Slade Power gets his Group 1 in Diamond Jubilee

Slade Power won his first Group 1 race in Saturday’s $894,705 Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot, giving owner Sabena Power and trainer Ed Lynam a sweep of the two Group 1 sprints during the five-day race meeting, which ended on Saturday.

Slade Power, the 7-2 favorite in a field of 14, was one of nine horses who moved to the outer rails shortly after the start of the race, run on a six-furlong straightaway. Ridden by Wayne Lordan, Slade Power was third of that group until the final quarter-mile, when he took the lead.

Slade Power, a 5-year-old Irish-bred horse by Dutch Art, finished 1 1/2 lengths in front of the 3-year-old Due Diligence, who raced on the opposite rail. Aljamaaheer finished third.

The Diamond Jubilee Stakes was the seventh stakes win for Slade Power, who could start in the Group 1 July Cup at Newmarket in July.

The Powers and Lynam won Tuesday’s Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes with Sole Power, another contender for the July Cup.

Earlier on Saturday, Richard Pankhurst, a colt by Raven’s Pass, won the Chesham Stakes for 2-year-olds, which included two runners from the stable of American trainer Wesley Ward.

Ward finished sixth with Cordero and 10th with Crown the Kitten in the seven-furlong race. Crown the Kitten, ridden by Victor Espinoza, had the early lead but faded with a quarter-mile remaining and encountered traffic late. Cordero, ridden by Ryan Moore, raced from off the pace and was in traffic in the final quarter-mile.

Ward and Espinoza teamed to win Tuesday’s Windsor Castle Stakes with Hootenanny.