Ascot: Hootenanny 11th as Commonwealth Cup favorite

Ervedya and Muhaarar won Group 1 races for 3-year-olds at Royal Ascot on Friday, a day in which five American-trained runners failed to finish in the top three in their respective races.

Muhaarar, ridden by Dane O’Neill for trainer Charles Hills, won the $592,500 Commonwealth Cup for 3-year-olds at six furlongs in a 10-1 upset. Limato, a 9-2 shot, finished second, missing by 3 3/4 lengths. Hootenanny, the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita last October, was 11th of 18 as the 9-4 favorite for American trainer Wesley Ward.

Hootenanny was prominent midway through the race on a straightaway course but was not a factor in the final furlong, losing by about 11 lengths. Cyclogenisis, a stakes winner at Laurel Park and Presque Isle Downs for trainer George Weaver, finished 14th as a 33-1 outsider.

Muhaarar is an Oasis Dream colt owned by Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum of Dubai. Muhaarar won two stakes in England earlier in his career, including the Group 3 Greenham Stakes at Newbury in April, but was eighth in the Group 1 French 2000 Guineas at Longchamp on May 10.

Ervedya (3-1) moved to the fore of the European 3-year-old filly division with a hard-fought win over 13-8 favorite Found in the $592,500 Coronation Stakes at a mile. Ridden by Christophe Soumillon, Ervedya caught Found in the final strides to prevail by a neck for her third consecutive win.

Trained by Jean Claude-Rouget for the Aga Khan, Ervedya won the Group 3 Prix Imprudence at Maisons-Laffitte in France in April and the Group 1 French 1000 Guineas on May 10.

Lucida, a 3-1 shot, was third, beaten three-quarters of a length. Miss Temple City (50-1) was fourth for Maryland-based trainer Graham Motion. Miss Temple City won the Hilltop Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on turf at Pimlico on May 15.

Ward had two runners in the Group 3 Albany Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at six furlongs, with his best result a ninth with 8-1 shot Back at the Ranch. The Ward-trained Laxfield Road, a 6-1 shot, finished 15th of 18.

The race was won by Illuminate, the 4-1 favorite who overcame a troubled start to win by 1 1/2 lengths over 12-1 Ashadihan, who was also steadied at the start.

Jockey Ryan Moore won the day’s final race, the Queen Vase Stakes at two miles, on 5-2 favorite Aloft for his ninth win since the Royal Ascot meeting began Tuesday. The record for wins in a single Royal Ascot meeting was set by Fred Archer, with 12 in 1878.

More recently, Pat Eddery (1989) and Lester Piggott (1965, 1975) had eight wins when the Royal Ascot meeting was held over four days. Moore had a chance to add to his total on Saturday’s fifth and final day of this year’s event.