Royal Ascot Round Up

Now the Royal meeting is done and over it feels like a good time to reflect on what ended up being such a memorable week.

Hollie started off as a meeting with a bang aboard Bradsell in the King Stand Group One for Archie Watson and Sheikh Nasa. It was a fantastic achievement as he was Hollie’s Royal Ascot winner last year in the Coventry stakes as a two year old, and now he is a dual Royal Ascot, winner already at the age of three!

My week was a little bit slower to get going, but inevitably looking at my rides Tuesday, always looked to probably be my quietest day in the saddle. Wednesday kicked off with a very near miss in the Queen Mary, aboard Relief Rally, she was so unfortunate not to have landed her nose in front in the right place as she looked to have just caught the American horse in the nick of time, but sadly it wasn’t to be, and she was in front one stride before and one stride after the winning post, but just not where it mattered. She ran her absolute heart out and remains a filly to be extremely excited about for the rest of the season considering that she has probably bumped into the best Sprint fillies around for the season ahead.

My Prospero was also my other main chance of the day and he ran slightly below form especially after last years run, we were hoping he would get back to that form after having had a nice seasonal return in the Lockinge. He travelled well but just sadly didn’t have the same turn of foot as the winner, so we are heading back to the drawing board with him to see how we can get him back to his best form.

Thursday was a truly special experience, however, to ride The King’s first Royal Ascot winner aboard Desert Hero was something so beyond any emotion I’ve ever felt in the saddle before. Aside from the fact that it was an extremely exciting race to watch and ride, the aftermath was what will stick in my memory for life. Parading down the course and having the honour to salute up to the Royal box where The King and Queen were so visibly joyous was something I never thought I would have the privilege of doing in my career. It really took me back to before I had started riding, watching Estimate and Ryan Moore parading down the track in front of Her Late Majesty The Queen, one of the most emotionally stirring moments many of us will have ever witnessed on a racecourse. 

To be welcomed back into the winners enclosure by The King and Queen was extremely special and again a very surreal experience. Their elation was clear for the crowd to see, and will remain my proudest day in the saddle for the rest of my career. William, Maureen and the whole team at Somerville Lodge are so invested in getting the best out of every single horse that comes through the yard, and there have been many moments for them to be proud of through the years, but for the whole team this must be up there with one of their highest achievements!

The day somehow managed to get even better with Waipiro bouncing back from his Derby 6th to destroy the field in the Hampton Court, coming back to 10f was obviously to his liking and it was a great training performance by Ed Walker and his team to have him so well after such a short turn around! Sadly that was his final run in the UK as he will now be heading over to Hong Kong for connections, where hopefully he will be able to stamp himself as a top class middle distance horse, giving him a big chance going into the Hong Kong Derby next year! 

Saturday brought about another close miss aboard Sacred where she ran her heart out to finish a close second in the Queen Elizabeth ll Jubilee Group 1 to Khaadem, whilst obviously it’s always disappointing to be beaten by small margins, she remains a filly I have full belief in to land her maiden Group 1.

Obviously you can tell from this blog that it was an up and down week, but one I will be able to look back on with great joy and pleasure. Having five winners in the week for both Hollie and I feels like a successful meeting but inevitably we will only be looking to get even more succcess next year!

Throughout the week I have been followed around by Harry from M3 Media to document pretty much everything that went on, so we look forward to showing you the end result very soon, keep your eyes peeled for when it gets released!