Royal Ascot: Ward finishes second in two stakes; Gosden keeps rolling with Hardwicke win
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When Wesley Ward sends horses to Royal Ascot, he always keeps a close eye on the weather. His speedy invaders go to England looking for dry conditions, firm ground. This Royal Ascot meeting started off fairly dry, but midweek rained turned the course soft on Thursday, good-to-soft Friday, and the somewhat testing conditions might have been the undoing of two live Ward runners on Friday’s card.
In the Group 2 Norfolk, a five-furlong sprint for 2-year-olds, Golden Pal looked like a sure winner a furlong from the finish, only to be nipped on the wire by The Lir Jet. And in the featured Group 1 Commonwealth Cup, Kimari, also trained by Ward, battled tooth and nail but just couldn’t unleash her usual brilliant finish, coming home second to Golden Horde in this six-furlong, straight course sprint.
"She ran super but the ground was too sticky," jockey Frankie Dettori said of Kimari. "She went through the race well but couldn't pick up in the ground."
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The Lir Jet earned an automatic fees-paid entry into the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint through the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Win and You’re In program. Ward earned the satisfaction of having two horses run excellent races far from home, only a small consolation for tough defeats.
Dettori got his stakes win Friday on Fanny Logan, fourth last fall in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf. Fanny Logan rallied from last to beat males and win the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes by 2 1/2 lengths over Alounak as trainer John Gosden’s excellent Royal Ascot meeting continued. Fanny Logan, a 4-year-old filly by Sea the Stars out of Linda Radlett, ended her 3-year-old campaign in strong form and would seem a logical candidate to return for another Breeders’ Cup try this fall at Keeneland.
Royal Horde, meanwhile, led the stand’s side group in the Commonwealth while racing second overall behind Millisle, who ran from the front of the group of horses racing down the center of the course before the two packs joined between the three- and two-furlong markers. Kimari is not a great gate horse at all and broke awkwardly Friday, coming under strong urging three furlongs out. She briefly gained on Golden Horde, but under jockey Adam Kirby he found more through the uphill finish and crossed the line 1 1/2 lengths in front, Kimari finishing 2 1/2 lengths ahead of third-place Ventura Rebel.
Clive Cox trains Golden Horde, whose best win last year at age 2 came in the Group 2 Richmond Stakes. Golden Horde is by Lethal Force out of Entreat, by Pivotal.
The Lir Jet, winner of the Norfolk, recently was purchased by Qatar Racing while remaining in the yard of trainer Michael Bell. Oisin Murphy rode the son of Prince of Lir and Paper Dreams, by Green Desert.