16
ROYAL ASCOT 2008
The greatest race meeting in the worldROYAL ASCOTTop:
The Royal Procession
in the Parade Ring at
Royal Ascot
Above:
Indian Ink leads the
field to win The Coronation
Stakes
Pic of Chapple-Hyam???
xxxxxxxxxBallydoyle who were
ruling the roost again
when Yeats,one of the
classiest stayers we have
seen on these shores for
many years, successfully
defended his crown in the
Gold Cup. In seeing off
Geordieland by an easy
length and a half, Yeats
weighed in 12 kilos
heavier than he had done
12 months earlier, and he is
a real powerhouse, who, all
being well, will be back on the Royal
Heath
in June to try to emulate the great Sagaroby
completing a hat-trick in this prestigious race.
Assessing the runners for the Group 1 Coronation
Stakes was like looking through Debretts publication
8211 everybody who was anybody was there, the English,
French, Irish and German 1,000 Guineas winners, but
all were put in their place 8211 and how 8211 by Richard
Hannon8217s Indian Ink, who, in her element following
the overnight rain, absolutely toyed with her rivals and
won by six lengths. Indian Ink was a top two-year-old,
having won the Cheveley Park Stakes, but even when
the heavens opened the professional opinion was that
she possessed neither the necessary stamina nor the
class to beat the classic fillies. We could not have been
more wrong, and Richard Hughes, who oozed
confidence on Indian Ink (subsequently knocked
down to Shadwell Stud for 2m guineas at the
Horses-in-Training Sale) said: 8220She liked an ease
in the ground, but she did not need a mudbath
and there was no fluke about her victory at Ascot.
She was as good a miler as anything I have ridden.8221
There were plenty who were quick to knock
the start-to-finish victory of Mark Johnston8217s
Boscobel in the King Edward VII Stakes, but the
form looked OK come the end of the year after
runner-up Lucarno had won both the St Leger
and Great Voltigeur Stakes. Jimmy Fortune, who
rode Lucarno, finished top jockey of the meeting
and collected the London Clubs Trophy, his other
highlights being Nannina8217s impressive romp in
the Windsor Forest Stakes, a similarly spectacular
triumph for Royal Oath, also trained by John
Gosden, in the Royal Hunt Cup, and the two-year-
old performance of the week when he steered Peter
Chapple-Hyam8217s Winker Watson home clear of four
other hitherto unbeaten colts in the Norfolk Stakes.
Chapple-Hyam also won the Jersey Stakes with
Tariq, and Sir Michael Stoute weighed in with the
evergreen Maraahel, who took the Hardwicke Stakes
for the second year running when beating Scorpion
by half a length to clock up his seventh Group
success. Royal Ascot guarantees drama and
excitement, with racing of the very highest level.
The races each day are eagerly looked forward
to, by trainer, owner, jockey and punter alike. 9632p08-16 Review 2007.qxp:Layout 1 6/5/08 10:43 Page 16
Page 1Page 2Page 3Page 4Page 5Page 6Page 7Page 8Page 9Page 10Page 11Page 12Page 13Page 14Page 15Page 16Page 17Page 18Page 19Page 20Page 21Page 22Page 23Page 24Page 25Page 26Page 27Page 28Page 29Page 30Page 31Page 32Page 33Page 34Page 35Page 36Page 37Page 38Page 39Page 40Page 41Page 42Page 43Page 44Page 45Page 46Page 47Page 48Page 49Page 50Page 51Page 52Page 53Page 54Page 55Page 56Page 57Page 58Page 59Page 60Page 61Page 62Page 63Page 64Page 65Page 66Page 67Page 68Page 69Page 70Page 71Page 72Page 73Page 74Page 75Page 76Page 77Page 78Page 79Page 80Page 81Page 82Page 83Page 84Page 85Page 86Page 87Page 88Page 89Page 90Page 91Page 92Page 93Page 94Page 95Page 96Page 97Page 98Page 99Page 100Page 101Page 102Page 103Page 104Page 105Page 106Page 107Page 108Page 109Page 110Page 111Page 112Page 113Page 114Page 115Page 116Page 117Page 118Page 119Page 120Page 121Page 122Page 123Page 124Page 125Page 126Page 127Page 128Page 129Page 130Page 131Page 132Page 133Page 134Page 135Page 136Page 137Page 138Page 139Page 140Page 141Page 142Page 143Page 144Page 145Page 146Page 147Page 148 Produced by PageSuite