Royal Ascot comment: Graham Cunningham heroes and villains
Winning cheques are being banked and Ascot officials are now awaiting the PCR test results that patrons were asked to post in five days after attending. Sport isn’t out of the woods yet as the fight against Covid continues but British racing’s summer showpiece delivered in spades as crowds came back and GC reflects on the heroes and villains in an early edition of this week’s Cunningham File.
Heroes – Ascot’s teamwork makes the dream work
Clerk Stickels and the stewards cashed a risky bet by letting racing go ahead amid Friday’s deluge but the real eye opener for one who hadn’t been present since 2016 was the way the Ascot raceday staff went about their jobs. From security and catering through to meet and greeters and the once formidable gate attendants, nothing seemed too much trouble. That sort of vibe is hard to pull off at big events. Ascot, albeit with capped crowds, nailed it.
Heroes – Palace and Poetic poised for Duel on the Downs?
Let’s hope so. A decade on from the original Sussex Stakes duel between Frankel and Canford Cliffs, this year’s Ascot G1 mile winners could provide something special if they both head to Goodwood.
Palace Pier was highly efficient in the Queen Anne, while Poetic Flare was tremendous in the St James’s Palace. The weather could play a big part in deciding whether the big two square off on July 28th but fast summer ground and an 8lb weight for age allowance would make the younger colt very dangerous indeed.
Pantomime villain and day one hero - Bolger blows hot on and off the track
Step back then forward Jim Bolger, who reprised explosive doping allegations before sending Kevin Manning to light the fuse on Poetic Flare. The RP’s David Jennings concluded a piece on Bolger’s latest broadside by saying the thought of a Lance Armstrong in Irish racing makes him want to vomit.
But forget calling for Hughie, DJ. Maybe we should be pondering the formula that enables a colt to contest three Classics in as many weeks before returning from a mini break to blast clear of a G1 field in the manner of Lance giving Jan Ullrich “The Look” as the merciless climb to Alpe d’Huez got real back in 2001.
NB: For the sake of clarity, and especially legality, the latter comment is strictly tongue in cheek.
Villains - Batt out of hell pace takes a heavy toll
The King’s Stand pace pressers – Maven, Que Amoro and Winter Power – dragged Battaash into a gruelling early battle that left him gasping when Oxted and Arecibo came calling from out near Windsor Castle.
The clock shows Battaash and Jim Crowley were sucked into blazing through a molten opening two furlongs – running an eye-watering six and eight lengths faster than his opening King’s Stand segment of 2019 and 2020 – and it says a great deal that the favourite only gave best in the last half furlong. The bare result suggests Father Time might be calling. But those split times suggest Battaash can bounce back if more restraint is applied at Goodwood and York this summer.
Hero and occasional Villain – Murphy magic shows baton is passing
Those who backed Dragon Symbol and King’s Lynn may beg to differ – and the man himself will rue the two that got away - but there’s no question that Oisin Murphy enjoyed a breakout week with five winners to end a seven-year streak of Dettori and Moore holding the armband for leading Royal Ascot rider.
But if Murphy’s skill in the saddle impressed then so did the way in which he sold his sport and the key players within the story each and every time he had a camera pointed in his direction. Today’s RP front page has him losing sleep over the tactics employed on King’s Lynn in the King’s Stand. But racing no longer needs to lose too much sleep over who will take over as a key face of the franchise once Frankie finally hangs up his saddle.
Heroes and Villains – Cup Commissars correct but start rule Stuns punters
What’s so hard to understand about a verdict like the one that saw Campanelle promoted ahead of Dragon Symbol after a compelling Commonwealth Cup? Plenty according to those who felt Frankie’s silver tongue played strongly in the inquiry room - while others suggested Ascot were reluctant to alienate a valuable international visitor like Wes Ward - but strip away the bluster and one cold fact remains.
Campanelle was beaten a head – the equivalent of a few hundredths of a second - despite being bumped hard then carried off her racing line for most of the final furlong. It beggars belief that she wouldn’t have got to the line that much faster with an unimpeded run and it was good to see the relevant rule on interference implemented without fear or favour.
