DAY TWO OF ROYAL ASCOT DOMINATED BY JUDDMONTE

Article taken from the EBN.

Day Two of the Royal Ascot meeting belonged to Khalid Abdullah and his Juddmonte stallions. The finish to the big race of the day, the Gr.1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes, was dominated by Khalid Abdullah runners, with his French trained Byword (Peintre Celebre) just holding on to win from the fast finishing Henry Cecil-trained Twice Over (OBSERVATORY); both horses were British-bred.
The winner has made significant progress this season, opening his seasonal account in the Listed Prix Charles Laffitte before landing the Gr.2 Prix du Muguet and then going down by half a length to Tuesday’s Gr.1 Queen Anne Stakes winner Goldikova in the Gr.1 Prix d’Isphan. Trained by Andre Fabre, Byword was the first ride and first winner for talented young French jockey Maxime Guyon.
Byword’s family is becoming more illustrious by the minute with his older half-sister Proviso (DANSILI), notching up two wins at Gr.1 level in North America this year.

Juddmonte success was continued via their stallions in the opening Group and the closing Listed races. OASIS DREAM’s three-year-old daughter Rainfall outpointed her male rivals to win the Gr.3 Jersey Stakes. The Mark Johnston-trained filly, who is owned by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, was bred by Barouche Stud and bought by Richard O’Gorman Bloodstock for 140,000gns at Tattersalls Guineas Breeze-Up Sale. The fourth foal of her Group-placed dam Molomo (Barathea), she comes from the family of Khalid Abdullah’s Gr.3 Prix de Sandringham winner Orford Ness (Selkirk), who subsequently went on to become a successful broodmare, and comes from the family of the Classic winner and sire Leading Counsel.

The second Group race, the Gr.2 Windsor Forest Stakes, went to OASIS DREAM’s fellow Banstead Manor resident DANSILI. His grey daughter Strawberrydaiquiri made all the running and just held on to win from last year’s winner Spacious (Nayef). Owned and bred by Renata Jacobs and bred by her late husband’s Newsells Park Stud, the four-year-old filly won three Listed races in the space of a few weeks last year, and opened her account this season with a win in the Gr.3 Dahlia Stakes last month. She seems to have inherited her game attitude from her dam Strawberry Morn (Travelling Victor), who won fourteen Stakes races in North America.

To complete Juddmonte’s bumper day, the final race, the Listed Sandringham Handicap, was won by Khalid Abdullah’s homebred Timepiece, who was dropped in trip after three unsuccessful runs this season. The Henry Cecil-trained daughter of Juddmonte sire ZAMINDAR made her challenge two furlongs out, taking the lead with a furlong to go before winning by a length and a quarter from Blue Maiden (Medicean).
Timepiece is a half-sister to the Gr.1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud winner Passage of Time and the Gr.2 King Edward VII Stakes winner Father Time, both by DANSILI.

Date: 17 June 2010