Five Head-to-Head Clashes to Anticipate at Royal Ascot
The prestigious Royal Ascot meeting is renowned for its thrilling racing, and this year’s edition promises several mouthwatering head-to-head clashes. Here are five battles to watch out for:
1. Frankel’s Heir vs. Native Trail (St. James’s Palace Stakes)
The progeny of the legendary Frankel, Coroebus, and the undefeated Native Trail will face off in a clash of generations. Both colts have proven themselves as top-class performers, and this race will determine who emerges as the leading 3-year-old miler.
2. Baaeed vs. Mishriff (Queen Anne Stakes)
Unbeaten in seven races, the scintillating Baaeed will take on the world-class Mishriff, who has tasted Group 1 victory on four continents. This clash of titans promises to be an unforgettable spectacle.
3. Kyprios vs. Stradivarius (Gold Cup)
Two of the greatest stayers of this era, Kyprios and Stradivarius, will renew their rivalry in the Gold Cup. Kyprios has won the last two runnings of the race, but Stradivarius is determined to reclaim his crown.
4. Nature Strip vs. Home Affairs (King’s Stand Stakes)
Two of the fastest sprinters in the world, Nature Strip and Home Affairs, will lock horns in a 5f sprint showdown. Both horses are capable of blazing times, and the race is sure to be explosive.
5. Homeless Songs vs. State of Rest (Prince of Wales’s Stakes)
A fascinating clash between two top-class middle-distance performers. Homeless Songs is an up-and-coming star, while State of Rest has proven his quality with victories at the highest level. This race will test their stamina and class. These head-to-head battles are just a few of the many highlights that await at Royal Ascot 2023. With a world-renowned atmosphere, thrilling racing, and equine superstars on show, the meeting promises to be one of the most memorable events of the racing calendar.Royal Ascot: John Ingles’ big-race head-to-heads
Royal Ascot: John Ingles’ big-race head-to-heads
John Ingles looks ahead to some of the big clashes looming over the five days of Royal Ascot.
Tuesday
REMARKABLE SPEECH v ROSALION
St James’s Palace Stakes Although many expected City of Troy to maintain his unbeaten record, it was instead Charlie Appleby’s 16/1 shot Notable Speech that took his record to four wins from four starts with a performance at Newmarket that marked him as a potentially top-class miler. Having only made his debut in January, Notable Speech made his grass-court debut in the Guineas after three wins at Kempton and impressed, travelling powerfully and impressing with a sharp turn of foot that took him a furlong clear before beating Rosallion by one and a half lengths. The free-going Rosallion improved his already smart form to two ahead of Richard Hannon when second at Newmarket. Last year he won three of his four starts, most notably the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere, but also a listed race at Ascot, which gives him course experience and proves his effectiveness on good-to-soft surfaces, should that prove relevant at the Royal Meeting. Since Newmarket, Rosallion has achieved a second Group 1 success in the 2000 Irish Guineas when he conceded the first point to his stablemate Haatem (third at Newmarket), but stayed on to catch him on the line. That didn’t require any improvement on Rosallion’s part, but it will be a different story if he turns the tables on Notable Speech.
Wednesday
WHITE BIRCH v AUGUSTE RODIN
Prince of Wales’s Stakes Wednesday’s Prince of Wales’s Stakes looks to be another round in an ongoing rivalry between distant relatives White Birch and Auguste Rodin. Their first two meetings last year were one-sided affairs, first when Auguste Rodin had White Birch more than five lengths back in third in the Derby and especially when Auguste Rodin followed in the Irish Derby, with White Birch finishing last when he field was sent off second-favourite. White Birch ended his three-year-old campaign with a better performance when fourth in a Group 3 race at Leopardstown, but Auguste Rodin won the Irish Champion Stakes on the same card before winning the Breeders’ Cup Turf. But the events of this season have not only brought the two closer together, but have even given the grizzled John Murphy the upper hand on the Timeform ratings, with White Birch now rated at 128, a pound ahead of Auguste Rodin. It is not the first time the latter has not run a single race when he returns in the Dubai Sheema Classic, while White Birch has gone from strength to strength at the Curragh this spring after taking wins in the Alleged Stakes and Mooresbridge Stakes. But most impressive was his three-length thrashing against Auguste Rodin in the Tattersalls Gold Cup last time out, with the double Derby winner putting his dismal effort against Meydan behind him but still finishing in second place. White Birch is almost certainly better by about a mile and a quarter than the Derby trip, but the outcome of this head-to-head could depend on the terrain at Ascot. White Birch has achieved all his wins this season on softer ground, while Auguste Rodin’s form is firming up.
