My Dream Boat was a surprise winner of the Prince of Wales’s Stakes (Gr1), yesterday at Royal Ascot. Japanese superstar A Shin Hikari made all the efforts but failed to get away from the field turning into the straight.
The battle for success was between Found, who seemed to have done the hardest, and My Dream Boat, who came from the back.
Lady Aurelia destroyed the field in the Queen Mary Stakes (Gr2), yesterday. The Wesley Ward-trained filly, ridden by Frankie Dettori, passed the line seven lengths ahead of Al Shaqab Racing-owned Al Johrah, with Clem Fandango third.
Al Johrah was bred by HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani and this performance put her at the top of the 2yo European fillies’ rankings.
Al Shaqab Racing adviser Harry Herbert said: “I can’t believe what I’ve just seen — a remarkable performance. Al Johrah has run an absolute blinder, but has come across the best two-year-old filly performance I’ve ever seen in my life. We’re delighted with Al Johrah, who has seen off the rest, but we don’t see performances like the winner’s very often. Gregory Benoist said he couldn’t believe what was happening in front. He said he knew he had the rest beat, but there was the filly from the other side of the pond. We were second in the Coventry (Mehmas) and have hit the bar again. She’ll get further and we’ll see where the winner goes and, like the Coventry, we will avoid the winner at all costs.”
As for the winner, Dettori said: “It was breathtaking from the top. To win a sprint by seven lengths at Royal Ascot, I’ve never seen anything like that — especially from a two-year-old. I was throwing some very good splits and when I got to the furlong and a half (pole) I asked her to go and she found another gear. I was completely shocked. Unbelievable, she’s a lovely filly. Well done to Wesley, he’s a master of the sprinters.”
Usherette showed her class in the Duke of Cambridge Stakes (Gr2), with the Godolphin filly, trained by Andre Fabre, winning ahead of Furia Cruzada, with fast finisher Always Smile third.
Fabre indicated that the Breeders’ Cup Mile, and a potential clash with Queen Anne heroine Tepin, at Santa Anita could be an option for Usherette.
Third behind Galileo Gold in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, Godolphin’s Ribchester was an easy winner of the Jersey Stakes (Gr3).