Solow, Gleneagles keep rolling

The two favorites won the big one-mile races on the opening day of the Royal Ascot meeting Tuesday, Solow capturing the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes and Gleneagles rolling home in the Group 1 St. James’s Palace Stakes later on the card.

It’s possible the pair could both show up next out in the Group 1 Sussex Stakes on July 29.

Solow won his seventh race in a row and is undefeated since he was gelded and cut back from marathon-type races to middle distances last year. He won his third straight Group 1 race Tuesday after victories in the Dubai Turf and Prix d’Ispahan this spring.

A bulky, gray 5-year-old gelding by Singspiel bred by the Wertheimer brothers and trained by Freddy Head, Solow raced prominently throughout the straight-course Queen Anne, tracking in third and second as Toormore set the pace. Coming abreast Tooremore with about a quarter-mile left to race, he quickly disposed of the pacesetter and saw off a challenge from the French filly Esoterique, winning by one length, though jockey Maxime Guyon had to encourage Solow more forcefully than in any race during his winning streak. Esoterique was a neck better than Cougar Mountain, with Toormore holding fourth over his shorter-priced stablemate Night of Thunder.

Able Friend, the Hong Kong star, never got untracked and checked in a one-paced sixth while making his first start away from Sha Tin Racecourse since he rose to prominence last year. Able Friend got hot before the race, which trainer John Moore called uncharacteristic, but neither Moore nor jockey Joao Moreira offered any other excuse.

Solow needed none. Head had mentioned the Breeders’ Cup as a possible year-end goal when Solow was in Dubai in late March but cast doubt on Solow’s participation after the Queen Anne, calling the Keeneland course tighter than ideal.

The 3-year-old Gleneagles, already a winner in the English and Irish 2000 Guineas this spring, had even less trouble in the 3-year-old-restricted St. James’s Palace. Consort set a moderate pace, with Gleneagles held up not far off the leader by Ryan Moore, and when Moore asked Gleneagles for run, the heavy favorite quickly delivered, drawing clear to win by 2 1/2 lengths, with Lotharnach up late for second over Consort. French 2000 Guineas winner Make Believe came home last of five.

Fourth in his debut, Gleneagles has since finished first in eight starts, though he was disqualified to third last fall in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere. Trained by Aidan O’Brien for Coolmore connections, Gleneagles is a son of Galileo out of the Storm Cat mare You’resothrilling.

In other Ascot action Tuesday:

◗ Goldream won a tight photo over Medicean Man to post an upset victory in the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes over five furlongs. Sole Power, who won the 2013 and 2014 King’s Stand, could only finish fifth with a belated rally.

◗ Buratino quickened impressively to win the Group 2 Coventry Stakes for 2-year-olds by two lengths. The Wesley Ward-trained Finnegan was scratched after colicking, while the favored Round Two faded to seventh after racing close up early.

Gold Cup main event Thursday

Thursday at Ascot is something of a bridge day between the bang-up first two days and the wind-down of the brief meeting Friday and Saturday, with the 2 1/2-mile Gold Cup the only Group 1 race on the program.

The Gold Cup drew a field of 13, with Forgotten Rules the likely favorite. A 5-year-old trained in Ireland by Dermot Weld, Forgotten Rules has raced only four times and never has really been challenged. Over heavy going at Ascot last fall, he won the Group 2 Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup by nearly two lengths in his group stakes debut, and Forgotten Rules launched his 2015 campaign with a Group 3 win. Forgotten Rules is unproven over 2 1/2 miles, but so are his rivals in a race that lost likely favorite Brown Panther to injury last week.