Al Kazeem rewarded the
patience of his owner John Deer and trainer Roger Charlton by coming through to
cut down the front-running Mukhadram close home to score by a neck in the Group
One Prince Of Wales's Stakes.
The victory gave his
jockey James Doyle a first Royal Ascot success.
The rider said: "I
was only worried for a second, when we turned in. I thought that Paul Hanagan
gave his horse a fantastic ride - he got the fractions right, filled his up at
the right time and quickened off the turn.
"We settled into a
nice rhythm but Mukhadram got a couple of lengths on me turning in and I had to
make them up. I could see Paul just getting away from me on the turn and had a
bit of work to do but you have to believe in your horse - I have done nothing
but win on this fellow. My confidence with him is amazing.
"Al Kazeem digs deep
and is such a hardy, tough horse. He loves to get in a battle and he showed
what a good horse he is by quickening up. I am very lucky to be sat on him.
"He is a class act
over a mile and a quarter and arguably even better over a mile and a half. But
a mile and a quarter is no problem - he has the tactical speed, quickened and
picked up. He is a serious horse over a mile and a quarter.
"It's magical, really
- to get a Royal Ascot winner. It leaves you speechless in some ways but this
is what it is all about. All of those mornings, working hard, going to all of
the evening meetings and all of the hard work that you put in. It does pay and
it's great when it does.
"It is the best
feeling in the world - you dream of Royal Ascot winners when you are growing up
and it is amazing to have one."
Roger Charlton,
celebrating his biggest success at Royal Ascot with his eighth winner, said:
"The name of the game is patience. Sir Henry Cecil said "patience,
patience and more patience" and you need the owners to do that. We always
thought we had a really good horse, so it was worth waiting for.
"To be fair, we
nearly ran him in the autumn (last year) and then decided to give him more time.
You can't do it without the horse and, as we saw today, he is a very tough,
very genuine horse. I thought for an awful minute that we weren't going to get
there but James seemed quite confident, so how do I know anything? I thought
James gave him a great ride. For a young guy who hasn't ridden that many good
horses, I am so pleased for James. We have asked him big questions and he has
delivered. He is going to go forwards.
"The horse really
answers the demands and he kept staying on all the way to the line. Obviously,
it is very thrilling. It would have been horrible to just miss out with all due
to respect to William Haggas's horse. It would have been awful to be in front a
stride past the line. It is always nerve-wracking - I am never complacent. You never
take anything for granted until they are past the line.
"His owner breeder
was offered lots of money for this horse and often people accept those offers
so I am lucky to have the horse really.He is a very special horse. He is a very
good-looking horse - he has got that lovely Dubawi head and he clearly stays a mile
and a half well and he has all the attributes that make a good horse.
"He has a fantastic
temperament and, apart from the pelvis, has been fantastically sound and he is
a real trier. I think that there are lots of lovely races for Al Kazeem. I
don't know without discussing it with the owner but I have always longed to
have a runner in the Arc - I think he is a horse who is very happy if the
ground is on the soft side and he has proved that he probably needs a mile and
a half. That would be his end of season target and very exciting to go for.
"I think he needs an
Arc preparation - not run too close to the race - a bit like Rainbow Quest. I
think that it is important not to be too greedy and suddenly think that
"gosh, that race is worth this and that race is worth that". We have
to plan it and, if he was to run in the Arc, maybe we could go for the King
George and then to the Arc. It's silly to talk about this but the Eclipse is 17
days away, which he would be favourite for. The horse will tell us."
Al Khazeem is a 5/1 chance
from 6/1 for the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes Sponsored by
Betfair with Betfair.
AWESOME
RIDE BY HANAGAN JUST FAILS TO NAIL KAZEEM
Former champion jockey
Paul Hanagan produced an audacious ride that almost pulled off a surprise win
in the £500,000 Gr.1 Prince Of Wales's Stakes.
Riding Mukhadram for
Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum and trainer William Haggas, Hanagan made the running
and then kicked clear on the home turn. His four-year-old partner produced a
sustained burst for the line that held off all rivals bar one, Al Kazeem, who
wore him down to win by a neck. Three and a quarter lengths further back was
The Fugue.
Hanagan said:
"Everything went to plan and he's so genuine that when I kicked I thought
I had it. I knew it would take a very good horse to beat me, and, of course,
that is what happened. He went down fighting - it went to plan, but not that
well because we didn't win, but he gave everything."
Haggas said: "It was
a fantastic ride, the horse ran his guts out and the trainer has almost lost
his voice. I'm very proud of the horse. It was jockey and owner planning - I
can't tell you what a marvellous ride he [Hanagan] gave him and he nearly
nicked it."
Mukhadram is entered in
the Hardwicke Stakes at the Royal meeting on Saturday, but when asked if he
might run, Haggas said: "No chance!"
Betfair, sponsors of the
King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot on July 27, cut Mukhadram
from 33/1 to 10/1 for that race after his fine effort.
The Fugue was running for
the first time since November's Breeders' Cup. Her trainer, John Gosden said:
"She ran a super race and finished very strongly, so I'm delighted with
her. The first two set a very high standard and he [Hanagan] did a very good
job.
"She can race over a
mile and a quarter to a mile and a half. The Pretty Polly Stakes [on June 30]
is probably going to come too soon, but there's the Nassau Stakes, the
Coral-Eclipse and the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes to consider,
but she does like this ground."
TIME FOR
A CHANGE WITH CAMELOT
Last year's dual Epsom and
Irish Derby winner Camelot, who had a colic operation in October last year,
could fare no better than fourth place in the Group One Prince Of Wales Stakes.
