Pure gold

By Alan Conway

Now that wasn’t a bad opening to Royal Ascot was it? A trio of top Group 1 races to get us started and quite possibly the finish of the meeting thus far. All of this on day one. I hope the week continues in this vein.

Trying to pick one highlight from day one of Royal Ascot is quite tough. We had the brilliant French mare Goldikova adding another Group 1 to her impressive CV. There was Canford Cliffs who despite being the best horse in the race had a tricky passage before defeating stablemate Dick Turpin in the St James’ Palace Stakes. There was Strong Suit who landed a double for the Hughes and Hannon combination when scrambling home in the Coventry. Throw in the fastest sprinters in the world and a handful of promising two-year-olds and this was one of the best opening days to Royal Ascot for a long time.

From a purists perspective the Queen Anne Stakes was the undoubted highlight of day one. The race was billed as a three way go between Goldikova, the previous year’s winner Paco Boy and dual Group 1 winner Rip Van Winkle. In the end the Ripper faded out in disappointing fashion and it was left to the French mare and Paco Boy to fight out the finish. Goldikova sat behind the early pace and quickened impressively two furlongs out only to be challenged right to the line by Paco Boy. Goldikova dossed when she got to the front but there was more in the locker if Oliver Peslier needed it.

After the race her trainer Freddie Head sang her praises “When she goes to the front she’s never beaten, she always finds more – she is extraordinary.”

The connections of Paco Boy felt that he didn’t enjoy the smoothest passage through the race. His jockey Richard Hughes found himself in an unenviable position. Paco Boy has one short, sharp change of speed. If he deploys it too early Hughes runs the risk of getting run out of the finish, use it too late and you get what happened on Tuesday. Paco Boy needs everything to fall his way. Looking back, the gaps came at the right time for Paco Boy. He just found one horse too good this year.

Victory in the Queen Anne took Goldikova’s Group 1 tally to an incredible nine. Bred by the Wertheimer family she only found the mighty Zarkava too good in her classic year. She set the Group 1 ball rolling when she captured the Prix Rothschild in August 2008 and has not look back since.

It is perhaps her two victories in the Breeder’s Cup mile that show her true merit. To be able to retain her form for two seasons at the highest level and still be able to produce a top class display in America twice in succession marks her down as out of the ordinary. She is one of the most uncomplicated horses that I have seen in quite a while. She just turns up and wins her races with no fuss whatsoever. A third victory at the Breeder’s Cup is a distinct possibility as she shows no sign of regression this year.

Comparisons between Goldikova and Mesique have been strengthened after her latest performance. I have never seen Mesique in the flesh but looking at her record she achieved more in the early part of her career while Goldikova took longer to mature. While comparisons are inevitable we should not lose sight of the fact that Goldikova is a very special mare in her own right. Not many horses win nine Group 1 races. It is long odds-on that she will be in double figures come the end of the season.

By Alan Conway