Royal Ascot 2026: Almeraq gets up over Satono Reve to upset Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee
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More than nine months after he clipped heels and fell in a minor sprint stakes at York Racecourse in Britain, Almeraq won his group stakes debut in Saturday’s Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at six furlongs at Royal Ascot, one of the country’s leading sprints.
Almeraq (who paid $78.50 in American pools) closed from a stalking position to win by a nose over 2-1 Satono Reve of Japan. The Australian mare Joliestar, the 8-5 favorite, finished third, a short head behind Satono Reve.
Those three were followed by 30-1 Stolen Kiss, who finished a head behind Joliestar in the field of 18.
Almeraq, ridden by Tom Marquand for trainer William Haggas, won for the fourth time in his seventh start in the $1.32 million Jubilee Stakes, run on a straightaway course.
Almeraq reached contention in the final sixteenth and took the lead at the finish, denying Satono Reve, who was second in the 2025 Jubilee Stakes.
Haggas told the press on Saturday that Almeraq needed considerable time to recover from the fall at York. He was ridden that day by Jim Crowley, who has yet to resume racing, but has been riding workouts recently.
The Jubilee Stakes was Almeraq’s second win in as many starts this year. A 4-year-old colt by Dark Angel, Almeraq won the minor Cathedral Stakes at six furlongs at Salisbury on May 23 in his first start since falling.
“The horse took a long time to come back and it has been gently, gently this spring,” Haggas said. “He won nicely at Salisbury, but this is a completely different jump in class and he has managed to cope with it.
“He is a beautiful horse, we have always loved him. A big, strong, powerful horse, and I think he will get better because he is pretty-lightly raced.”
Marquand dedicated the win to Crowley.
“My first thought when I thought I had won was for Jim,” Marquand said. “This horse and he both took horror falls at the back end of last year. Jim is fighting for his career, he should be aboard this horse, it is his ride.”
Almeraq races for owner and breeder Shadwell Stud.
The Jubilee Stakes was the leading race on Saturday’s fifth and final day of the Royal Ascot meeting.
In the opening race, Orthodox ($16) overpowered 20 rivals to win the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes for 2-year-olds by an impressive 3 1/2 lengths.
Ridden by Rossa Ryan, Orthodox was always near the front in the five-furlong race on a straightaway course and took the lead in the final sixteenth.
El Floridita, who was more than 99-1 in American pools and was 150-1 with British bookmakers, finished a surprise second, a neck in front of 87-1 Mussab.
Carry the Flag, trained by Aidan O’Brien, was the 9-5 favorite and finished ninth, beaten seven lengths.
Kentucky-based trainer Wesley Ward had three runners. Fanshell Beach (8-1), Ez Tina (12-1) and Through the Years (24-1) were all prominent early, but faded in the final furlong. Fanshell Beach finished fifth, beaten 4 1/2 lengths, with Ez Tina sixth and Through the Years 16th.
Orthodox, a colt by Havana Grey, is trained by Clive Cox, and has won his first two starts, beginning with a maiden race at five furlongs at Salisbury on May 14.
Orthodox earned a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Keeneland on Oct. 30 with the win in the Norfolk Stakes.
In the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes at 1 1/2 miles, Giavellotto ($17.40) ended a four-race losing streak with a narrow win over 2-1 favorite Kalpana.
Ridden by Oisin Murphy for trainer Marco Botti, Giavellotto closed from the middle of a field of 12 to challenge stretch leader Kalpana before winning by a short head. Goliath, the 7-2 second choice, finished third, beaten 1 3/4 lengths.
Ethical Diamond, the upset winner of the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar last November, finished ninth at 9-1, failing to pose a threat.
The 7-year-old Giavellotto has won 9 of 26 starts in a career that began in late 2021.
Saturday’s win was Giavellotto’s first since the Group 3 September Stakes at Kempton Park near London last year.
Giavellotto won the Group 1 Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong in December 2024, the most prestigious of his six stakes wins.
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