3) [27] 9/1
Queen Alexandra Stakes (Conditions Race)
PIQUE SOUS (FR) (Supreme Horse Racing Club) Willie Mullins IRE t7-9-02 Ryan Moore [15] 11/4