Trainer Aidan O'Brien said
of the 5/2 favourite: "We will wait and see what happens next. He
had a tough enough winter - they will tell you (surgeons) that a big operation
will take at least four months for the wound to heal.
"I have never really
chased him (at home) - we have been letting the racing bring him on but maybe
it is time to chase him we have to be very conscious of what he has been
through. The runs have been bringing him on but maybe he is at the stage where
he should be chased after a little bit.
"There are a lot of
options open to him - races like the Coral Eclipse and all those races.
"We have got to where
we are now and maybe need to change a few little things."
Derek Smith, who is one of
the co-owners of the dual Classic winning Montjeu colt, added; "Well it is
a bit disappointing - we thought he would get a bit closer to Al Kazeem this
time."
"We will just have to
go away and think about things. We have no real thoughts about what to do next
we will just have to go away and have a chat about it."
Joseph O'Brien, who rode
Camelot, said: "He had a lovely trip around."
3.45pm
Prince Of Wales's Stakes (British Champions Series) (Group 1)
£500,000
total prize fund. For 4yo+, 1m 2f. Weights: colts and geldings 9st; fillies 8st
11lb. Penalty value 1st £283,550.00 2nd £107,500.00 3rd £53,800.00 4th £26,800.00
5th £13,450.00 6th £6,750.00.
1) AL
KAZEEM (John Deer) Roger Charlton 5-9-00 James Doyle [9] 11/4
2)
MUKHADRAM (Hamdan Al Maktoum) William Haggas 4-9-00 Paul Hanagan [7] 14/1
3) THE
FUGUE (Lord Lloyd-Webber) John Gosden 4-8-11 William Buick [8] 13/2
4)
CAMELOT (Derrick Smith, Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor) Aidan O'Brien IRE 4-9-00
Joseph O'Brien [6] 5/2 Fav
5)
MIBLISH (Saeed Manana) Clive Brittain t4-9-00 Ryan Moore [1]
6) MAXIOS
(Niarchos Family) Jonathan Pease FR 5-9-00 Stephane Pasquier [5]
7) SIDE
GLANCE (Pearl Bloodstock Ltd) Andrew Balding 6-9-00 Jamie Spencer [10]
8) AFSARE
(Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum) Luca Cumani 6-9-00 Richard Hughes [4]
9) RED
CADEAUX (The Hon Ronald Arculli) Ed Dunlop 7-9-00 Frankie Dettori [3]
10) SAINT
BAUDOLINO (IRE) (Godolphin) Saeed bin Suroor 4-9-00 Mickael Barzalona [11]
11)
WINDSOR PALACE (IRE) (Derrick Smith, Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor) Aidan O'Brien
IRE p8-9-00 Seamie Heffernan [2]
11 ran
Time: 2m
3.06s
Distances:
nk, 3¼, ½, 1¼, ¾, 1, 2, 6, ¾, 29
Breeder:
John Deer
Breeding:
Dubawi (IRE) - Kazeem (Darshaan)
Tote
Win
£3.00 Place £1.40 £4.50
£2.30 Exacta £49.20
Winning
trainer:-Name Charlton, Roger John Born: Connah's Quay, Flintshire,
18/1/50 First winner: Deploy (Haydock, April 14, 1990) Date of first
licence:1990 Trains at Beckhampton, Marlborough, Wiltshire Previous
Occupation: Amateur rider (three wins including 1969 Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir
Chase on Pride Of Kentucky), worked for Colin Davies, stockbroker, 1975-77 ran
equine swimming pool in Lambourn, 1978-89 assistant to Jeremy Tree British
Classic wins: (1) Investec Derby (1990 Quest For Fame) Other major wins
include: Cambridgeshire (1995 Cap Juluca, 2005 Blue Monday), Criterion
Stakes (1993 Inchinor), Dante Stakes (1990 Sanglamore), French Derby (1990
Sanglamore), Greenham Stakes (1993 Inchinor), Hungerford Stakes (1993
Inchinor), Joel Stakes (2010 Cityscape), John Porter Stakes (1996 Spout),
Lancashire Oaks (1996 Spout), Lingfield Derby Trial (1996 Mystic Knight),
Palace House Stakes (2005 Avonbridge), Prix de l'Opera (1994 Andromaque), Prix d'Ispahan
(1991 Sanglamore), Prix de l'Abbaye (2003 Patavellian, 2005 Avonbridge),
Rockfel Stakes (2002 Luvah Girl), Sandown Mile (1997 Wixim), Scottish Classic
(1995 Baron Ferdinand), Haydock Sprint Cup (1998 Tamarisk, 2004 Tante Rose),
totesport.com International Stakes (2007 Third Set), Stewards' Cup (1999
Harmonic Way, 2003 Patavellian, 2009 Genki), totesport Mile (2007 Third Set)
Tattersalls Gold Cup (2013 Al Kazeem) Dubai Duty Free Stakes (2012 Cityscape),
Qatar Bloodstock Jockey Club Stakes (2012 Al Kazeem) Royal Ascot wins (8):
King George V Handicap (1992 Source Of Light), Duke Of Edinburgh Handicap (1993
Source Of Light), Wokingham Handicap (2000 Harmonic Way), Diamond Jubilee
Stakes (2001 Harmonic Way), Coventry Stakes (2003 Three Valleys), Balmoral
Handicap (2003 Deportivo), Britannia Handicap (2008 Fifteen Love), Prince Of
Wales's Stakes (2013 Al Kazeem) First Royal Ascot winner: King George V
Handicap (June 18, 1992 Source Of Light Wins in a season (1990-2012):
37; 26; 43; 47; 48; 42; 52; 40; 22; 30; 34; 33; 56; 57; 36; 43; 37; 39; 33; 35;
48; 43; 40 Wins in 2013: 12
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