Globetrotting star Rebel’s Romance belatedly got Charlie Appleby off the mark at Royal Ascot this year with a typically determined display in the Hardwicke Stakes.
Favourite backers will have had few concerns, with Rebel’s Romance travelling strongly throughout and he found plenty up the straight to score comfortably by a length and three-quarters from Al Riffa, with Ghostwriter third.
“Rebel’s Romance is a worldwide superstar. I’ve got a picture of this fellow on my bedside table. He means that much to us all,” said the Moulton Paddocks handler.
“He’s the only horse I know that you can take to Hong Kong and he’ll get you into any bar and restaurant! You can get in anywhere on the back of Rebel’s Romance.
“As William says, he’s his best friend and they have that great rapport there. You couldn’t get two more willing partners together.
“I have to give credit to the team at home. When you have an older horse, to keep them sound and keep them going, for him to have his enthusiasm year after year at this level.
“As they get older they all taper, as we all do, that’s expected. He might get a bit slower but his enthusiasm and his heart does not falter one iota.”
Reflecting on the week, Appleby added: “You can come here thinking you’re fully loaded and have great chances, and you can walk away with excuses, but that’s racing. I would like to think that we compose ourselves well, we take it on the chin and then we look forward to moving on.
“Once something comes to Rebel’s Romance, he finds. You very rarely get a horse that when it gets into the red, he still goes.
“If there was one horse that you were having to roll your last dice on in this game, it was going to be him. Win, lose or draw he’s going to go out there and go out on his sword for you.”
Joseph O’Brien was proud of the performance of runner-up Al Riffa, saying: “Fantastic run, probably unlucky to meet a horse like Rebel’s Romance in that race, but we’re very proud of our horse, who is a real star for us and he’s run his legs off for us again today.
“Hopefully there will be plenty more big days with him to come this season. He’s a beautiful horse and he always runs to a rating not too far off 120, and it’s hard to find horses like that.
“I wouldn’t be against trying a little bit further with him – he’s got plenty of stamina in his pedigree. I think we’ll probably think outside the box with him a little bit now.”
The Clive Cox-trained Ghostwriter was sold for £2million on the eve of the Royal meeting and shaped with plenty of encouragement in his first start in the Amo Racing colours.
Owner Kia Joorabchian said: “That was the first time at that trip (mile and a half) and I think he has handled that trip very well.
“I’m definitely not disappointed because probably that’s one of his best runs ever. Clearly he’s got very strong heart and I think he’s going to give us a lot of fun.”
On what the future holds for the four-year-old, he added: “He like the (fast) ground so maybe somewhere like America, Australia, those kinds of places he’d relish.
“No decisions from us, but we are very pleased with his run and I think he’s managed to prove that the amount that we invested in him was worth it.
“Of course you’d like to win, but being beaten by a horse that has won the Sheema Classic, the Breeders’ Cup, big races in Qatar, that horse is a massive horse and I’m happy for Charlie – he’s broken his duck before me!”
Humidity too strong for Chesham rivals
Humidity made his rivals feel the heat in the Chesham Stakes thanks to a fine front-running ride from James Doyle at Royal Ascot.
Trained by Andrew Balding, he was an impressive winner in the colours of Cheveley Park Stud over six furlongs at Newbury on debut, but transferred to the ownership of Wathnan Racing ahead of stepping up to seven furlongs for this Listed event.
Humidity (4-1) was quickly away and never passed by his rivals, showing great resolve when challenged late in the day to replicate his brother Holloway Boy, who won this contest on debut at the 2022 Royal meeting.
Balding said: “I am so pleased and at the beginning of the week we felt this horse was probably our strongest chance.
Humidity proves too good in the Chesham at Royal Ascot
“He’s a lovely horse who had to battle hard today, and he’s done nothing wrong. I would hope he would stay further, but he’s not short of speed either. This was always the plan but we will now work back from something nice in the autumn.
“He’s so laid back. I’m a big fan of Ulysses – I think he’s an under-rated stallion, so this is good for him and we’ve got a couple of other nice horses by him, but he [Humidity] is an absolute dude, very relaxed.
“I think he could be a Guineas horse. He’s not short of speed and he’s got a lovely long stride, so he’s got a bright future.”
Thesecretadversary followed Humidity home a length adrift at 12-1, with trainer Fozzy Stack predicting a bright future for the son of St Mark’s Basilica.
“He ran a great race. It’s annoying we didn’t get there, but he ran a great race,” said Stack.
“He’s been very straightforward, he’s always looked a bit above average from the minute we started doing a bit with him.
“I know he’s quite colourful, but he’s actually a very good model. Seamie [Heffernan, jockey] was delighted with him, he said he has the pace of a good horse, he feels he will mature in time.
“We have all the options, we can run back at a maiden, we can keep pitching in at a higher level. We will see.”
Get It makes all for Wokingham win
Get It just held on to deny the fast-finishing big-race favourite More Thunder after making every yard in the Wokingham Stakes at Royal Ascot.
An all-the-way winner of the Stewards’ Cup at Goodwood last year, George Baker’s seven-year-old arrived at the Royal meeting having broken the track record from the front over course and distance last month.
Sent off at 28-1 in the hands Seamie Heffernan, he was away quickly leading the majority of the field up the centre of the track and although William Haggas’ 3-1 market leader More Thunder was weaving his way through the field to challenge late on, Get It had enough up his sleeve to deliver a head verdict.
“He broke Blue Point’s record here six weeks ago and that was a great thrill – and it got us into this race,” said Baker.
Get It and Seamie Heffernan come out on top in the Wokingham at Royal Ascot
“Seamie has given him a peach. All credit to Pat Cosgrave who, annoyingly, is banned. Pat has been the making of this horse and a great, great friend of mine and I’d love Patsy to be riding him obviously because we’ve had a lot of fun along the way – but what a wonderful substitute in Seamie.
“He breezed the horse a couple of times in Bahrain, loved him, and he did what Patsy always does. Let him burn out of the stalls and then he’ll come back to you and then he’ll go again.
“When he was still in front two furlongs out and they were coming, I knew he would go again. But that last furlong took about three days! What a horse. He’s danced a lot of dances and has been an absolute superstar for us.”
Quai De Bethune got up in the very last stride to to deny favourite backers in the Golden Gates Stakes.
Ralph Beckett’s Seraph Gabriel was all the rage as the 11-4 market leader following an eyecatching comeback run at Sandown, and he looked set to oblige after quickening up from the rear to grab the lead under Rossa Ryan.
However, the Andrew Balding-trained 12-1 chance Quai De Bethune came from even further back in the hands of Oisin Murphy and while there was little to choose between the pair passing the post, the judge confirmed Balding’s charge had got up by a nose.
