THE SKINNY ON ROYAL ASCOT, DAY 1
HALLANDALE BEACH, FL, June 14, 2022 — As it turned out, Baaeed is all that and more. Now 8-for-8 lifetime, including four consecutive Group 1’s, he broke his Queen Anne rivals like so many sticks.
Jim Crowley had position on his six rivals throughout, sitting chilly until it was time, which came about a quarter mile from home, turning in a never-in-doubt, something-in-reserve performance for trainer William Haggis.
The second and third horse ran well we thought, the difference being the air that the Sea The Stars four-year-old breathes.
We guess the 9-length maiden score by Tasleet two-year-old Bradsell wasn’t a one-off wonder.
On May 21 he outclassed 10 rivals on the lead. In the Coventry Stakes, Hollie Doyle patiently stalked from the outside, asked him inside the quarter-mile grounds and he responded with class to defeat 16 rivals.
Runners-up Persian Force and Royal Scotsman both finished resolutely but never were really in danger of catching Bradsell who had separated himself into a clear lead.
Bet smartly at 7-1 from his 10-1 early line, he’ll garner even more respect next time.
It’s a tough Twitter crowd, as if you didn’t know. One troll post a picture of the Belmont Stakes winning jockey with a Iwrong Ortiz Jr. ID. Like we sad, tough crowd.
To his credit, Irad took all the blame for the non-performance of the Wesley Ward favorite, Golden Pal. There was some commotion behind the starting gate, Ortiz became distracted, and was totally unprepared for the start. “This is on me,” he said later. “I wasn’t ready,”
It’s probably little consolation but it might not have mattered if he had, as the gelded Australian speed merchant Nature Strip won the King’s Stand by about five lengths.
Margin victories in European sprint stakes are rare. So is the Chris Waller-trained wonder. Well ridden by James McDonald, Nature Strip improved his lifetime mark to 21-for-38 with seven seconds for, if memory serves, his ninth career Group 1.
On the truncated PPs, it’s indicated that in his last seven runs, he’s won on good, heavy, and yesterday’s firm ground on a hot afternoon in the London suburbs.
Since he’s a Southern-hemisphere bred, it is extremely unlikely we’ll see him at Keeneland in November. Our Breeders’ Cup loss.
Now you didn’t think Charles Appleby and Godolphin would get shut out, did you. The Dubawi three-year-old Coroebus won the St. James’s Palace turn mile by a desperate margin requiring a blanket to cover the first four finishers.
He was covered up and saved ground but nearly was pinned down on the fence until William Buick found a seam inside the final furlong, improving his life slate to (5) 4-1-0, for his second consecutive Group 1. If it were not for a nose defeat in the Juddmonte Royal Lodge at 2, he would be perfect.
reprinted from https://www.horseraceinsider.com/classy-royal-ascot-meet-gets-off-the-mark-smartly/
