Royal Ascot reflections

ROYAL Ascot – as David summed up – was “a week enjoyed by everybody”.

For Trillium Place, it included a glorious success, a thrilling near-miss and a little bit of frustration. But that, after all, is racing summed up in a nutshell.

The glory belonged to Bless Him – and what a win it was in the Britannia. Bursting through the field on the far side he showed his true talent.

There has been the odd occasion when he has had his trainer scratching his head. But on the biggest state of all he delivered.

David said: “Bless Him has always had loads of potential. He has been a very frustrating horse but finally he got a good pace to run at and we were drawn the right side by the looks of things.

“He probably got there too early and idled in front. On the flip side, if he hadn’t take the gap when he did, it’s whether the second horse would have got first run on him. 

“One thing he did show was a smart turn of front – he quickened away very well and obviously we were delighted with his win.

“The handicapper has put him up 10b to 100. We’ll talk to connections and make a plan from there.”

For Majeed it was a case of so near yet so far in the Wolferton Stakes. He ran a fine race, surging powerfully through horses, only going down by a diminishing neck. Dragon Mall was only beaten three-and-a-quarter lengths in the same Listed contest after completely missing the break.

David assessed “Majeed ran great and I was delighted with him. Arguably, he just had to wait for a stride – which was arguably the difference between winning and losing. He was in front a stride after the line. Dragon Mall was infuriating as always.”

On the same Saturday card, Polybius showed up very well in the Wokingham to help fill the places in fourth.

David said: “Polybius ran a cracker. He was second on the stands’ side, beaten less than length. I’d love to think that there’s a really nice race in him this year.”

Trillium Place’s big two bullets, Lightning Spear and Sheikhzayedroad, were unable to replicate their 2016 frame-finishes in the Queen Anne Stakes and Gold Cup, respectively.

David summed up: “Lightning Spear was obviously very disappointing. It was a bad day at the office and it just didn’t really happen for him on the day. He’s in the Eclipse and the Sussex. We’ll assess his well-being, talk to Qatar Racing and then make a decision.

“Sheikhzayedroad ran his race but the big difference from last Thursday to last year was it was the first time he’d encountered proper fast ground for a very long time. He never had it last year and last week it was just a little bit too quick for him. His time will come this year, I’m sure.”

Overall, David was more than satisfied with the efforts of the string. He said: “If you’d given me one winner at the beginning of the week, I’d have taken it. The majority of the horses ran major very well – and it was week enjoyed by everybody.”