Latest news with #DukeOfCambridgeStakes
New Paper
7 days ago
- Sport
- New Paper
Crimson Advocate on an upward spiral
A small field of eight fillies and mares will contest the £275,000 (S$478,000) Group 1 Falmouth Stakes (1,600m) at Newmarket on July 11, but it is still riveting for its quality and competitiveness, highlighted by a two-horse renewal of hostilities - Crimson Advocate and Cinderella's Dream. The pair quinellaed the Group 2 Duke Of Cambridge Stakes (1,600m) in that order at Royal Ascot on June 18, with Wathnan Racing's Crimson Advocate a clear-cut winner over Godolphin's Cinderella's Dream by nearly two lengths. With both mares sharing the top-weight of 61kg this time, Cinderella's Dream's task to turn the tables has arguably been rendered easier with a 1½kg swing. But, the separation visual of Crimson Advocate sweeping past her rival under gun Kiwi jockey James McDonald in the Duke Of Cambridge was so breathtaking that weights and measures might not be enough to overturn the result on Friday (at 10.35pm, Singapore time). The penny seems to have really dropped for Crimson Advocate since she came from America as a speedball boasting a record of three wins over 1,000m, including the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot two years ago. Not only has the Nyquist four-year-old gone to another level, but she has also added a new string to her bow as a miler. Since the Wathnan takeover and transfer to leading UK trainers John and Thady Gosden at Newmarket, she also won the Listed Conqueror Fillies' Stakes (1,600m) at Goodwood on May 3 before the Royal Ascot triumph. "She's a different filly this year and has taken her form to a completely new level," said Wathnan racing adviser Richard Brown to Racing Post. "Cinderella's Dream doesn't have the penalty this time, we're back at level weights, but she's a filly on the up and John and Thady are happy she seems to have come out of Ascot okay." The mare's progress is on an upward trajectory that her ambitious owners are keen to emulate in their own business model. It may be years before Godolphin or Coolmore are unseated as the two leading conglomerates of horse racing, but the emerging Wathnan Racing, the brainchild of the Emir of Qatar, head of the wealthy Al Thani family, is making swift inroads on the global scene. Ever since the gold, blue and red silks flew high in the Group 1 Ascot Gold Cup (4,000m) in June 2023, more worldwide winners have joined the juggernaut, none more famous than surprise shot Hit Show in the Group 1 Dubai World Cup (2,000m) in April. Strong favourites to sweep this year's Royal Ascot with a powerful squad, Wathnan did not disappoint. They were crowned the leading owners at the conclusion of the five-day event in June with five wins, including their headline winner Lazzat in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (1,200m). Other winners at the iconic summer week were Haatem, French Master and Humidity, all ridden by Wathnan's No. 1 jockey James Doyle since 2024. Interestingly, the English rider missed out on Crimson Advocate's Royal Ascot win as he was on third-placed Fallen Angel, also a Wathnan ward, with Longines world's best jockey James McDonald doing the steering. Doyle will jump back aboard in the Falmouth Stakes, but Brown has not forgotten McDonald's glowing post-race report. "James McDonald has ridden plenty of Group 1 winners and he was pretty taken with her; he thought she would be up to competing at the top level," he said. Wathnan are clearly not resting on their laurels. A Falmouth win by Crimson Advocate would be another Group 1 statement of being more than just a bit player on the world's racing scene. manyan@
News.com.au
18-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
James McDonald wins for legendary trainer at Royal Ascot
James McDonald 's patience was rewarded when he delivered Crimson Advocate to victory in the Group 2 Duke Of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot on Wednesday. The ride aboard the John and Thady Gosden -trained mare was McDonald's second of three at the meeting and it followed on from his third placing aboard King's Gambit in Tuesday's Wolverton Stakes. Crimson Advocate was always rearward in the one mile contest and the last of the eight runners into the Ascot home straight. McDonald eased the daughter of Nyquist (USA) to the outside of race favourite Cinderella's Dream and passing the 200m, Crimson Advocate was quickly gaining the ascendancy and moving away from the rest of the field. Crimson Advocate started at 13/2 and defeated Cinderella's Dream (5/4 fav), which had no answer to the winner's charge, with Fallen Angel (6/1) a head further behind in third. LAST TO FIRST! CRIMSON ADVOCATE WINS THE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE STAKES! #ROYALASCOT — At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 18, 2025 'Coming into it, the questions were whether she would relax well enough and if she ran a stiff mile, but she ticked all those boxes. She relaxed and gave me a beautiful ride. She was fantastic,' McDonald said. 'She was bubbling underneath me the whole way and, the further the race went, the more she actually gave me. 'When William (Buick) committed a furlong and a half from home, she was still on the bridle. She accelerated so quickly. She obviously has speed over five furlongs and, now she is stretching out over a mile, it bodes well for the future. 'It is really special to be here. Royal Ascot is the most amazing carnival. 'Any opportunity to come to Royal Ascot, you take it with both hands, and it's just a special place to be part of.' The win was Crimson Advocate's second Royal Ascot success after she was successful in the Queen Mary Stakes in 2023, when trained by George Weaver in the USA. On Tuesday, Mark Zahra provided Australasia with the first win of the 2025 Royal Ascot carnival when successful in the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes while the equine representative, Henry Dwyer 's Asfoora finished close up behind the placings in the King Charles III Stakes. McDonald's other major Royal Ascot success came in 2022 when he rode Nature Strip to victory in the Group 1 King's Stand Stakes, now known as the King Charles III Stakes.
Irish Daily Mirror
18-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Irish trainer targeting big day at Royal Ascot as jockey aims to add to 20/1 win
Paddy Twomey has just four horses entered at Royal Ascot this week - and three of them run on Wednesday. Carmers, One Look and Rogue Legend all look to have huge chances on what could be the biggest day of the trainer's career to date. The Tipperary handler's horses have been in red-hot form this season, with Twomey recording 21 winners from 61 runners so far in Ireland this term. He is targeting his first ever Royal Ascot success on Wednesday. Carmers is the first of the trainer's runners as he puts his unbeaten record on the line when stepping up to Group Two company in the Queen's Vase at 3.05. The son of Wootton Bassett won at Ballinrobe on debut before landing a listed contest at Navan last time out. Twomey said: 'Carmers is a nice horse, he made his debut at the start of May and he won nicely at Ballinrobe and stepped up markedly a week later in the Listed Yeats Stakes at Navan. 'We've had this race in mind for a while. I don't think any of the other horses in the race have won at a mile and six and I think he will handle the trip.' One Look is the nest of the trainer's runners in the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes at 3.40, for which the Charlie Appleby-trained Cinderella's Dream is the 6/4 favourite. The four-year-old won a Group 3 at the Curragh on her seasonal reappearance before finishing runner-up to Porta Fortuna at the same venue last month. And recent Tipperary winner Rogue Legend is the last of Twomey's chances on Wednesday. The two-year-old runs in the final race of the day, the Windsor Castle Stakes, at 6.10, having won with a bit in hand at both Tipperary and Cork in his last two starts. Billy Lee partners all three of Twomey's runners on Wednesday having landed a 20/1 success when steering Ascending to victory for Henry de Bromhead in the Ascot Stakes on Tuesday. Paying tribute to the jockey after that win, De Bromhead said: 'Billy opted to go out and get a bit of light, the horse travelled beautifully and he gave him a super ride. He knew he had a kick so he used the kick a bit earlier than he had planned. 'It's amazing to win any of these races, we're fortunate enough to train good horses. We're very lucky.'
