Wesley Ward is embarking on a groundbreaking raid on Royal Ascot this week, when he will be saddling not one, but six horses at Great Britain's most prestigious race meeting.
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DRF Past Performances
Trainer Jean-Claude Rouget and jockey Christophe Lemaire have an excellent chance of winning their third French classic this year at Chantilly on Sunday. Stacelita is the likely favorite in the 12-runner Prix de Diane, or French Oaks, for fillies at 1 5/16 miles.
The pair combined to win the French 1000 Guineas with Elusive Wave and last Sunday's French Derby with Le Havre.
Stacelita has the qualifications to add to that tally. She is unbeaten in four races, and her winning margins have increased as the competition has grown stronger.
Vodka successfully defended her $1.98 million Yasuda Kinen title at Tokyo on Sunday as she finished with a late rush to defeat Deep Sky by three-quarters of a length in the Grade 1 mile. The victory was her sixth at the highest level and increased her lifetime earnings to $9,552,907, a world record for fillies and mares.
Le Havre capped a huge day for Jean-Claude Rouget and Christophe Lemaire at Chantilly on Sunday as he came with a late run to win the $2 million Prix du Jockey-Club, or French Derby. The victory by Le Havre, the French 2000 Guineas runner-up, completed a stakes triple for the white-hot trainer/jockey tandem, as they had earlier teamed to produce Quetsche in the 1 1/2-mile, Group 3 Prix de Royaumont and Oiseau de Feu in the one-mile, Group 3 Prix Paul de Moussac.
Sea the Stars became the first horse since Nashwan in 1989 to complete the 2,000 Guineas and Epsom Derby double with a convincing 1 3/4-length victory in the Epsom Derby on Saturday.
The 5-2 second choice, Sea the Stars lived up to his impeccable breeding, overtaking the longtime leader Golden Sword passing the eighth pole and running on strongly to beat the favorite, Fame and Glory, and stopping the clock at 2:36.74 for the 1 1/2 miles on "good" turf.
Japan's two highest rated older horses, Vodka and Deep Sky, go head to head Sunday at Tokyo Racecourse in the $2 million Yasuda Kinen, a Grade 1 mile that has also attracted two of Hong Kong's leading milers, Sight Winner and Armada.
The edge must belong to Vodka. A 5-year-old mare trained by Katsuhiko Sumii, she returned from a couple of subpar efforts in Dubai to take the Victoria Mile against her own sex on May 17 over the Yasuda Kinen course and distance, and has drawn perfectly in three with regular rider Yutaka Take aboard.
Sariska fended off Midday to capture the 231st running of the $566,000 English Oaks at Epsom on Friday, prevailing by a head as Rainbow View faded to fourth in the 1 1/2-mile classic for fillies after taking a nasty bump from the winner at the quarter pole.
Sea the Stars can complete a classic double on Saturday when he takes on one of the best fields in recent memory in the 230th running of the $2 million Epsom Derby.
The winner of the 2000 Guineas five weeks ago in a way that suggested that he will be able to handle the step up in distance from a mile to a 1 1/2 miles, Sea the Stars, trained by John Oxx, has been bet down to clear 5-2 favoritism this week despite the presence of a very strong six-horse battalion being sent out by Aidan O'Brien and his Coolmore backers.
The world economic crisis has claimed another million-dollar race. New Zealand Racing announced on Wednesday that the Kelt Capital Stakes, run with a price tag of $1.2 million (U.S.) each of the last two years, will be cut to $790,000 for its Oct. 3 running at Hastings Racecourse.