The rule on problematic starts was also used correctly when Stunning Beauty was declared a runner after being left standing with a blindfold on at the start of Wednesday’s nightcap. But a rule that gives stewards zero discretion in such circumstances is clearly flawed. British racing has been content to rely on bookies making justice refunds in similar circumstances – which is questionable in itself – but we live in an era of global wagering now and it’s clear a tweak needs making as soon as possible.
Heroes – Fresh faces crash the party
And there were plenty of them. From Cieren Fallon and Roger Teal with Oxted through to Shane Kelly and David Evans with Rohaan and the likes of Gavin Cromwell, Gary Carroll, Marco Ghiani, David Loughnane, Laura Pearson, Ben Coen and Clifford Lee all sandwiched in between. Ascot needs the global heavy hitters to shine but the industry and the event as a whole gets a big boost if the smaller players come with high hopes and they did so in numbers this year.
Villains – Draw disciples all of a dither again
First you had to be near the stand rail on the straight course; then Real World and Chipotle won the Hunt Cup and the Windsor Castle in great style from stalls 4 and 1 respectively; Perrotto and Highfield Princess struck back for the near side late on Thursday and high numbers dominated again amid the Friday deluge only for the far side to strike back with a clean sweep in Saturday’s Wokingham.
The whole week showed once again that it seldom pays to be dogmatic about which side is favoured on one of the widest tracks in Britain. Time will probably show the best horses came to the fore provided the pace in their group was even – which is just as it should be at any major Festival.
Heroes - Hanagan, Hart and Fanning lay down the law
They may sound like a firm of Irish country solicitors but the three Yorkshire-based riders provided a storm before the storm on Gold Cup day by landing the Norfolk, the Buckingham Palace and the Gold Cup. Jason Hart was dynamic on Highfield Princess and is heading for his best ever season with the aid of the excellent John Quinn, while Paul Hanagan’s precision swoop on Perfect Power was due reward for a long battle with injury.
But Fanning topped it all on Subjectivist. The Gold Cup was meant to fall to a 50-year-old and duly did but it was Joe rather than Frankie on Stradavarius who stole the show. The sight of fellow pros coming out of the weighing room to applaud Fanning back provided one of the abiding images of the entire week and Round Two between the Sub and the Strad at Goodwood promises to be a summer showstopper.
Villain – AA’s rapid response proves costly
Roger Varian’s Movin Time clocked three consecutive closing sub 12s splits in bolting up at Newmarket under Jack Mitchell but being asked to do something similar by Andrea Atzeni in early Hampton Court skirmishes – coming from wide to bang heads with a Coolmore hare in the process – was never going to end well. Kemari’s Vase success added weight to the notion that that Movin Time’s HQ win was notable and this faltering fifth shouldn’t be held against him in the slightest.
Heroes – the Ascot Bargain Hunters
Cheap as chips is seldom a phrase you would link with Ascot but 2021 will go down as the year that showed it’s possible to make a splash without owning oil wells or a major stud farm.
Dream Of Dreams (37,000gns), Alcohol Free (40,000 Euro), Subjectivist (62,000gns) and Wonderful Tonight (40,000 Euro) captured major prizes having been sourced from the middle market, while Create Belief, Rohaan, Perrotto, Lola Showgirl and Reshoun all landed big handicaps having been bought for 30,000gns or less.
Add in the fact that Berkshire Shadow, Quick Suzy, Perfect Power and Chipotle captured the Coventry, Queen Mary, Norfolk and Windsor Castle having been sold for a combined total of just over 80 grand and it seems there’s hope for all of us. Well, most of us.
Villain – Song selector stuck in the past
Love Royal Ascot!! ❤ 🍾 pic.twitter.com/6Ka9vN3jO1
— Stephen R Power (@racingblogger) June 15, 2021
The person who chooses the tunes for communal singing at the bandstand after racing surely needs to move a little closer to the current century. Sweet Caroline certainly has its place – other than when butchered by the ubiquitous Racing Blogger and his wideboy wingman the Stallion – but the Skye Boat Song and My Old Man’s A Dustman should only be belted out by sozzled Scottish sages and the very small number of Ascot devotees with refuse collectors in their immediate family.
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