Royal Ascot
Five greatest foreign-trained Royal Ascot winners
A quintessentially British event where the best horses and most stylish people from the UK congregate, it can be easy to forget that Royal Ascot is very much an international race meeting.
Top-tier races which attract horses from the highest echelons worldwide are often won by horses bred and trained abroad, five of the best of which are discussed below.
Tepin, Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes, 2016
Both bred and trained in the United States, Tepin was a 2011 daughter of Bernstein who, in the charge of handler Mark Casse, won twice, including in Graded company as a two-year-old, which hinted at her talents.
After a disappointing three-year-old campaign, Tepin flew back onto the winning scene with a flawless hat-trick at Gulfstream Park, Churchill Downs and finally Belmont Park in the Grade 1 Just A Game Stakes over one mile. A further two Grade 1 wins would follow that season, showing that Casse had a serious filly on his hands for the following season.
In 2016, now as a fully matured five-year-old, Tepin began her year in much the same way as she had the previous one, with a progressive hat-trick of Graded races, stepping up in class and improving with each start. Her performance in the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley Stakes at Keeneland over a mile and half a furlong, where she stormed home leading by five lengths, was perhaps the best of her whole career.
Despite tallying a further success at Churchill Downs prior to going to Royal Ascot, the first time the mare travelled abroad for a race, she was not favoured by the betting market for the Queen Anne Stakes. Roger Varian’s Lockinge Stakes-winning colt Belardo was joint favourite with French-trained Ervedya, the 2015 winner of the Group 1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp. Though not totally unbacked, Tepin was seemingly underestimated by the UK bettors, being equal in the market to Ger Lyons’ Endless Drama who, at this point, hadn’t won a race since his two-year-old maiden. She more than proved herself, however, with a near-perfect, prominent run under Julien Leparoux to win by half a length.
This would be her last season on the racetrack before going to stud to become a broodmare.
Goldikova, Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes, 2010
Trained by Freddy Head in France and always ridden by Olivier Peslier, Goldikova only finished outside of the first three once in her 27 career starts.
By the end of her three-year-old season, she had won three Group 1 races, including the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita in the USA, establishing herself as a top international racehorse.
The daughter of Anabaa first travelled to the UK in 2009 to win the Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket, for which she was short-priced favourite at 7/4 and, later that season, went back to Santa Anita to win her second Breeders’ Cup Mile. Three international wins now had Goldikova firmly in the forefront of punters’ minds.
When she went to Royal Ascot for the first time as a five-year-old for the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes, she was expected to perform to her usual best and, as such, was heavily backed into a starting price of 8/11. She proved her worth both to her backers and connections that day, running a spectacular race to win by a neck to the challenging Paco Boy.
Later that season, Goldikova went back to the USA to win her third Breeders’ Cup Mile. Retired to stud after her last race in 2011, she was an exceptional racemare.
Little Bridge, Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes, 2012
Hong Kong-trained gelding Little Bridge started his career as an impressive handicapper who was competitive, though not a world-beater, in Group company. Tried over a wide variety of trips, he could be fairly inconsistent but, when it was his day, he could put in a formidable performance.
An example of this was his excellent win of the Group 2 Jockey Club Sprint at Sha Tin, in which he raced prominently and looked the winner early on. Connections knew that, if not the results to match, he had the ability to excel on the world stage.
The following year, 2012, Little Bridge hit rather a purple patch, winning his first two starts of the year over five and six furlongs, both in Listed contests at Sha Tin. Royal Ascot was worth a go.
In June of that year, the gelding made the long journey to the UK, the first time he had travelled abroad for a race, for the five-furlong Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes. Not well-fancied by the market having only ever run at Sha Tin with reasonable unpredictability, he jumped out the starting gates at 12/1.
Fortunately, Little Bridge was on a ‘going day’ at Ascot, and pulled out all the stops to storm home, holding off all of his top-class rivals to finish three-quarters of a length ahead of recent Temple Stakes winner Bated Breath.
He showed his doubters up to say the least.
Black Caviar, Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes, 2012
Australian-bred and trained mare Black Caviar has gone down in history, not only for her win at Royal Ascot, but for her whole career on the racecourse.
From a talented Black Type family, Black Caviar – trained by Peter Moody – was a class apart from the very beginning. She won all four starts in her first season, including the Group 2 Danehill Stakes, which still only showed a little of her extraordinary talent.
Over the next three years, she won each of her following 17 starts and, as a six-year-old, travelled to Royal Ascot totally unbeaten in Australia.
By now, the mare was well used to setting off as favourite, having started as such for almost every single start since the early portion of her first season, and started the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at 1/6.
Meeting a whole host of new rivals away from home turf did mean, however, that, even in victory, Black Caviar was harder pushed than usual to deliver her constant result. Not accustomed to winning by less than a length and a half, the mare was given a real battle by Moonlight Cloud, crossing the line just a head in front.
Back in Australia the following season, though, she was back to her usual lengths-clear winning form and remained unbeaten for each of her 25 career starts.
She was a never-before-seen talent, who has yet to be bettered.
Choisir, Group 2 King’s Stand Stakes & Group 1 Golden Jubilee Stakes, 2003
Another extraordinary Royal Ascot success story from Australia was the Paul Perry-trained colt, Choisir.
A high-level performer who had been consistently useful as a two and three-year-old, he hit his best career accomplishment so far aged four, finally winning a Group 1 race; the 2003 Lightning Stakes.
Falling by the wayside a little in his subsequent three runs, by the time Choisir arrived at Ascot, where he held entries in two races, the King’s Stand Stakes and the Golden Jubilee Stakes, he hadn’t really entered the considerations of those searching for the winners of the two races.
Anyone from the few who had backed Choisir for the King’s Stand Stakes would have been delighted with him as he made all to win at an enormous price of 25/1. The unassuming Australian runner became the one to beat from the moment they jumped out the stalls and finished a length ahead of Acclamation, the runner up.
But, his moment in the Royal Ascot sun was far from over. Choisir recovered well from the King’s Stand Stakes, so well, in fact, that Perry was able to declare him for the Golden Jubilee Stakes, four days later. While the colt had gained some market popularity from his win earlier in the week, some punters would have been wary of the quick turnaround, which left him joint-second in the betting.
Defying the nay-sayers once again, however, the son of Danehill Dancer trounced his rivals to finish half a length in front of the favourite, Airwave.
An unbelievable feat from a horse whose progeny have attested to his quality since.
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