Kingsgate Native wins Golden Jubilee at 33-1

Kingsgate Native came back on just three days' rest to defeat a top-class international field of sprinters in the $740,000 Golden Jubilee Stakes on closing day at Royal Ascot on Saturday.

A 3-year-old son of Mujadil trained by Jack Best, Kingsgate Native had served notice that he was something special last year when he beat older horses in the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes before narrowly missing in the Group 1 Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp, both at five furlongs. A $40,000 yearling, he was only 10th Tuesday off an 8 1/2-month layoff in the King's Stand Stakes, but that effort did him a world of good on Saturday, as he drove to a 1o1/4-length triumph over War Artist in this richest of European sprints. Sir Gerry was third, three-quarters of a length further back, with Takeover Target, the 4-1 favorite who had been second in the King's Stand, fourth. French raider Marchand d'Or was sixth, but Sakhee's Secret, the 5-1 second choice, was beaten a long way out, coming home last of 17, beaten 30 1/2 lengths. Overlooked by the royal punters at 33-1, Kingsgate Native covered the straight six furlongs in 1:13.33 on ground rated good to firm, firm in places.

Trained by Best at Maidstone in Kent, Kingsgate Native earned a victory that prevented a sweep of Royal Ascot's seven Group 1 contests by foreign-trained horses. Five of the first six had gone to Irish trainees, four of those in the care of Aidan O'Brien, the other trained by Jim Bolger, with the King's Stand having fallen to the Spanish-trained Equiano, courtesy of Mauricio Delcher Sanchez.

O'Brien, meanwhile, ended a glorious week with a sixth group-race winner as Macarthur got up late to win the Group 2, $296,000 Hardwicke Stakes, a 1 1/2-mile race for older horses. Jockey Johnny Murtagh had to pull out all the stops on the much improved Montjeu 4-year-old, who prevailed by a neck from Multidimensional, with Maraahel, seeking a third straight win in this race, third, five lengths behind the runner-up. The victorious 6-5 favorite, recently third to stablemate Soldier of Fortune in Epsom's Group 1 Coronation Cup, was timed in 2:31.29.

Queen Elizabeth had something to cheer about as her juvenile colt Free Agent won the listed seven-furlong Chesham Stakes by 2 1/4 lengths as the 7-2 co-favorite with runner-up Seaway. A son of Dr Fong, Free Agent was winning for the second time in two starts in a race restricted to horses whose sires had won going at least 1 1/4 miles. But it was O'Brien who had the last word, as his Honolulu, eighth in last year's Canadian International, confirmed his 8-5 favoritism in winning Britain's longest flat race and traditional Royal Ascot closer, the 2o5/8-mile, 159-yard Queen Alexandra Stakes, giving O'Brien his seventh winner of the meeting.