Latest news with #Asfoora
CNA
17-06-2025
- Sport
- CNA
Horse racing-Docklands wins dramatic opening race at sunny Royal Ascot
ASCOT, England :Docklands claimed victory in a thrilling battle with favourite Rosallion in the opening race at a gloriously sunny Royal Ascot on Tuesday, the start of five days of high-class racing, fashion and big-stakes betting at the famous English course. Catching the leaders after missing the initial break, Docklands drove to the front to press Rosallion all the way to the line, with the judges ruling in his favour, despite jockey Mark Zahra dropping his whip. The Harry Eustace-trained victor, second in this race last year, gave the trainer his third Royal Ascot winner. "I just crept as much as I could and just got room at the right time," said Zahra. "He burst through and just kept responding. It's one of the top moments of my career for sure." Horses will compete in 35 races across the Royal meeting hoping to net a share of 10 million pounds ($13.5 million) of prize money. As well as eight Group 1 races with prizes worth a minimum of 650,000 pounds, the card features several handicaps attracting big fields of hopefuls. The opening day features two other Group 1 contests including the King Charles III Stakes which will see Australian raider and last year's winner Asfoora take on in-foal mare and Group 1 winner Believing. In Tuesday's feature race, the 650,000-pound St James's Palace Stakes, the year's best three-year-old colt milers including Irish, French and British 2,000 Guineas winners Field Of Gold, Ruling Court and Henri Matisse, will race over the round mile. The prestige of Royal Ascot attracts trainers from all over the world and this year sees contenders from nine countries including Japan, Australia, France, Ireland and the United States. Leading U.S. trainer Wesley Ward will miss the meeting for the first time since 2012 but France's Lazzat, trained by Jerome Reynier, is fancied in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes for new owner Wathnan Racing, while leading Japanese sprinter Satono Reve is well backed for Noriyuki Hori in the same race on Saturday. 100 WINNERS Multiple Classic winning trainer and Ascot's most successful current trainer Aidan O'Brien is chasing 100 winners at the Royal meeting and starts the week on 91. Ballydoyle sends out a strong string including Wednesday's Prince of Wales's Stakes hope Los Angeles, last year's Irish Derby winner, and Lingfield Derby trial star Puppet Master. O'Brien also trains Gold Cup favourite Illinois, who replaced long-distance star Kyprios as Ballydoyle's first string for Thursday's race after the dual-Gold Cup winner was retired in May due to injury. First run in 1807, the Gold Cup is a gruelling two-and-a-half mile marathon that tests stamina and attracts the best staying horses in Europe. One of the oldest and most prestigious races at Royal Ascot, the Gold Cup has attracted eight entries this year including the Aga Khan stable's Candelari and second-favourite, the Godolphin-owned Trawlerman. Epsom Derby-winning Ryan Moore is the meeting's top current jockey with 85 wins on the course and he will have several chances to add to his haul. Britain's most successful female jockey Hollie Doyle is booked for 10 rides and will be looking to add to her 1,000-plus career wins. While Royal Ascot attracts the biggest global names in racing, it is not all about the powerhouses such as Godolphin and big spenders like Amo Racing. Small trainers have enjoyed big success in previous years and this week will see the likes of 100/1 Whitcombe Rockstar for small Dorset trainer Kieran Burke compete in the Royal Hunt Cup, while Regional starts at 17/2 in Tuesday's King Charles for Yorkshire-based Edward Bethell having cost around 3,500 pounds. Some 300,000 visitors are expected to attend with entry tickets running from 25 pounds into the thousands for premium passes.
