Frankie Dettori said farewell to British racing in fairytale fashion as he lifted home King Of Steel in the featured Group 1, US$1.58 million Champion Stakes.
Sent off the 3-1 favorite, King Of Steel had work to do turning for home but Dettori galvanised his mount, who finished powerfully to run down Via Sistina (11-2) and score by three-quarters of a length. French challenger Horizon Dore (4-1) was two lengths further back in third. King of Steel finished the 1 1/4 miles in 2:08.42, over an inner turf course rated soft.
It was a significant success for the Amo Racing’s King Of Steel, who finally secured his Group 1 win after three near-misses at the highest level this term, most notably in the Derby.
The victory completed a double on the afternoon for Dettori, who was given a rapturous reception as he came back into the winner’s enclosure.
Dettori said: “My emotions are all over the place, I can’t believe it. The crowd got this horse over the line. I was doing my best on top but the feeling that I got was incredible; thanks to all of you, you made me win this race and it’s fantastic. I love you, a Hollywood script, I love you. I don’t know how to feel at the moment, I don’t know if it’s real or…it was incredible.
“I struggled from the beginning of the race. I couldn’t really get King Of Steel to travel, he was stumbling, and then he started to come good. Then I got behind Mickael (Barzalona on Horizon Dore), who I thought was the horse to beat. Then I thought, ‘Oisin (Murphy on Via Sistina) is going pretty good’, so I got on his tail. When they kicked, they left me a little bit, but King Of Steel just found a second wind, dug deep, the crowd got behind me and we got him over the line. What a feeling, I thought the first race the crowd was good but this was another level honestly, it was incredible. A fairytale ending for me, Ascot is my home.
“It is very hard to explain what I’m feeling now. I had the same surreal moment when I won my first Group 1 with Mark Of Esteem, when everything went dark. I know it’s quite dark anyway, so that’s not an excuse, but there’s a feeling that, ‘this can’t be right’. It is very hard to explain my feeling. I thought I would cry, but I’m too happy to cry, to be honest with you. I didn’t expect it. It’s fantastic. What a day.
“The first race was mad; this was another level, to be honest with you. It was incredible – everyone was cheering for me. This was my last race, so they were all up for it. Amazing. After the race, people were singing, ‘Oh, Frankie Dettori!’. That’s one thing I’ll miss and I can’t take to America with me, I’m fairly new over there. But it’s been memorable. From the beginning of the season, it’s been tremendous. I wanted to finish at the top and I can’t be more at the top than that. I’m very proud of my career and this year, it’s been phenomenal. Can I go and have a beer now?
“I go to Santa Anita on Wednesday. I’ll regroup, go to the States, and like I said, I’m moving there for good.”
Asked about whether, if King Of Steel stays in training, he’d like to ride him again, Dettori said: “At the moment I’m focusing on my American adventure. I’ve got to make myself well known there and be there every day. I have no plans to come back to England.”
Winning trainer Roger Varian said: “King Of Steel is a good horse, isn’t he? And a tough horse. He has run great all year. He’s done well to come from the back. Very tough. Good performance. Good ride, good effort by all the team. I haven’t really had a debrief (from Dettori). I’ve had a few hugs, but we’d need to watch it again.
“King Of Steel is a very agile horse. I don’t think his size has stopped him; I think the ground is hard for all of them. Big engine, big set of lungs, he’s got to the line, hasn’t he? Big heart, big effort.”
Kia Joorabchian of Amo Racing said: “I am sorry, I’m so emotional. Frankie the king of Ascot, King Of Steel, he deserved that. What a ride, what a ride. Why is he retiring? What a ride. What an emotional moment, my family is here.
“I am so happy for Frankie, he deserved this more than anything in the world. To finish like that, I mean, he called me and said ‘can I ride King Of Steel?’ and I said ‘what can I say to that? of course you can’.
