Big U.S. presence at Royal Ascot meet

Ascot Racecourse in England set out several years ago to internationalize its prestigious Royal meeting in June, and judging from the look of the five-day meeting that begins Tuesday, it has succeeded splendidly.

Thirteen American horses will race during those five days, including California Chrome, the 2014 Kentucky Derby winner and Horse of the Year.

The big get from the other side of the world is Hong Kong star Able Friend, who races opening day in the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes, but Australian-based horses also run at the meeting, including Brazen Beau, among the ante-post favorites for the Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes, the race Aussie star Black Caviar won in 2012.

California Chrome, meanwhile, will be an outsider – in the betting, at least – when he races Wednesday in the Group 1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes, contested over about 1 1/4 miles around right-handed turns the likes of which California Chrome never had seen before he was shipped to England following a second-place finish in the March 28 Dubai World Cup. A general 10-1 chance for the Prince of Wales’s, California Chrome will face high-class foes such as Free Eagle, The Grey Gatsby, and he is sure to be overbet in North American pari-mutuel pools.

The Queen Anne – the meet’s first race Tuesday – is billed as a showdown between the Freddie Head-trained Solow and Hong Kong-based Able Friend, but there are other contenders in the race, including Night of Thunder. The straight-course mile is one of two Group 1s on the card along with the St. James’s Palace Stakes for 3-year-olds, in which Gleneagles will be heavily favored.

While California Chrome has been in England more than two months now, 11 U.S.-based horses entered in Ascot races flew overseas Wednesday, with Cyclogenisis, who goes for the Commonwealth Cup, shipping Friday. Wesley Ward, who has carved a significant niche sending hot 2-year-olds to win at Royal Ascot, has 10 runners this year, seven of them in races for 2-year-olds – including the sharp Finnegan in Tuesday’s Group 2 Coventry – and three older horses in Hootenanny, Undrafted, and Luck of the Kitten. Hootenanny, who won the Windsor Castle Stakes last summer at Ascot, goes in the newly created Group 1 Commonwealth Cup for 3-year-olds on Friday.

This is the largest group of runners Ward has ever sent to Royal Ascot, and Ward has said for several weeks he is generally bullish on their chances.

Also on Friday is the Coronation Cup for 3-year-old fillies, which has lured Miss Temple City, trainer Graham Motion’s first Royal Ascot starter since Animal Kingdom finished 11th of 13 in the 2013 Queen Anne Stakes, his career finale.

Race cards begin at 9:30 a.m. Eastern, and can be viewed and wagered upon at DRFBets.

The spring has been relatively dry at Ascot, and even with some rain in the forecast, the ground is expected to be no worse than good – and probably on the firm side of good – when the meet begins Tuesday, which is good news for U.S.-based runners that would struggle over softer ground.

France: Queen’s Jewel favored

At Chantilly, Sunday’s feature is the Group 1 Prix de Diane, or French Oaks.

The race for 3-year-old fillies, over 10 1/2 furlongs on expected good-to-soft ground, drew 17 entrants, but still has a presumed standout in Queen’s Jewel.

Trained by Freddie Head, Queen’s Jewel did not make her career debut until March, but wasted little time making favorable impressions. She won her debut by a length, the Group 3 Prix Penelope by 1 3/4 lengths second time out, and the Group Prix Saint-Alary by three lengths in her third start.

Queen’s Jewel didn’t find a good rhythm until about halfway through the Saint Alary, but still drew away to win easily while geared down late by Maxime Guyon. A similar performance – and Queen’s Jewel has shown no sign of flagging at this point – will land her in the winner’s circle Sunday for the fourth time in as many starts.