US
Trainer Kenny McPeek Keen To Have Runners
Exciting global entries
are revealed today for the seven Group One races run this year at Royal Ascot,
which takes place from Tuesday, June 18 to Saturday, June 22 inclusive.
The wonderfully
cosmopolitan nature of the Royal Meeting, which has record prize money of £5
million in 2013, continues to expand year by year and up to a dozen countries
could be represented in the Group One contests this year.
In total, there are 367
Group One entries - up from 344 in 2012 - and the highest figure since 2008.
Further international
representation is expected in Royal Ascot's Group Two contests, the entries for
which are revealed next week, while American handler Wesley Ward is considering
sending a team to contest the two-year-old contests at the meeting.
All the Group One races at
Royal Ascot are part of the QIPCO British Champions Series, with the King's
Stand Stakes and the Diamond Jubilee Stakes being the first two British legs of
the Global Sprint Challenge.
"We are delighted
with the number of entries, the range of countries that they represent and the
overall quality," said Nick Smith, Head of Communications and
International Racing at Ascot.
"The interest from
the USA is particularly strong this year, headlined by arguably the highest
profile horse in the world in Animal Kingdom. If he were to add a Royal Ascot
Group One to victories in the Kentucky Derby and Dubai World Cup he would cement
and enhance his position as an all-time great on the world stage.
"It's particularly
good to see Mike De Kock planning to have runners for South Africa after
another tremendous Dubai Carnival. It is probably worth noting that there were
eight thoroughbred races on the card on Dubai World Cup night - the world's
most international race meeting - and seven of them have been entered across
the Royal Ascot Group One programme.
"Australia's star
act, so long as he comes through the All Aged Stakes on Saturday in good shape,
is Black Caviar's half-brother, All Too Hard, and he heads a habitually strong
team from there. The Japanese three-year-old A Shin Top has looked special to
date and the Hong Kong sprinters are always to be feared, especially having hit
the board here with Little Bridge last year.
"In addition we have
more familiar European stars to look forward to seeing in June including,
hopefully, some of Cirrus Des Aigles, Camelot, St Nicholas Abbey, Moonlight
Cloud and Dawn Approach. The three-year-old picture will become clearer after
the QIPCO Guineas Meeting, of course."
Day 1 - Tuesday, June 18,
2013
£350,000 QUEEN ANNE
STAKES, ONE MILE
The opening race of Royal
Ascot, the £350,000 Queen Anne Stakes over the straight mile, has been a
highlight of the meeting in the last few years with Goldikova (2010), Canford
Cliffs (2011) and Frankel (2012) having taken the honours.
International entries
feature prominently with Kentucky Derby and Dubai World Cup hero ANIMAL
KINGDOM (Graham Motion, USA) having the Queen Anne as his primary option
along with the 10-furlong Prince of Wales's Stakes on the Wednesday. The
five-year-old has arrived in Britain and is based at David Lanigan's yard in
Lambourn.
ALL TOO HARD (John Hawkes, Australia),
a half-brother to wonder mare Black Caviar, is a three-time Group One winner
Down Under and Australia's best seven-furlong/mile performer, having taken the
2012 Caulfield Guineas as well as the Group One Orr Stakes and Group One
Futurity Stakes, both over seven furlongs, at the same venue this year. He runs
in the All Aged Stakes this Saturday in Sydney and all being well will ship to
the UK after that.
South Africa is
represented by SOFT FALLING RAIN (Mike de Kock), who was last seen
taking the Group Two Godolphin Mile at Meydan on Dubai World Cup night, March
30. He also holds an entry in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes.
Europe is also well
represented, with six entries from Ireland, three from France and two from
Germany.
One of the French-trained
trio, DON BOSCO (David Smaga) is owned by screen legend and
world-renowned bridge expert Omar Sharif.
£350,000 KING'S STAND
STAKES, FIVE FURLONGS
Run over five furlongs,
the King's Stand Stakes is the first British leg of the Global Sprint Challenge
and has attracted 49 entries.