“It’s wonderful, what an incredible atmosphere. This is all for Frankie and he deserves it. What a career he has had and what an incredible performance. This guy King Of Steel deserves it too, he’s come second in the Derby and we’ve put him in some really tough tests and he’s come through. I am so happy for the both of them. What an amazing training performance by Roger Varian, and Alex Elliott who first bought the horse.”
George Boughey said of Via Sistina: “She has run a blinder. Obviously, we were beaten by a superstar horse and a superstar jockey! I am delighted for Kia, he’s a big supporter of the yard. We had a bit of dinner last night and we were talking about getting the one-two and I hoped it might be the other way! But she’s a star and the best horse I’ve trained. She is in the mares’ sale, so I imagine she will go there and I would love someone to buy her and send her back, because she could win a big one. She is obviously very, very high class.”
Big Rock romps on the lead in Queen Elizabeth II
French raider Big Rock (5-1) produced a devastating front-running performance to slam his rivals by six lengths in the Group 1, US$1.34 million Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.
Always traveling strongly under Aurelien Lemaitre, Big Rock just kept on rolling as the opposition toiled in behind and ultimately had no trouble ending a run of three successive Group 1 runner-up placings this season. Big Rock finished the one mile in 1:44.58 over a straight course rated soft.
Facteur Cheval (14-1) kept on from off the pace to make it a one-two for French-trained runners, a neck in front of Tahiyra (7-2) who could never get to grips with the runaway winner.
The 7-4 favourite Paddington was well below par, offering Ryan Moore nothing when push came to shove.
This was a poignant success for trainer Christopher Head, whose father Freddy won the race twice, most recently with Solow in 2015. Head trains Big Rock for owner Leopoldo Fernandez Pujals of Yeguada Centurion.
Head said: “Big Rock was tremendous. Today was pretty much the best mile race of the season and seeing him win this way is crazy. What a horse, what a season. He’s really doing very well on that type of ground, but that was very, very impressive.
“I am really happy for the owner because he has done tremendous work with the breeding and this horse is the pinnacle of the breeding system.
“You are always a bit scared that the rest of the runners will come on to you but he was always going faster and faster. We had faith because we have known him all throughout the season and he has always been like this.
“It is very nice to see him winning this race, because it is one of the best mile races in Europe. We need to discuss with the owner about whether he will stay in training and Leo will decide what we do.”
Lemaitre, who was riding his first winner in Britain, said: “That was very easy. Big Rock loved the ground today. He is a professional horse. He loved the soft ground, had very good pace and a great turn of foot. It is fantastic to win a Group 1 at Ascot. I am very happy.”
Mickael Barzalona said of Facteur Cheval: “He raced very well, he travelled easy and he’s been very tough to get second place.”
Tahiyra’s rider Chris Hayes said: “It was an unusual race. Big Rock had us all under pressure; he set a quick tempo on very testing ground. I’m very proud of my filly on ground she hated. She wouldn’t accept defeat, and she kept trying to the line. Hopefully she’s there next year; she is a remarkable filly.”
Dermot Weld added: “Tahiyra has run a brilliant race. We are delighted with her, it’s just the conditions on the mile are very testing. She didn’t really handle the ground, but she tries so hard. Somebody had to go after the horse in front and she said, ‘I’m going after him.’.”
On future plans, he said: “We will see how she comes out of the race and will make a decision.”
Long shot Poptronic holds her lead in Champions Fillies & Mares
Poptronic (22-1) made it a day to remember for rider Sam James as the duo registered their first respective top-level wins in the Group 1, US$607,550 British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes.
Poptronic, who carries the colors of her breeders David and Yvonne Blunt, was keen early on before settling into a good rhythm on the front end.
The four-year-old kicked off the home turn and kept finding down the straight as the chasing pack tried to close, ultimately scoring by a neck from the staying-on Bluestocking (6-1). The 3-1 favorite Jackie Oh was a further neck away in third. Poptronic completed the 1 7/16 miles in 2:28.29 over an inner turf course rated soft.
