Ben Linfoot picks out three points of interest from the final day of Royal Ascot after Wathnan Racing landed a high-profile double.
Lazzat to take sprinting scene by storm
It looked a really deep renewal of the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes on the final day of Royal Ascot with challengers from France, Australia and Japan adding depth to a race that the British and Irish horses always looked likely to struggle in.
And that’s how it transpired, the French-trained Lazzat seeing off the Japanese raider Satono Reve with a fantastic performance, quickening off what looked a moderate pace by top-level sprinting standards to do his rivals for speed, quite remarkable for a horse that has mainly been campaigned over further throughout his career.
This was also the quickest ground he has ever faced, so considering all of those factors he has passed the biggest test of speed in his life with flying colours and that puts him at the top of the list for every big six-furlong sprint you can think of in the coming months.
James Doyle can thank himself lucky he fell off Lazzat only after the winning line, the winner’s sheet spooking the four-year-old who unshipped his jockey and bolted for an unscheduled victory parade around the Ascot heath.
That spared him a rollicking from trainer Jerome Reynier, who let rip at Flavien Prat after he finished sixth on Facteur Cheval in Wednesday’s Prince of Wales’s Stakes, claiming the jockey’s performance was “the worst ride ever given to one of my horses.”
With all due respect to Doyle, who has had a marvellous week in the saddle, there was little chance of him getting this wrong, Lazzat proving a keep it simple ride in the race for all that he showed the characteristics that ensured he was gelded before he even saw a racecourse with his antics after his victory.
In the race he broke well, travelled within himself leading the far side group, showed a high-cruising speed as others came off the bridle, and then produced a finishing kick to get the better of Satono Reve who has form with the world’s best sprinter Ka Ying Rising.
In Europe, at least, Lazzat is the new force in the six-furlong division.
Humidity looks hot in the Chesham
There was no more aptly-named winner all week than Humidity in the Chesham Stakes, Andrew Balding’s son of Ulysees was hot in more ways than one as he scorched home under Doyle for his new owners Wathnan, who had five winners at the meeting including this final day double.
You can only think his recent purchase from Cheveley Park was telephone numbers stuff given his original owners aren’t in the game to sell their horses after just one start, but whatever the figure was, £62,000 was immediately recouped in the Chesham.
He was impressive in the Saturday opener, breaking sharply from the stalls and making all without ever really looking like he was going to be headed, striding out well, comfortably holding his nearest rivals by a length at the line as he won ears pricked.
You’ve always got to be careful with getting carried away with Chesham winners, the conditions of the race stipulating the stallion had to have won over 10 furlongs or more in his racing career (those stipulations changing back to pre-2019 conditions after a brief period that saw Chesham runners become eligible via their dam’s performance).
Indeed, there have been several disappointing careers post-Royal Ascot for plenty of Chesham winners, but the race has produced more success stories in recent renewals; Churchill and Pinatubo particularly springing to mind.
So how good could Humidity be?
Andrew Balding, with two winners in the bag already, proclaimed this was his best chance of the week.
James Doyle said to Rishi Persad coming in: “I text Oisin [Murphy] and asked ‘Is Humidity any good?’ and he just sent the rocket emoji back!”
A full-brother to another former Chesham winner in Holloway Boy, that horse has got better with age and has proven himself best at a mile or nine furlongs. Humidity looks cut from a similar cloth, certainly trip-wise, but his new connections will be hoping he makes more of a splash at three than his brother did.
Can Romance win a G1 in England now?
So the Charlie Appleby Royal Ascot losing streak, stretching back over 36 runners and three years, is ended by stable stalwart Rebel’s Romance, further cementing the love affair between horse and yard.
Appleby revealed afterwards that he has a picture of this horse on his bedside table and jockey William Buick called him his best friend, which is what happens when a horse wins races in Dubai, Germany, America, Qatar and Hong Kong for you.
A seven-time top-level winner, including two Breeders’ Cup Turfs, Rebel’s Romance has won his last two races at York and now Royal Ascot, this Hardwicke success his second consecutive Group 2 victory on these shores.
But the one thing missing from his C.V. is a Group 1 victory in England. The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, back over the Hardwicke course and distance on July 26, is the race for him. He now ranges between 5/1 and 9/1 for glory having finished third in it last year behind Goliath and Bluestocking.
That turned out to be a crackerjack renewal and this year’s might be too if Goliath comes back for more along with stablemate Calandagan, Juddmonte’s Kalpana and Aidan O’Brien’s Jan Brueghel.
Last year Rebel’s Romance sat too close to a furious pace and was swooped upon by Goliath and Bluestocking who were ridden cold out of the speed.
But he’s a top-class horse, as Saturday’s victory in a deep Hardwicke once again proved, and it wouldn’t surprise if he ticks the British G1 off his bucket list back at Ascot next month, no matter who turns up for the midsummer highlight.
Day 4 Analysis: Straight track puzzle, Cercene and Time For Sandals
Day 3 Analysis: Charles Darwin, Merchant and Trawlerman
Day 2 Analysis: Ombudsman, Crimson Advocate and Rahieeb
Day 1 Analysis: Field Of Gold, Gstaad and Docklands
More from Sporting Life
- Racecards
- Fast results
- Full results and free video replays
- Horse racing news
- Horse racing tips
- Horse racing features
- Download our free iOS and Android app
- Football and other sports tips
- Podcasts and video content
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at and .