Dubai: Animal Kingdom and Dawn Approach, two of the biggest names in flat racing, will take to the stage for a day to remember when the annual Royal Ascot party kicks-off today.
The opening day’s action features three mouth-watering Group One races supported by a fascinating Group 2 for two-year-olds, a full-capacity Listed race and a competitive handicap.
All three Group 1 contests – the Queen Anne Stakes, St. James’s Palace Stakes and King’s Stands Stakes offering a staggering purse of £350,000, making for an action-packed start to the five-day extravaganza.
Dubai World Cup (G1) hero Animal Kingdom, is the star attraction in the 1,600m Queen Anne, the traditional curtain-raiser to the event, which has in recent years been won by some of racing’s most accomplished milers including Frankel (2012), Canford Cliffs (2001), Ramonti (2007), Refuse To Bend (2004) and Cape Cross (1999).
Racing for the first time under the joint-ownership of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Animal Kingdom will bid to claim his place among the all-time greats by winning a Group 1 contest on three different surfaces – having previously won the Kentucky Derby (G1) on dirt and Dubai World Cup (G1) on Tapeta.
Trained by Cambridge-born Graham Motion, today’s race will be the five-year-old’s swansong before he heads to stud in Australia and North America.
Motion paid tribute to his stable start earlier this week and told a press conference at Ascot: “I’ll never train another one like him. The horse has had a chequered career because of his injuries so it is all the more remarkable how he has kept his form.
“It’s tremendous to be running in a race that Frankel won last year and Sir Henry Cecil was one of the people I admired the most when growing up in Newmarket so it’s quite emotional.
“I knew this horse was a very special horse and I’m just so glad we got the chance to prove it in the Breeders’ Cup and then on the international stage in the Dubai World Cup. Royal Ascot is a bonus for me because I thought Dubai was his last race. I feel very fortunate that these guys [owners] have taken on this very sporting challenge at Royal Ascot.”
A dozen rivals
Animal Kingdom faces 12 rivals among them Ireland’s highly regarded Declaration of War, who ran a noteworthy fifth to Farhh in the JLT Lockinge Stakes (G1) and Elusive Kate, the only other horse in the race to win at Group 1 level, who will be making her first start of the year for trainer John Gosden.
Two other horses taking on the formidable Animal Kingdom with Dubai connections are Aljamaaheer, who is owned by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance, and Gregorian, who represents Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai.
Meanwhile, Godolphin’s 1,000 Guineas winner Dawn Approach drops back to a mile after his Epsom Derby disappointment, when he contests the St James’s Palace Stakes.
The champion European two-year-old last year Dawn Approach faces eight rivals led by Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Magician and Toronado who was fourth in the 2,000 Guineas.
Irish great Jim Bolger, who co-owns the colt with Godolphin, said of his star’s chances: “Dawn Approach is in great form and I have been very happy with his work since he ran at Epsom Downs.
“I have no reason to think that he is any less of a horse now than when he won the 2000 Guineas.”
Godolphin Racing manager Simon Crisford added: “Obviously, we have been guided by Jim Bolger and Kevin Manning about Dawn Approach. They are very happy with him.
“He is back over a mile. The pacemaker and an honest pace means there should be no repeat of what happened at Epsom.
“Hopefully, Dawn Approach can reproduce his Guineas’ effort.”
Godolphin win St. James’s Palace Stakes in 2005 with Shamardal, who was trained by Saeed Bin Surour.
Shea Shea, winner of the Al Quoz Sprint (G1) at Meydan in March, also chases history when he bids in the King’s Stand Stakes (G1) to become the first South African-trained Royal Ascot winner.
Standing in his way is Clive Cox’s stable star Reckless Abandon and Eddie Lynam’s top-class performer Sole Power.