Thursday
KYPRIOS v GREGORIUS
Gold Cup Thursday’s Gold Cup should have been a head-to-head battle between the last two winners, but while Aidan O’Brien’s Kyprios is back in a bid to reclaim the top stay prize he won in 2022 after missing last year’s race through injury, this time it is last year’s winner Courage Mon Ami who is absent after a setback. However, the connections of the latter, John and Thady Gosden and owners Wathnan Racing, could still pose the biggest threat to Kyprios with a very smart four-year-old Gregory. Kyprios had three-time Gold Cup winner Stradivarius back in third place when he enjoyed success at Royal Ascot two years ago during an unbeaten season of dominance as Europe’s best stayer. While he was beaten in Ireland’s St Leger and Ascot’s Long Distance Cup when he returned to action last autumn, two easy wins in lesser company in Ireland this spring suggest Kyprios is ready for his bid to win the first since Kayf Tara in 2000 to be the one to win back the title. Golden cup. Like Kyprios, Gregory is already a Royal Ascot winner, having won the Queen’s Vase last year, while his fifth-place finish in the St Leger on the softest surface he has yet encountered did little to dent his hopes would become a Cup horse as champion. four years old. Gregory, a slender colt, made an encouraging return when third to Giavellotto in the Yorkshire Cup, looking set to do even better when faced with a stern test of his stamina. He is therefore open to more improvement, but that will be much needed if Kyprios comes anywhere close to his best class.
Friday
FAIRY GODMOTHER v BERGBREEZE
Albany Stakes Friday’s chosen head-to-head clash is a bit different from the rest, as we’re dealing with some largely unknown quantities, but that doesn’t make it any less intriguing. Fairy Godmother for Aidan O’Brien, and Mountain Breeze For Charlie Appleby, these are two of the most exciting two-year-old fillies yet seen, and some bookmakers are finding it impossible to split them when betting on the Albany Stakes. There is also little between the pair in terms of Timeform ratings, the Ballydoyle filly at 98p and Godolphin’s at 96p, so it will largely depend on which of them can find the most improvement at Ascot. O’Brien has won the Albany twice, including with Meditate two years ago, and like that filly (and last year’s Albany winner Porta Fortuna) Fairy Godmother heads to Ascot after winning the Group 3 Fillies’ Sprint Stakes in Naas. Fairy Godmother was all the rage in betting and did well to get up for a neck win in the final steps, still looking green when first asked for her stake and then having to swap the two leaders. She improved enough to turn the tables on runner-up Sparkling Sea, who had beaten her in softer conditions when they had made their debut at the same track. Mountain Breeze has not yet been tested to such a high standard but won both her novices at Newmarket in May in very good style and had her chances under penalty with plenty in hand when she went to six furlongs last time. The seeded horses have admittedly not done much for that form since, although runner-up New Charter had excuses when sent off as favourite for the Woodcote Stakes at Epsom. Through Lope de Vega, Mountain Breeze is closely related to Godolphin’s top-class two-year-old Pinatubo, himself a Royal Ascot winner in the Chesham Stakes.
Saturday
KINROSS v MILL STREAM
Queen Elizabeth II Anniversary Stakes Saturday’s Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes is once again a race where some bookmakers are struggling to find a clear favourite. The clash here is between the established Group 1 sprinter of Ralph Beckett Kinross and Jane Chapple-Hyam’s blossoming younger rival Millstream. Kinross, now seven years old, is a tough and consistent gelding, as good at seven furlongs as he is at six, and has a good record at Ascot, at least in the autumn when he finished first and second in the last two furlongs ended up. editions of the Champions Sprint Stakes. However, he hasn’t made the same impact in the six-furlong event at Royal’s Ascot in Group 1, finishing eighth in 2022 and only one place better last year when he was quite weak in the market and shaping up as if for his first run was coming. of the season. While his stable is currently firing on all cylinders, Kinross himself has only reached winning form later in the year in recent seasons. Mill Stream, on the other hand, already has two runs to his name this year and, after a creditable second in the Abernant Stakes at Newmarket on his return, he went one better in the 1895 Duke of York Stakes when coming from a strong gallop came. to get out, should have gotten a nose. Mill Stream graduated from handicaps to win in the listed and Group 3 company at Deauville last summer, and although he found the Group 1 sprints a little too hot last autumn (including when he was behind Kinross at Ascot), he is now potentially more of a force to be reckoned with. as a four-year-old, having undergone respiratory surgery since last year, while a well-run race over a stiffer six should also suit him.Five Head-to-Head Clashes to Watch at Royal Ascot Royal Ascot is set to host a thrilling five head-to-head clashes between some of the world’s top racehorses. Baaeed vs Coroebus: The two unbeaten colts will face off in the Queen Anne Stakes. Baaeed has won all five of his career starts, including the Juddmonte International Stakes at York last year. Coroebus has won four of his five starts, including the 2,000 Guineas Stakes at Newmarket this year. Inspiral vs Homeless Songs: The two fillies will clash in the Coronation Stakes. Inspiral is a dual Group 1 winner, having won the Fillies’ Mile at Newmarket last year and the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot. Homeless Songs won the 1,000 Guineas Stakes at Newmarket this year. Nature Strip vs Highfield Princess: The two sprinters will face off in the King’s Stand Stakes. Nature Strip is the world’s highest-rated sprinter, having won the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot twice before. Highfield Princess is a three-time Group 1 winner, including the Haydock Sprint Cup last year. Stradivarius vs Trueshan: The two stayers will clash in the Gold Cup. Stradivarius has won the Gold Cup three times before, while Trueshan won the race last year. Adayar vs Hurricane Lane: The two Derby winners will face off in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes. Adayar won the Derby at Epsom last year, while Hurricane Lane won the Irish Derby at the Curragh. These five head-to-head clashes are sure to provide some thrilling racing at Royal Ascot.