Reuters
17-06-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Horse racing-Docklands wins dramatic opening race at sunny Royal Ascot
ASCOT, England, June 17 (Reuters) - Docklands claimed victory in a thrilling battle with favourite Rosallion in the opening race at a gloriously sunny Royal Ascot on Tuesday, the start of five days of high-class racing, fashion and big-stakes betting at the famous English course. Catching the leaders after missing the initial break, Docklands drove to the front to press Rosallion all the way to the line, with the judges ruling in his favour, despite jockey Mark Zahra dropping his whip. The Harry Eustace-trained victor, second in this race last year, gave the trainer his third Royal Ascot winner. "I just crept as much as I could and just got room at the right time," said Zahra. "He burst through and just kept responding. It's one of the top moments of my career for sure." Horses will compete in 35 races across the Royal meeting hoping to net a share of 10 million pounds ($13.5 million) of prize money. As well as eight Group 1 races with prizes worth a minimum of 650,000 pounds, the card features several handicaps attracting big fields of hopefuls. The opening day features two other Group 1 contests including the King Charles III Stakes which will see Australian raider and last year's winner Asfoora take on in-foal mare and Group 1 winner Believing. In Tuesday's feature race, the 650,000-pound St James's Palace Stakes, the year's best three-year-old colt milers including Irish, French and British 2,000 Guineas winners Field Of Gold, Ruling Court and Henri Matisse, will race over the round mile. The prestige of Royal Ascot attracts trainers from all over the world and this year sees contenders from nine countries including Japan, Australia, France, Ireland and the United States. Leading U.S. trainer Wesley Ward will miss the meeting for the first time since 2012 but France's Lazzat, trained by Jerome Reynier, is fancied in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes for new owner Wathnan Racing, while leading Japanese sprinter Satono Reve is well backed for Noriyuki Hori in the same race on Saturday. Multiple Classic winning trainer and Ascot's most successful current trainer Aidan O'Brien is chasing 100 winners at the Royal meeting and starts the week on 91. Ballydoyle sends out a strong string including Wednesday's Prince of Wales's Stakes hope Los Angeles, last year's Irish Derby winner, and Lingfield Derby trial star Puppet Master. O'Brien also trains Gold Cup favourite Illinois, who replaced long-distance star Kyprios as Ballydoyle's first string for Thursday's race after the dual-Gold Cup winner was retired in May due to injury. First run in 1807, the Gold Cup is a gruelling two-and-a-half mile marathon that tests stamina and attracts the best staying horses in Europe. One of the oldest and most prestigious races at Royal Ascot, the Gold Cup has attracted eight entries this year including the Aga Khan stable's Candelari and second-favourite, the Godolphin-owned Trawlerman. Epsom Derby-winning Ryan Moore is the meeting's top current jockey with 85 wins on the course and he will have several chances to add to his haul. Britain's most successful female jockey Hollie Doyle is booked for 10 rides and will be looking to add to her 1,000-plus career wins. While Royal Ascot attracts the biggest global names in racing, it is not all about the powerhouses such as Godolphin and big spenders like Amo Racing. Small trainers have enjoyed big success in previous years and this week will see the likes of 100/1 Whitcombe Rockstar for small Dorset trainer Kieran Burke compete in the Royal Hunt Cup, while Regional starts at 17/2 in Tuesday's King Charles for Yorkshire-based Edward Bethell having cost around 3,500 pounds. Some 300,000 visitors are expected to attend with entry tickets running from 25 pounds into the thousands for premium passes. ($1 = 0.7387 pounds)
The Guardian
17-06-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Royal Ascot 2025 day one updates: news, previews and more
Update: Date: 2025-06-17T09:52:19.000Z Title: 2.30pm Content: Good morning. Here's the run down of the action today: – Queen Anne Stakes (Group 1) 1m 3.05pm - Coventry Stakes (Group 2) 6f 3.40pm - King Charles III Stakes (Group 1) 5f 4.20pm - St James's Palace Stakes (Group 1) 1m 5.00pm - Ascot Stakes (Handicap) (Class 2) 2m 4f 5.35pm - Wolferton Stakes (Listed) 1m 2f 6.10pm - Copper Horse Stakes (Handicap) (Class 2) 1m 6f Update: Date: 2025-06-17T09:39:05.000Z Title: Preamble Content: Good morning from Ascot on day one of the 2025 Royal meeting … and what a morning! The sun is out, the temperatures are climbing past 20C already and the best news of all is that the fine weather is looking set for the week. Royal Ascot's immutability is one of the wonders of the modern age. Nothing really seems to faze it – whatever the weather, however troubled the times, it keeps on keeping on, just as it always has, despite significant 'under the bonnet' changes to the race programme that have seen it expand from four days and 24 races to five days and 35 in only around 20 years. Tradition is stamped all over it with the permanence of a tattoo, and that includes their insistence on kicking off the week with three of the eight Group One events in the space of the first four races. The Queen Anne Stakes (2.30pm, all times BST), at the top of the card, is a wide-open renewal with two Classic winners from last season in the field, the Australian mare Asfoora is back to attempt a repeat win in the King Charles III Stakes (3.40pm) and the spring's three major 2,000 Guineas winners are all going to post for the St James's Palace Stakes at 4.20pm. The early betting news today is that Henri Matisse, the French 2,000 Guineas winner, is out to 4-1 for the St James's Palace while Ruling Court, who took the original 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, is solid at 100-30 behind the odds-on favourite, Field Of Gold. Ryan Moore, meanwhile, starts the week as the odds-on favourite to finish as the meeting's top jockey for the 12th time in all and the fourth year in a row, while Aidan O'Brien, his main backer, is also odds-on to land the trainers' title, in his case for the ninth time in 11 years. The going is good to firm – perfect summer racing ground – and the action on the track is under way at 2.30pm, (or about 1.55pm if you include the royal procession, which is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year). And you can, as ever, find all the news, views, results, betting and more here on the blog until the crowd are belting out all the old favourites around the bandstand after racing.
