Palace Pier wins St. James's Palace for red-hot Dettori-Gosden team

Jockey Frankie Dettori and trainer John Gosden capped off their stupendous Royal Ascot meet by winning the Group 1 St. James’s Palace Stakes with Palace Pier on Saturday.

Gosden wound up with a meet-leading five winners during the five-day stand, all in group stakes races. Palace Pier was his third Group 1 winner this week. He also won Group 1 stakes with Stradivarius, who delivered a tour de force 10-length romp in the Gold Cup, and the James Doyle-piloted Lord North, who rose out of the handicap ranks to decisively land the Prince of Wales. Gosden and Dettori missed winning the Group 1 Queen Anne by a nose when Circus Maximus nipped Terebellum. The pair teamed up with the impressive Frankly Darling to win the Group 2 Ribblesdale on Tuesday.

Dettori was on fire during Saturday’s closing program, adding wins in the Group 2 Queen Mary with the Wesley Ward-trained Campanelle and in the Group 1 Coronation Stakes, where Alpine Star beat the Graham Motion-trained Sharing by 4 1/4 lengths.

Palace Pier, a 4-1 chance, broke slowly and Dettori found himself last early in the one-turn mile race for 3-year-olds, but he wound up engineering a great trip, nonetheless. Palace Pier came wide at the quarter pole for his final run, holding Pinatubo in a tight spot, then outfinishing him through the final 50 yards to draw away very late for a one-length win. Palace Pier was making his stakes debut Saturday after a pair of Sandown Park turf wins at age 2 and a victory over the Newcastle all-weather course in what turned out to be a perfect prep for the St. James’s Palace. Palace Pier is by Kingman, whom Gosden trained, out of Beach Frolic, by Nayef, and he could wind up in the Prix Jacques les Marois later this summer.

Pinatubo gave a fine account of himself, edging Wichita for second, but now has lost both his starts at 3 after an unbeaten champion 2-year-old campaign.

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Dettori worked magic with Alpine Star in the Coronation, the sister race to the St. James’s Palace, slipping up the fence through the final furlong and a half as his mount delivered a powerful finish. Sharing acquitted herself creditably, as she struggled to find her best stride on the good-to-soft going through the home straight. She eventually got enough momentum to run into second, finishing almost two lengths ahead of race favorite Quadrilateral. Jessica Harrington trains Alpine Star, a Niarchos family homebred by Sea the Stars, out of Alpha Lupi, who produced the excellent filly Alpha Centauri for these same connections. Harrington said there’s no set plan for Alpine Magic other than avoiding courses that are too firm.

Ward sent out second-place finishers Friday at Ascot with Kimari in the Commonwealth Cup and Golden Pal in the Norfolk and broke through Saturday when Campanelle won the Queen Mary by three-quarters of a length over Sacred. Dettori presciently placed Campanelle by herself farthest from the stand’s side rail and got a strong finish out his filly, who saw off Sacred’s sustained challenge to give Ward his fourth win in the five-furlong straight-course sprint. Campanelle, owned by Stonestreet Stables, is by Kodiac out of Janina, by Namid.

In the Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes, Hello Youmzain won a three-horse photo over Dream of Dreams and favored Sceptical, providing jockey Kevin Stott and trainer Kevin Ryan with a big-race Royal Ascot win in this six-furlong straight-course sprint. Sceptical opened about a length on Hello Youmzain a furlong from the finish but wilted slightly through the uphill finish as Hello Youmzain plugged away and Dream of Dreams rallied late. Hello Youmzain finished third in the Commonwealth last Royal Ascot and won the Group 1 Haydock Park Sprint. The 4-year-old is by Kodiac and out of Spasha, by the late Shamardal, and he earned automatic fees-paid entry and travel expenses to the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland through the BC Win and You’re In program.