Day Two of Royal Ascot features the five-day meeting’s most prestigious race with a fascinating clash for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes – the latest leg of the Breeders’ Cup ‘Win and You’re In’ Challenge series, offering a fees-paid berth in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita on November 4.
The hiccup suffered last week Desert Crown has robbed the £1 million event of a rare clash meeting between two Epsom Derby winners but 2021 hero winner Adayar has been earmarked for this all year, with world #1 trainer Charlie Appleby keen that the five-year-old proves himself in a top-class mile-and-a-quarter event.
However, he will have to reverse last October’s course-and-distance Champion Stakes running with Desert Crown’s stablemate Bay Bridge – plus a sobering statistic, the last Derby winner to have won the Prince of Wales’s having been Royal Palace back in 1968.
Bay Bridge is no last-minute substitute for his stable companion Desert Crown. He started favourite for this race a year ago (finished second to surprise winner State Of Rest). His subsequent Champion Stakes defeat of Adayar and My Prospero – when brilliant Baaeed suffered his sole career defeat – was a top-class effort.
Bay Bridge was beaten only narrowly by Luxembourg at the Curragh last time, and would have merited every respect whether Desert Crown ran here or not. Trainer Sir Michael Stoute is seeking a fifth Prince of Wales’s win here.
Intriguingly, Luxembourg was ante-post favourite for Desert Crown’s Derby only to be ruled out of Epsom through injury. Trainer Aidan O’Brien’s four winners in this Breeders’ Cup qualifier include 2016 Turf winner Highland Reel.
Front-running Classic Causeway, a G1 winner on turf in the Belmont Derby Invitational last summer, represents US interests. Although he has struggled since then and needs to seriously raise his game, his presence adds a welcome international dimension.
Key horses
Adayar (Charlie Appleby/William Buick) – confirmed there was no fluke about his shock win in 2021 Epsom Derby by beating Mishriff in King George at Ascot the following month; only two subsequent wins in an interrupted career have been in much lesser races, but last month’s G3 success at Newmarket is already working out well.
Luxembourg (Aidan O’ Brien/Ryan Moore) – favourite when forced to miss last year’s Epsom Derby through injury; has since confirmed himself top-class at this trip with G1 wins in Irish Champion Stakes (from very strong field) and Tattersalls Gold Cup (beat Bay Bridge).
Bay Bridge (Sir Michael Stoute/Richard Kingscote) – odds-on when second to State Of Rest here 12 months ago but left that form behind over same C&D at end of year when beating Adayar and My Prospero narrowly in QIPCO Champion Stakes; beaten twice this year, but looked to be coming back to boil when going down by only half-length to Luxembourg at the Curragh last time.
My Prospero (William Haggas/Tom Marquand) – good third in blanket finish to 1m St James’s Palace Stakes here a year ago, but even better when close third to Bay Bridge in Champion Stakes over this C&D in October; found trip too sharp back over a mile when fourth in Lockinge Stakes on reappearance.
Mostahdaf (John & Thady Gosden/Jim Crowley) – remains something of an enigma; however, beat Dubai Honour readily in Polytrack G3 at Kempton last September and confirmed what a classy individual he is on his day when a seven-length winner of valuable G3 on turf in Saudi in February.
Shall we talk about it?
Charlie Appleby, trainer of Adayar: “We have been delighted with how Adayar has come forward since the Gordon Richards Stakes. It was always the plan to come straight to Ascot afterwards and he ticks all the boxes coming into the race. It’s a very strong renewal but Adayar is in great shape and we are very much looking forward to it. The target this season has been to win a G1 over a mile and a quarter and this will hopefully be his opportunity.”
James Savage, assistant trainer to Sir Michael Stoute, trainer of Bay Bridge: “It is what we expected, a very strong renewal –the mile-and-a-quarter division is as strong as I have seen – but he took a step forward for every run last year. He took a massive step forward from France to the Curragh, running a big race behind Luxembourg, and we expect him to improve again at Ascot. If Ascot gets the forecast rain that would be positive, but he showed he is effective on good ground at the Curragh.”
Aidan O’Brien, trainer of Luxembourg: ““He came forward nicely to win at the Curragh and the good thing about it was he didn’t seem to mind making the running, so we know he can do that if he wants at Ascot. He doesn’t have to do that. Ryan can decide for himself what he wants to do depending on the pace. He seems to have been in good form since.”
William Haggas, trainer of My Prospero: “It’s going to be a strong race but My Prospero has improved for his run in the Lockinge and he should improve for the step back up in trip.”
Kenny McPeek, trainer of Classic Causeway: ““We gave him a couple more tries on the dirt earlier in the season and he ran well but we are still trying to get back to his Group 1 form. I think the turf is his preferred surface but equally he is a horse who has to have the tactics his own way. If he has time to breathe on the front, he can be very tough to catch, as he showed in the Belmont Derby last year.”
Graham Dench’s verdict
This race is no respecter of reputations – three Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winners have been beaten here in the last decade. That said, on form it’s hard to get away from the front three in the betting, although they have been divided by only small margins in the past and are hard to split once again. Slight preference is for LUXEMBOURG, who is tactically versatile and has that recent verdict over Bay Bridge, but nobody could be surprised if Adayar beats the pair of them. My Prospero is clear pick of the other three.
• The annual Breeders’ Cup ‘Win and You’re In’ Challenge is an international series of 80 stakes races whose winners receive automatic qualifying positions, with fees paid, into a corresponding race at the 40th edition of America’s end-of-season championships, held this year on November 3-4 at Santa Anita California. A total of 39 international races are part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge for 2023, among them races in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, England, France, Ireland, Japan, Peru, and South Africa.
• Visit the Breeders’ Cup website and the Breeders’ Cup Challenge web page
Seb Sanders: As a pundit I am not as hard on others as I was on myself
View the latest TRC Global Rankings for horses / jockeys / trainers / sires