Royal Ascot ends with wins by Society's Rock, Await the Dawn

Society’s Rock, second in the race last year, scored an upset in the Group 1 Golden Jubilee on Saturday, the final day of the 2011 Royal Ascot meeting, but it was Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes winner Await the Dawn whom American racing fans may want to follow.

Await the Dawn scored an easy three-length win as the favorite in the Group 2 Hardwicke, winning in spite of a course turned soft by rain this week, trainer Aidan O’Brien said. Afterward, O’Brien mentioned the Breeders’ Cup Classic as a long-term goal for Await the Dawn, a 4-year-old son of Giant’s Causeway owned by Michael Tabor and Mrs. John Magnier.

Await the Dawn now has won five of six starts and found success for the first time Saturday at the Group 2 level. O’Brien and Await the Dawn’s rider, Ryan Moore, captured leading trainer and jockey honors at the five-day Royal Ascot meet.

The Golden Jubilee, contested over six furlongs, lost Delegator, one of the favorites, because of course conditions, and lacked anything like a standout among its 16 runners. Society’s Rock, trained by James Fanshawe and ridden by Pat Cosgrave, had lost five straight starts entering Saturday’s race, but came between horses inside the final furlong to beat Monsieur Chevalier by a half-length. Star Witness finished third.