Sam James said: “This is a really great day – I can’t quite believe it; it’s a bit surreal. I’d just like to thank the owners and Karl (Burke, trainer).
“It didn’t go right the last time in France (Sept. 30, Prix de Royallieu) but Poptronic has obviously shown loads of ability. She beat Sea Silk Road, who won the Group 1 over there, at Haydock in a Group 2.
“She’s not the easiest – she’s a little bit on her toes, but Karl does a great job with her, and so does Kelly (Burke), who rides her out every day. A lot of credit goes to her as well.
“Poptronic is a good mover and you’d think that softer ground wouldn’t help, but all she does is gallop, and she’s tough. I didn’t try to fight her today; she jumped really well and I didn’t want to be in front, but she settled well in front and I was able to get a breather into her when I needed to. And I knew turning in we’d be there or thereabouts, the way she quickened up from the three, and she was very tough and game.
“I am delighted. I’ve never even ridden here before, on Champions Day, that is, and to have a winner, and the filly in the last finished fourth and ran really well as well.
“I am very grateful to Karl for putting me on her, because I’d say there’d be plenty of lads queuing up to ride her and he and the owners are very good to me to leave me on her.”
“When things don’t come straightaway you can get a bit disheartened but when you’re riding for decent trainers, especially people like Karl, those Group 1s are always going to come.”
David Blunt said: “This is once in a lifetime for us, to be honest. We’re against big battalions today and the small owner-breeder comes up trumps, which is unbelievable.
“Poptronic is as tough as old rope. She had been a bit unfortunate in a couple of her previous races, we felt anyway, and I didn’t think she deserved to be the outsider that she was and she’s proved us all right in that regard.
“To have a runner in a Group 1, never mind the breeder of a winner of a Group 1, is amazing.”
Rossa Ryan said of Bluestocking: “Massive run. I would have loved to have seen what would have happened if it was on the outer track… she will be a better filly next year.”
Ralph Beckett added: “She ran her race, delighted with her, we were second best.”
Aidan O’Brien said of Jackie Oh and Red Riding Hood (6th): “Red Riding Hood got into a bit of a tussle with Dylan (Browne McMonagle, rider of Above The Curve (4th)) up the straight but still kept coming. Jackie Oh was drawn out a little bit but ran a great race. She maybe doesn’t want the ground that bad. That was her first time at a mile and a half and you couldn’t say she didn’t get it, but Ryan said maybe a mile and on better ground. We know that she is perfect over a mile and a quarter.”
Art Power fights back, upsets Kinross in British Champions Sprint
Art Power caused a 42-1 shock in the US$607,550 British Champions Sprint (G1) as he battled back under David Allan to edge out 5-4 favorite Kinross and Frankie Dettori.
Having raced on the sharp end, the King Power Racing-owned winner appeared to be a sitting duck when Kinross made a strong challenge entering the final furlong.
Dettori’s mount edged ahead soon after but Art Power rallied gamely to get back up and score by a neck, making it a first winner on British Champions day for Yorkshire trainer Tim Easterby. Art Power completed the six furlongs in 1:16.92 over turf rated soft.
Spycatcher (11-1) stayed on late to grab third, while 25-1 chance Swingalong stuck to her task in fourth.
Easterby said: “Art Power has had a few bad luck stories, but he’s been in the first four nearly every time he has run here. You can’t knock that. And he always runs to the line.
“We gelded him during the winter because we couldn’t get a job for him at stud. He’s a wonderful little horse. He took his gelding well, he takes it well whatever you do with him. He’s a great horse to train, no fancy gallops or all that bulls***. He’s just brilliant.
“I thought David gave him a fantastic ride. He jumped out and travelled. And when he travels, he is hard to beat. He looked great today. He’s put weight back on. He lost a load of weight when he ran in France.
Asked whether he will be out again this season, he said: “I don’t know; there’s racing in Hong Kong, we might take him over there, we shall see.”