Australia has taken the
King's Stand Stakes four times and the two entries from that country in 2013
are SHAMEXPRESS (Danny O'Brien), winner of the Group One Newmarket
Handicap at Flemington on March 9, and SEA SIREN (John O'Shea),
successful in the Group One Manikato Stakes at Moonee Valley in October, 2012
and runner up to Mental in the Patinack Farm Classic at Flemington the
following month.
OVERDOSE (Josef Roszival, Hungary)
finished fourth in the 2011 renewal and could return as an eight-year-old,
while SHEA SHEA (Mike de Kock, South Africa) was successful in the Group
One Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan on Dubai World Cup night and is firmly on course
to give that country's most famous trainer a debut Royal Ascot success.
£350,000 ST JAMES'S PALACE
STAKES, ONE MILE
The St James's Palace
Stakes, worth £100,000 extra this year, is the third Group One on the opening
day and has 58 entries.
The £350,000 contest
brings together the cream of the three-old colts over the round mile and there
are entries from around the world.
Those entries include the
Japanese-trained A SHIN TOP (Masato Nishizono), a leading two-year-old
in his homeland last year and a Group Two winner last time out at Nakayama on
April 6. He runs in the NHK Mile Cup in early May and a good run there will see
him book his ticket.
Leading US handler Kenny
McPeek could have three runners at Royal Ascot this year, with JAVA'S WAR and
WAR DANCER possible starters in the St James's Palace Stakes.
Java's War announced
himself as a serious contender for the Kentucky Derby when coming from an
unfavourable position to land the Grade One Toyota Blue Grass Stakes on
Polytrack by a neck at Keeneland on April 13. The son of War Pass, who made a
winning debut on turf in September, had previously chased home Kentucky Derby
favourite Verrazano in the Grade Two Tampa Bay Derby on dirt in March.
McPeek revealed:
"Java's War has been good since his win in the Blue Grass Stakes and there
have been no problems but whether or not he goes to Royal Ascot would depend on
how he is running and doing over the next several weeks.
"He ran an excellent
race in the Blue Grass and he is a horse who certainly understands what he is
supposed to do when he is out there. I would be a little bit concerned that the
St James' Palace Stakes will be a little bit too short for him but the way the
track is, it plays out a little further and brings stamina into play.
"I think he likes the
synthetics but he has run well on everything we have put him on and his
pedigree suggests turf. Mr Fipke (the owner) will ultimately decide where we
run but I think it is a good option for him.
"He will definitely
run in the Kentucky Derby next and his run behind Verrazano is obviously good
form because he (Verrazano) is now favourite for the race. The Kentucky Derby
is a different race though - at a mile and a quarter - anything can
happen."
War Dancer, a son of War
Front, has won two of his three starts on turf and scored decisively over a
mile and a furlong at Keeneland on April 10.
McPeek continued:
"War Dancer was very impressive on his latest start. He got left at the
gate but proceeded to win anyway and is a horse with a big future.
"We really like this
horse on the grass and I would love to think he could make the St James' Palace
Stakes.
"Although he hasn't
had a lot of racing, I know he is very talented and we are going to run him in
the Grade Two American Turf at Churchill Downs on May 3.
"If he was to win
that, I would be really interested to see how he would get on in a race like the
St James's Palace."
Owner Ken Ramsey has been
a great supporter of Royal Ascot and he could be represented by CHARMING
KITTEN (Todd Pletcher, USA), who was third behind Java's War in the Blue
Grass Stakes.
Day 2 - Wednesday, June
19, 2013
£500,000 PRINCE OF WALES'S
STAKES, 10 FURLONGS
The Prince of Wales's
Stakes on day two could well prove to be the one of the races of the meeting
with a possible clash between CAMELOT (Aidan O'Brien, Ireland), the 2012
2000 Guineas and Derby winner, and CIRRUS DES AIGLES (Corine
Barande-Barbe, France) a strong possibility. Cirrus Des Aigles won the QIPCO
Champion Stakes in 2011 and beat all bar the mighty Frankel in the same race
last year. He is currently the highest-rated horse in the world.