Daily Telegraph
17-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Telegraph
How to watch Royal Ascot 2025: Australian horses, race times
Don't miss out on the headlines from Horse Racing. Followed categories will be added to My News. Asfoora is back to defend her title but she isn't the only Australian interest at England's famous Royal Ascot carnival this week. Champion jockeys James McDonald and Mark Zahra are riding, the nation's premier trainer Ciaron Maher has a starter, Golden Eagle winner Lake Forest and runner-up Lazzat are racing, Coolmore's crack colt Storm Boy is on a redemption mission and leading Sydney bookmakers Rob Waterhouse and Warren Woodcock will be fielding at Royal Ascot. The Henry Dwyer-trained Asfoora is making a historic attempt to win a second successive Group 1 King Charles III Stakes (1000m) on Tuesday night. Despite the dominance of the Aussie sprinters at Royal Ascot in the last two decades, Asfoora is trying to join trailblazer Choisir as the only dual winner at England's prestigious racing carnival. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Choisir scored famous wins in the King's Stand Stakes and Golden Jubilee Stakes in 2003. The King's Stand, now known as the King Charles III Stakes, has since been won by Takeover Target (2006), Miss Andretti (2007), Scenic Blast (2009), Nature Strip (2022) and Asfoora last year. Black Caviar (2012) is the only other Australian-trained sprinter to win the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (formerly Golden Jubilee) although Starspangledbanner (2010) and Merchant Navy (2018) won the race after being transferred to Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien. Asfoora is the $5 favourite with TAB Fixed Odds for the feature sprint which is run at 12.40am Wednesday. • 'I'm just not sure about her this year': Francesca Cumani reveals Asfoora doubts 'I feel like there is less pressure this year as she has been there and done it,'' Dwyer told the English media. 'It's an expensive trip and there's huge costs involved, but she was able to repay us last year and the money is in the bank now. 'This year is a bonus, she owes us nothing and we're just here for the experience and the fun of it. We're happy with her and hopefully she runs well. Dwyer has retained Irish jockey Oisin Murphy for Asfoora with the only difference to last year being the decision to put blinkers on the mare. 'The blinkers might add that little one per cent we need,'' the trainer said. • Gollan's trip of a lifetime to Royal Ascot McDonald, Sydney's champion jockey and currently the leader in this year's World Jockey Rankings, is riding the first three days at Royal Ascot. He has two Group 1 rides on the opening day with English sprinter Aesterius in the King Charles and also American star Carl Spackler in the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes (1600m) which opens the Royal Ascot carnival at 11.30pm. Carl Spackler, a three-time US Group 1 winner including the Maker's Mark Stakes at Keeneland last start, is now trained by Maher and will join his Australian stables after the English summer. Zahra, Melbourne's top jockey, is having one ride at Royal Ascot and on the OTI-owned Docklands in the Queen Anne. TAB Fixed Odds betting has Carl Spackler at $13 and Docklands at $15 behind the outstanding Rosallion who won the Group 1 St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot last year. The highlights of this year's Royal Ascot carnival. • Littlefield eyes Royal Ascot-Glorious Goodwood double Golden Eagle winner Lake Forest, trained by English maestro William Haggas, is also among Queen Anne contenders and is an $11 chance. Lake Forest defeated French star Lazzat in the Golden Eagle at Rosehill last spring and the latter is early favourite at $3.60 for the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (1200m) on Saturday night. Lazzat was unplaced twice at 1600m after his Golden Eagle win but burst back to top form winning a Listed race at Chantilly by more than five lengths last start. Among Lazzat's Royal Ascot rivals is former brilliant Sydney sprinter Storm Boy, who is now with Irish maestro Aidan O'Brien. Storm Boy, winner of last year's Magic Millions 2yo Classic, Skyline Stakes and San Domenico Stakes when trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, is at $5 in betting for Saturday's Royal Ascot sprint despite finishing last at his debut for the O'Brien stable at The Curragh last month. Brisbane trainer Tony Gollan has bought into Hey Tru Blue and will be at Royal Ascot to watch the colt race with plans to bring the sprinter to Australia later this year. Originally published as Royal Ascot 2025: Your complete guide to all the action as Australian horses, trainers and jockeys descend on famous carnival