Allan, also enjoying his first win at the meeting, said: “As Frankie came to me, I wasn’t too happy. I thought, ‘I’m going to get beat a neck here and be really cheesed off’, but Art Power dug in really well for me the last half furlong and I couldn’t believe he got back up.
“I had no company for a lot of the race and, when he got a bit of company, he really stuck his neck out and ran through the line. I couldn’t pull him up after, I don’t know if that was excitement or what, but I couldn’t stop him.
“He was bouncing today. I think he had a hard race in France, it took a little bit out of him. The start went wrong in the Abbaye; he hit his head on the gates, so that was that gone.
“Today he bounced out and he’s got the perfect ground for him. He likes it soft to heavy but he doesn’t like it sticky, so it’s just wet enough that he can use his speed.
“It is great for him to get a Group 1 as he’s had a few goes. He has run some good races but you’re thinking, is he ever going to win one? But he was awesome today.”
Ralph Beckett said of Kinross: “I am very pleased and proud of him. We slightly had to go looking for Tim’s horse, to get by him. The winner’s very tough, isn’t he, on his ground. It’s just one of those things. That’s the way it goes.
“I don’t know (about the Breeders’ Cup or Hong Kong). We’ll talk about it after the weekend. It will be one or both. We will see.”
Trawlerman and Frankie Dettori battle back to win Long Distance Cup
Frankie Dettori made a stunning start to his final British Champions day as he drove Trawlerman (9-1) to a gutsy success in the opening US$607,550 British Champions Long Distance Cup (G2).
In what was a proper test of stamina thanks to the strong pace set by outsider Maxident, Trawlerman looked like he might have run his race when passed by favored Kyprios (11-10) turning for home.
However, Godolphin’s five-year-old found extra to get back up and score by a neck, with the front pair 13 lengths clear of third-placed Sweet William (17-2), who completed a one-three for trainers John and Thady Gosden. Trawlerman completed the 1 15/16-miles on the inner turf in 3:22.14 over ground rated good to soft.
Dettori said: “I heard the roar of the crowd, oh my God, it was special; especially when I was cantering back. I couldn’t believe it. I have beaten one of my greatest rivals – I have tremendous respect for Ryan Moore (rider of Kyprios) – on my final day, sensational.
“Ryan passed me comfortably and I thought he’s going to go and win by three lengths but, once he couldn’t get away from me, I thought well maybe there’s a little bit left here. In fairness, Trawlerman was very professional, a great, great battler.”
John Gosden said: “The plan was to go forward, and then we heard that the other horse was going to go very hard, and so the idea was to take a lead and use him as a target.
“The genius of Mr. Dettori was not to throw everything at it at the head of the straight, but to come there – Kyprios swept past – collect again and come back on the line. I would say that was superb judgement on his part, and the other horse ran a blinder in third.
“Like all of us, he (Dettori) doesn’t always get it perfect, but he’s a wonderful judge of pace and has great feel for the horse, as has Ryan Moore on the second. Let me tell you, two amazing jockeys and we are lucky to have them riding together.
“I knew the horse wasn’t finished, but I never thought he’d come back up and win. It lifted the crowd. Imagine if he (Dettori) wins the next. It’ll take the roof off the place.
“When he is at this peak, there is nobody greater. He lets the crowd carry him, he operates very much on that. He has enormous energy, fabulous talent but Sir Alex Ferguson would have found him hard to manage sometimes as well.
“Without doubt he is the most phenomenal jockey I have ever put on a horse, pound for pound the greatest, and I’ve been lucky enough to leg up a lot of great jockeys over the years.”
Aidan O’Brien said of Kyprios and Broome (6th): “Kyprios ran a great race. I’m delighted on how he has come back this season. Obviously, he made great progress from the Curragh, and ran a great race.
“Broome ran grand, he probably wants better ground now, but still ran OK. I think it’s soft and maybe heavy down the back.”