another royal ascot reflection.

​A thought came to me on day 3: if the Cheltenham Festival were to be staged in mid-November, field sizes and competitiveness would be the equal of Royal Ascot as there would be a larger pool of horses still available. Come March, many of the lesser number of class horse are always going to be sidelined due to injury sustained throughout the season. I am not suggesting the Cheltenham Festival be moved to the start of the campaign, it is just a good reason why people should stop making comparisons between the top two meetings of the year.
In Willie Mullins and Aidan O’Brien, horse racing has two of the greatest trainers, numerically and as harvesters of the major prizes, in the sport’s history. No question. No debate. The difference between the two, I suggest, is that Mullins and his team have to search for the superstars of Closutton, whereas O’Brien has no need to traipse around the sales for the Coolmore superstars as the majority are home-bred, with a select few bought by ‘the lads’ themselves.
I reckon, perhaps unfairly, that Ryan Moore wanted to win the Gold Cup far more than Kyprios did. Great horserace, two great jockeys fighting out the finish. Trawlerman was brave in defeat, Kyprious won while whistling through his teeth and looking forward to supper.
It would not have happened in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the tardy time-keeping of the royal procession. Early one-day, so late the next day that we feared something diabolical had occurred. And on the first day, the King chatted through the national anthem. Will not do, sir. Must do better.
There is an accident waiting to happen, mark my words. Owners leading in their winners, that is my reference. Kyprios was unhappy with the swelling crowd inside the winners’ enclosure and it was only by the grace of God he did not trample on the woman in the pink dress(?).  The B.H.A. must look into the matter otherwise bad publicity is coming our way.
What I admire about Ryan Moore, and the same with Frankie Dettori, is he always tries to win without resorting to the whip. Kyprios needed a reminder to concentrate, his other winners, including Fairy Godmother, were hands and heels effort.
Although the connoisseurs will always look to the Group races for their greater enjoyment, I have a preference for the handicaps, the Royal Hunt Cup, the Ascot Handicap and the Wokingham, along with the Queen Alexandria, being my favourite races of the meeting.
Rachel King was a great addition to the jockey ranks this year, almost sneaking a surprise win in the Sandringham for the Gosdens, a team that have knocked on almost all the doors this week. Holly Doyle has also knocked on several doors to no avail, the photo-finish camera not being her friend so far. Hayley Turner also finished a runner-up. Hopefully Saffie Osborne can get one in for the girls today and also get Sir Michael Stoute on the winners’ list.
Without originality, I suspect, at the beginning of the season I predicted that Billy Loughnane would in a few years become champion jockey, not ruling him out of going close this season. After two Royal Ascot winners already this week, his season can only go in one direction and though it is highly unlikely he will catch and pass Oisin Murphy, he might yet prove his deadliest rival. He is the new Lester Piggott, thankfully a smiling version of the legendary one. At the time of my birth the tall fellow was the super kid on the block; as I dither towards the end of my life, Billy the Kid is the wonder boy. George Boughey has invested wisely in Loughnane; I doubt though he will be in a position to keep him for more than a few seasons.
I like Sheikh Mohammed Obaid. Even without being asked the question, he made the commitment to keep both his Group 1 winners in training next season. Just the boost British racing needed during these troubling times. Hopefully other owners will follow suit.
In my eyes, Royal Ascot is perfect, with no meddling required.