MERCOLEDÌ 11 GIUGNO 2014. Royal Ascot dal 17 al 21 Giugno: #Treve in corsa per le Prince Of Wales Stakes, e poi per le King George del 26 Luglio. Giovedì 19 Final Score nelle Ribblesdale Stakes, venerdì 20 ci sarà Dylan Mouth supplementato nelle King Edward..

Il pubblico di Ascot si appresta a vivere un’estate di passione. Fra qualche giorno comincia il Royal Meeting, fra qualche settimana ci sono le King George G1, ed in entrambe le occasioni avremo la possibilità di vedere in azione Treve (Motivator), vincitrice di Arc che ha perso la sua imbattibilità solo di fronte ad un monumento come Cirrus des Aigles nel Ganay G1 di quest’anno come da foto pubblicata. La sua allenatrice Criquette Head-Maarek ha annunciato l’intenzione di correre le Prince of Wales’s Stakes G1 e poi tornare ad Ascot il 26 Luglio per cercare di difendere la corona dell’Arc, in un doppio riuscito recentemente a Danedream (Lomitas). Qualche sito inglese ha riportato la possibilità che possa incrociare già le armi con Australia nelle King George G1. A noi pare molto strano, visti i programmi diffusi da Padre Aidan circa il Derbywinner.. e non crediamo affronti gli anziani da subito, ma casomai o nelle Eclipse G1 (non contro Treve comunque) o in autunno nell’Arc, ipotesi questa percorribile. Comunque, parliamo di Ascot e cosa ci aspetterà.. in un secondo momento pubblicheremo il calendario completo delle corse come una agenda.
L’ippodromo di Ascot ha annunciato che il montepremi del Royal Meeting edizione 2014 sarà complessivamente di £5,310,000, con un incremento di £310,000 rispetto ai £5,000,000 dello scorso anno con un minimo per ogni corsa della 5 giorni che sarà di £60,000. Altre novità riguardano la collocazione delle corse. A partire dal martedì, e per ogni giornata, il G1 più importante del giorno sarà la quarta corsa in programma. Già annunciate alcune presente di spessore nel 2014.

Si apre con martedì 17 Giugno e la disputa delle Queen Anne Stakes G1 sul miglio ed il ritorno di Toronado, poi le King’s Stand Stakes G1 per gli sprinters, confermato Shea Shea (National Emblem) per Mick De Kock, e le St James Palace Stakes per i 3 anni. In quest’ultimo summit si rivedranno all’opera Night Of Thunder e Kingman, primo e secondo nelle 2000 Ghinee di Newmarket, la corsa riferimento di questo scorcio di primavera dalla quale sono usciti anche Australia e Kingston Hill, primo e secondo del Derby, e The Grey Gatsby vincitore del Prix du Jockey Club.

Mercoledì 18 ci saranno le Prince Of Wales’s Stakes: La corsa più importante del meeting, vinta in passato da Rewilding, Byword, Manduro, Ouija Board, Rakti, Duke Of Marmalade, So You Think, Al Kazeem e quest’anno nobilitata, come già detto, dalla presenza di Treve.

Giovedì 19 è tempo del Ladies Day e della Gold Cup G1, la corsa di Yeats. Pronto Marco Botti con Tac de Boistron mentre dall’Italia è pronta, carica, ed iscritta Final Score (Dylan Thomas), vincitrice delle nostre Oaks G2, con Felice Villa che ha confermato la presenza della Oaks winner.

Venerdì 20 è il giorno delle Coronation Stakes G1 che elegge la miglior femmina di 3 anni in Europa. Di contorno le King Edward VII Stakes G2, meglio conosciuto come “The Ascot Derby”, nel quale è prevista la partecipazione di Dylan Mouth (Dylan Mouth) anche se al momento tra gli iscritti, di lui, non c’è traccia. Verrà supplementato, come confermato da Stefano Botti, entro il 16 Giugno al costo di £14,000.

Sabato 21 il gran finale con le Diamond Jubilee Stakes, altra prova del Global Sprint Challenge.

PUBBLICATO DA GABRIELE CANDI A MERCOLEDÌ, GIUGNO 11, 2014

With under a week until the start of the meeting Ascot has begun watering

Optimum conditions expected for Royal Ascot

BY TOM BULL5:53PM 11 JUN 2014

THE ground for the start of Royal Ascot is likely to be a mixture of good and good to firm according to Ascot clerk of the course Chris Stickels.

With just under a week to go until the start of the five-day meeting, the decision has been made to water the course.

“There is 10mm going down in the new straight course and a further 4mm going down on the round course overnight,” Stickels said on Wednesday afternoon.

“The forecast is warm and dry at this stage and we want to start the meeting ideally on what we have now which is a mixture of good and good to firm ground.

“We won’t have to water every day and this is the first time we have watered since August last year so we need to see what effect this is going to have [on the ground] and then we can make our decision about when to water next.”

Stickels is hoping to have conditions similar to last year’s meeting when the ground was a mixture of good and good to firm for all five days.

fonte: RacingPost

Frankie

Frankie Dettori: will combine Channel 4 duties with riding for Al Shaqab

PICTURE: RP GRAPHICS

Dettori joins Channel 4 Royal Ascot team

BY PETER SCARGILL2:24PM 11 JUN 2014

CHANNEL 4 has moved to boost flagging audiences for its racing coverage by signing Britain’s most famous Flat jockey, Frankie Dettori, as a presenter for Royal Ascot and the rest of the season.