News.com.au
16-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Royal Ascot 2025: Your complete guide to all the action as Australian horses, trainers and jockeys descend on famous carnival
Asfoora is back to defend her title but she isn't the only Australian interest at England's famous Royal Ascot carnival this week. Champion jockeys James McDonald and Mark Zahra are riding, the nation's premier trainer Ciaron Maher has a starter, Golden Eagle winner Lake Forest and runner-up Lazzat are racing, Coolmore's crack colt Storm Boy is on a redemption mission and leading Sydney bookmakers Rob Waterhouse and Warren Woodcock will be fielding at Royal Ascot. The Henry Dwyer -trained Asfoora is making a historic attempt to win a second successive Group 1 King Charles III Stakes (1000m) on Tuesday night. Despite the dominance of the Aussie sprinters at Royal Ascot in the last two decades, Asfoora is trying to join trailblazer Choisir as the only dual winner at England's prestigious racing carnival. Choisir scored famous wins in the King's Stand Stakes and Golden Jubilee Stakes in 2003. The King's Stand, now known as the King Charles III Stakes, has since been won by Takeover Target (2006), Miss Andretti (2007), Scenic Blast (2009), Nature Strip (2022) and Asfoora last year. Black Caviar (2012) is the only other Australian-trained sprinter to win the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (formerly Golden Jubilee) although Starspangledbanner (2010) and Merchant Navy (2018) won the race after being transferred to Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien. Asfoora is the $5 favourite with TAB Fixed Odds for the feature sprint which is run at 12.40am Wednesday. Asfoora has done it!!! She wins the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot! You beauty! 🇦🇰 @HDwyerRacing — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 18, 2024 • 'I feel like there is less pressure this year as she has been there and done it,'' Dwyer told the English media. 'It's an expensive trip and there's huge costs involved, but she was able to repay us last year and the money is in the bank now. 'This year is a bonus, she owes us nothing and we're just here for the experience and the fun of it. We're happy with her and hopefully she runs well. Dwyer has retained Irish jockey Oisin Murphy for Asfoora with the only difference to last year being the decision to put blinkers on the mare. 'The blinkers might add that little one per cent we need,'' the trainer said. Take a spin down the famous @FlemingtonVRC straight with Asfoora and @AitkenMitch. ðŸ'¹ @RisingSunSynd ðŸ'¨ðŸ�»â€�ðŸ'» @JarroydMartin — Henry Dwyer Racing (@HDwyerRacing) May 23, 2025 • Gollan's trip of a lifetime to Royal Ascot McDonald, Sydney's champion jockey and currently the leader in this year's World Jockey Rankings, is riding the first three days at Royal Ascot. He has two Group 1 rides on the opening day with English sprinter Aesterius in the King Charles and also American star Carl Spackler in the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes (1600m) which opens the Royal Ascot carnival at 11.30pm. Carl Spackler, a three-time US Group 1 winner including the Maker's Mark Stakes at Keeneland last start, is now trained by Maher and will join his Australian stables after the English summer. Zahra, Melbourne's top jockey, is having one ride at Royal Ascot and on the OTI-owned Docklands in the Queen Anne. TAB Fixed Odds betting has Carl Spackler at $13 and Docklands at $15 behind the outstanding Rosallio n who won the Group 1 St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot last year. Golden Eagle winner Lake Forest, trained by English maestro William Haggas, is also among Queen Anne contenders and is an $11 chance. Lake Forest defeated French star Lazzat in the Golden Eagle at Rosehill last spring and the latter is early favourite at $3.60 for the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (1200m) on Saturday night. Lazzat was unplaced twice at 1600m after his Golden Eagle win but burst back to top form winning a Listed race at Chantilly by more than five lengths last start. Among Lazzat's Royal Ascot rivals is former brilliant Sydney sprinter Storm Boy, who is now with Irish maestro Aidan O'Brien. Storm Boy, winner of last year's Magic Millions 2yo Classic, Skyline Stakes and San Domenico Stakes when trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, is at $5 in betting for Saturday's Royal Ascot sprint despite finishing last at his debut for the O'Brien stable at The Curragh last month. Brisbane trainer Tony Gollan has bought into Hey Tru Blue and will be at Royal Ascot to watch the colt race with plans to bring the sprinter to Australia later this year.
