Field of Gold not only avenged his 2000 Guineas loss to Ruling Court on Tuesday at Royal Ascot in the Group 1 St. James’s Palace Stakes, he made one wonder how it even happened.   The odds-on favorite in the World Pool, Field of Gold made 3-5 look like an entirely fair price, sprinting clear of his rivals with a quarter-mile to run and crossing the finish 3 1/2 lengths clear of second-place Henri Matisse. Ruling Court, who beat Field of Gold by a half-length in the Guineas, finished third, nearly four lengths behind Henri Matisse.  John and Thady Gosden train Field of Gold ($3.20) for Juddmonte, and he was ridden for the second time by Colin Keane, recently named Juddmonte’s top stable jockey. Just after the St. James, Keane called Field of Gold the best horse he’s ridden.  But it's not just a highly accomplished rider pumping up a colt’s status: Field of Gold looks like something special. :: Royal Ascot 2025: Get PPs, previews, analysis, recaps, and more Bred by Rosehill Stud, Field of Gold is by Kingman out of Princess de Lune, by Shamardal, a strapping gray colt who went 2 for 4 as a 2-year-old and could only finish fourth while making his Group 1 debut in the Jean-Luc Lagardere in October. Soft ground as much as anything probably compromised Field of Gold in France, and he has found firmer footing in four starts this year, thriving over a course rated good-to-firm on Tuesday.  Field of Gold announced his presence as a leading sophomore winning the Craven Stakes in a route, and in the 2000 Guineas he was beaten on the trip, his former jockey Kieran Shoemark waiting forever to ask his mount for run. By the time Field of Gold hit full stride, it was too late to catch Ruling Court.  Keane took over in the Irish 2000 Guineas, where Field of Gold lorded his talent against overmatched foes. But his short price aside, the St. James’s Palace, where he faced French 2000 Guineas winner Henri Matisse as well as Ruling Court, was supposed to pose a sterner challenge.  It did not. Rating near the back, with only Henri Matisse behind him, during the early stages of this one-turn mile, Field of Gold glided into contention on the second part of the long bend, and by the quarter pole, without being asked, had gotten all the way up to the leaders. Keane hit the accelerator with two furlongs to go and Field of Gold fled the scene. He probably made the lead earlier than ideal, but Field of Gold stayed strong to the finish, never letting Henri Matisse into the game.  Field of Gold, for now at least, apparently is viewed as a miler, which means he’ll step into competition with older horses in races like the Group 1 Sussex in late July at Goodwood. If the colt continues on this trajectory, they won’t beat him.   King Charles III Stakes The topsy-turvy European sprint division produced another somewhat surprising winner, as American Affair, a horse little-known in America, captured the Group 1 King Charles III Stakes.  The result was surprising, but far from shocking, in what appeared to be a wide-open five-furlong, straight-course dash. American Affair payed $22.30 in the World Pool after posting a neck victory over Frost at Dawn.  Frost at Dawn, last of nine on dirt in the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, went off at 31-1 and finished one length clear of Regional, a 9-1 chance. Starlust, winner of the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, finished fourth, with 7-2 second choice Asfoora dead-heating for fifth with longshot Kerdos. Tepid favorite Believing finished a flat 11th.  The King Charles is part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series, and American Affair earned automatic fees-paid entry into the BC Turf Sprint as well as travel expenses to California. American Affair has made 22 starts, all in Great Britain. The gelding, by Washington DC out of Classy Anne, by Orientor, is nominated to the Breeders’ Cup.  Jim Goldie, a Scotland-based trainer who took out his license in 1994, won his first Group 1, while jockey Paul Mulrennan scored his third such victory, his first two having come in the Nunthorpe, another sprint race.   Five-year-old American Affair ended his 3-year-old campaign a mere Class 5 handicap sprinter, but he made huge strides as a 4-year-old in 2024, with his official rating rising dramatically. He won a pair of handicaps to start his 2025 campaign, including a Class 2 at York, before finishing fifth making his stakes debut May 24 in the Group 2 Temple at Haydock Park. Fair to say, then, that American Affair turned in a lifetime best on Tuesday at Royal Ascot.   Coventry Stakes In the first 2-year-old contest of the Royal Ascot meeting, Gstaad made short work of 19 rivals winning the Group 2 Coventry Stakes by three lengths, a wide margin considering the size of the field and the race’s abbreviated five-furlong distance.   Trainer Aidan O’Brien, who won his 11th Coventry, seemed, from on-site press reports, as eager to talk about the horse that didn’t run as the one who’d just won. Albert Einstein was the antepost Coventry favorite before what his owner Coolmore termed on social media a “sprained joint” took him out of the race a few days ago. A winner in his first two starts, Albert Einstein is being touted by his trainer as the stable’s next star.   It’s hard to imagine he could have run all that much better Tuesday than Gstaad. Racing with the group nearest the stands’ side rail, Gstaad traveled comfortably behind horses before jockey Ryan Moore began hunting a spot about halfway through the Coventry. Moore picked a relatively narrow slot between rivals and Gstaad muscled his way through, moved right a few paths to get into the middle of the Ascot straight, and increased his advantage to the wire.   He was followed home – distantly – by a pair of longshots, Do or Do Not at 41-1 a neck better than 67-1 Coppull. Gstaad, who paid $9.50 as the favorite, is by Starspangledbanner and out of Mosa Mine, by Exceed and Excel. He’d won a maiden race at Navan in Ireland before the Coventry – and apparently is not even the fastest 2-year-old in the yard. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? 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