Dettori, 43, will appear on The Morning Line and during racing for Channel 4 as well as riding for owner Sheikh Joaan’s Al Shaqab Racing, whose Royal Ascot runners will include Treve.

The announcement that the popular Dettori is joining Channel 4 comes less than a week after it was revealed that viewing figures for the Derby were the lowest this century. The Royal Ascot coverage and audiences is likely to prove pivotal for Channel 4 Racing.

Dettori, who will also be part of Channel 4′s team for fixtures after Ascot, said: “I’m thrilled to be joining the Channel 4 Racing team for the Flat season and look forward to starting work next week.

“I’ve been talking to Channel 4 about this opportunity for a while as I have always enjoyed their racing coverage and I am delighted to be able to give viewers an insight into the great thrill of our sport.”

Clare Balding, Channel 4′s main presenter, added: “Frankie is a great communicator and personality and would be an asset to anyone’s coverage. He’ll bring energy, insight and enjoyment.”

fonte: RacingPost

Night of Thunder - Kieren Fallon wins

Night )f Thunder (8) beating Kingman (5) in the 2,000 Guineas

PICTURE: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

Thunder and Kingman confirmed for Ascot clash

BY JAMES BURN12:36PM 11 JUN 2014

NIGHT OF THUNDER and Kingman, winners of the 2,000 Guineas and Irish 2,000 Guineas, remain on course for a mouthwatering clash in Tuesday’s St James’s Palace Stakes, the highlight of a star-studded opening day at Royal Ascot.

The Richard Hannon-trained Night Of Thunder was on top when the pair met in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, butKingman subsequently won the Irish equivalent in brilliant style.

Betfred make Kingman the 11-10 favourite to reverse the form with Night Of Thunder (9-4). Toormore is next best at 8-1 and War Command is 10s.

They were among 12 colts confirmed for the Group 1 mile on Wednesday morning and could face War Command, who flopped in the Guineas but showed his potential at the royal meeting 12 months ago when hacking up in the Coventry.

His Derby-winning stablemate and Guineas third Australia was taken out of the race by Aidan O’Brien, who has left Magician and Verrazano in the Queen Anne Stakes on the same day.

Hannon could field Olympic Glory, Toronado and Sky Lantern in that, while Anodin has been supplemented by the Wertheimer brothers, who won the race with his big sister Goldikova in 2010.

Oliver Peslier, who rode Goldikova and will partner Anodin, said: “I hope he’ll run well. He was just behind Cirrus Des Aigles [and in front of Olympic Glory] last time and is very nice horse.

“His pedigree is very good and he’s got a good chance. If it’s good ground it’ll be perfect for him.”

The other Group 1 on Tuesday is the King’s Stand Stakes and market leaders Hot Streak, Shea Shea and Sole Power were among the 23 confirmed for that.

Also on Tuesday, in the Group 2 Coventry Stakes the unbeaten juvenile trio of Cappella Sansevero, Kool Kompany and The Great War are among the entries.

fonte: RacingPost

Posted 2014-06-11 18:43:58

ROYAL ASCOT SOUTH AFRICAN RUNNERS

Mike De Kock is responsible for the South African challenge at this year’s Royal Ascot and has entered stable stars SOFT FALLING RAIN (2.30 Tuesday UK time) and SHEA SHEA (3.45 Tuesday) in the hope of an opening day double. (image DRC/Watkins)

Soft Falling Rain runs in The Queen Anne Stakes over the straight mile in the first race of the meeting and is looking to banish memories of his last visit to Ascot back in 2013. On that occasion, on QIPCO British Champions Day, he was only able to finish 11th out of 12 in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes behind Olympic Glory.

That was his third run in Britain last season and it followed victory in the Group Two Joel Stakes at Newmarket. He was also victorious three times in a row at the 2013 Dubai World Cup Carnival, including in the Godolphin Mile on World Cup Night.

Since defeat on British Champions Day though, he hasn’t quite matched his form of 2013, with his two runs at the 2014 Dubai Carnival both resulting in defeat. However his run last time out, when runner-up in the Godolphin Mile on the World Cup card, has worked out well, with the winner Variety Club going onto Group One glory at Sha Tin in the Champions Mile.

If able to build upon that, and if the ground at Ascot remains on the quick side, then Soft Falling Rain with Paul Hanagan aboard is sure to have a chance of winning his second Group 1 and reversing last season’s form with Olympic Glory.

Shea Shea is a familiar name to punters around the world and has become a regular in all the major international sprint races. With 11 wins from 24 starts, including three Group One’s, he is a genuinely world-class sprinter and will be looking for a change of fortune on British soil in The King’s Stand, part of the Global Sprint Challenge.

He was second in this race last year to his old rival Sole Power, before excellent runs in the Group One July Cup (fourth) at Newmarket and Nunthorpe (second) at York.

He made his regular visit to the Dubai Carnival at the beginning of the year and won another Group race, the Group 3 Meydan Sprint, before being beaten only a ¼ length into third in the Al Quoz Sprint on World Cup night.

He is sure to run another big race at Royal Ascot and with leading French rider Christophe Soumillion likely to take the ride, expect him to be bang there in the closing stages.

fonte: SAHRacing