A total of 40 entries have
been received, with multiple Group One scorers ST NICHOLAS ABBEY (Aidan
O'Brien, Ireland) and SNOW FAIRY (Ed Dunlop) adding further spice to the
mix.
DAY 3 - Thursday, June 20,
2013
£350,000 GOLD CUP, TWO AND
A HALF MILES
Always one of the highlights
of the meeting, the 54 entries for this year's renewal of the Gold Cup include
two of the last three winners in COLOUR VISION (Saeed bin Suroor), the
2012 scorer, and RITE OF PASSAGE (Dermot Weld, Ireland), the winner in
2010 who returned from a long layoff to capture last season's QIPCO British
Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot in October.
SIMENON (Willie Mullins, Ireland)
was a dual winner at the Royal Meeting in 2012, taking the Ascot Stakes and the
Queen Alexandra Stakes.
DAY 4 - Friday, June 21,
2013
£350,000 CORONATION
STAKES, ONE MILE
The mile contest for
three-year-old fillies has attracted 58 entries for the 2013 renewal after
being boosted in value to £350,000 from £250,000.
As well as the usual
strong European representation, McPeek could be represented by PURE FUN,
who was a top-class two-year-old in the USA last season, annexing the Grade One
Hollywood Starlet Stakes on Cushion Track at Hollywood Park in December.
The daughter of Pure Prize
was third on her return in the Grade Three Fathead Bourbonette Stakes at Tampa
Bay Downs in March but found life tougher against the colts in the Grade Three
Coolmore Lexington Stakes at Keeneland on April 20, when seventh.
McPeek said: "I
wanted to have the Coronation Stakes as an option for Pure Fun. She is owned by
a nice group of people and it will depend on how she runs in the Kentucky Oaks.
"She has been
competitive on the grass and she has already won a Grade One so to even place
in another one would be a big deal.
"There have been
excuses for her performances this season. I think she needed the run first time
out and then she was in against the colts next time. The original plan was the
run in the Honeybee Stakes and then the Fantasy Stakes but things didn't work
out.
"We have had a couple
of misfires but we are regrouping and I think she is well prepared for the
Kentucky Oaks. We feel like we have got her right and she travelled from
Keeneland to Churchill yesterday and will train here up until the Oaks."
McPeek is no stranger to
having runners at Ascot, having sent over Hard Buck to finish second in the
2004 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes, while his most recent runner
at the Royal meeting, Casper's Touch, was third in the 2010 Chesham Stakes.
DAY 5 - Saturday, June 22,
2013
£500,000 DIAMOND JUBILEE
STAKES, SIX FURLONGS
The six-furlong Diamond
Jubilee Stakes often proves to be the most cosmopolitan race of the week and
that will almost certainly be the case again in 2013 with no less than eight
countries represented entries at entries stage.
Australia's entries
include the aforementioned ALL TOO HARD (John Hawkes) SEA SIREN (John
O'Shea) and SHAMEXPRESS (Danny O'Brien), while South Africa's two
possible challengers are the Mike de Kock-trained duo of SHEA SHEA and
SOFT FALLING RAIN.
A brace of entries from
the USA could see two new faces have their first runners at Royal Ascot. HANDSOME
MIKE (Doug O'Neill) is a versatile performer stateside, with his victories
including the nine-furlong Grade Two Pennsylvania Derby and the Grade Three
Commonwealth Stakes over seven furlongs at Keeneland. HAVELOCK (Darrin
Miller) has been campaigned mostly over six and seven furlongs and was last
seen out taking the Shakertown Stakes over an extended five furlongs at
Keeneland on April 13.
Raiders from Hong Kong
have become a regular feature at Royal Ascot and the two possible challengers
this year are LUCKY NINE (Caspar Fownes), a four-time Group One scorer
at Sha Tin (runs next in the KrisFlyer in Singapore), and TIME AFTER TIME (John
Moore), who was last seen out when second in the Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup at
Sha Tin on March 17.
Bahrain's representative
is the well-travelled KRYPTON FACTOR (Fawzi Nass), a close sixth in the
2012 running of the Diamond Jubilee.
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