The highlights from a brilliant 2022 Royal Ascot meeting. (photo credit: Ascot Racecourse).
In 2022 Royal Ascot returned to its full colour, pageantry and sporting drama having been confined and restricted through 2020 and 2021. It was another memorable, spine-tingling week for so many reasons and here are just a few of the highlights from the track.
A scintillating week at Royal Ascot started with Baaeed barely having to get out of second gear as he cruised to victory in the opening Queen Anne Stakes under Jim Crowley. Now a perfect eight from eight, he confirmed himself to be the leading horse in training at the moment and it will be fascinating to see him take on the Classic generation later in the summer, possibly up in trip.
Arguably the performance of the week though came barely an hour later when superstar Australian sprinter Nature Strip showed the world how good he is with a simply sensational performance in the King’s Stand Stakes, leaving the field trailing in his wake as he won by nearly five lengths. It was a brilliant training performance by Chris Waller to have him peak after travelling across the world and a plan executed to performance under James McDonald who would prove to be one of the stars of the week.
Nature Strip Wins King’s Stand Stakes
As if that wasn’t enough for the opening afternoon then Coroebus added the St James’s Palace Stakes to his 2,000 Guineas win in a dramatic finish while there was also a winner for Hollie Doyle on Bradsell in the Coventry Stakes and Danny Tudhope rounded out the day with a double.
There was more success for Australia on Wednesday as State Of Rest, part owned by a large collection of Australians, was brave and brilliant to land the Prince of Wales’s Stakes under a fine ride from Shane Crosse. It was a first winner at Royal Ascot for Joseph O’Brien as a trainer, in the process making him the first person to have ridden and trained a Group 1 winner at the Royal Meeting.
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It wasn’t to be for Stradivarius on Thursday as he came up short in the Gold Cup for the second year running but Kyprios was a worthy winner and we have a new star of the staying division to look forward to and enjoy. Earlier on the card, The Ridler stormed to victory in the Norfolk Stakes in what proved to be the biggest priced winner of the week, returned at 50/1 for Richard Fahey and Paul Hanagan.
It was Frankie Friday on the penultimate day of action as the brilliant Inspiral finally provided a winner for the ‘King of Ascot’ in the Coronation Stakes. It had been a frustrating week for Dettori and the Gosdens up to that point but their star filly put a strong field to the sword in a performance of the highest quality.
Coronation Stakes Replay
A French flavour to the meeting was delivered courtesy of Christophe Soumillon who expertly guided Perfect Power to a second Royal Ascot victory in the Commonwealth Cup. Meditate was a very good winner of the Albany Stakes and she looks to have a bright future ahead of her while Chaningoftheguard provided a strong boost to the Derby form by winning the King Edward VII Stakes.
The closing day saw the Platinum Jubilee Stakes attract the largest Group 1 field in Britain for more than 20 years and it proved a thrilling, dramatic race as James Doyle delivered Naval Crown up the stands side rail while his Godolphin stablemate Creative Force was flying home up the centre under William Buick.
It was Doyle and Naval Crown that prevailed in a photo while international raiders Artorius and Campanelle shared a dead-heat for third. Ryan Moore rounded the week out with victories on Broome and Rohaan to take his total to seven at the meeting for a ninth leading jockey title.
The top trainer was Aidan O’Brien with five winners, taking his overall tally to 81 and just one short of the all-time record holder Sir Michael Stoute. Godolphin were the leading owners for the second year running, on countback from Coolmore, with five winners and three seconds.
Another exhilarating, absorbing week is done. 35 winners crowned and celebrated in style by 273,465 racegoers across the five days. Roll on next year.
