Royal Ascot 2017 - Big Orange wins the Gold Cup

Royal Ascot, day three, began with the royal procession, as it does each of the five days. The Queen arrived in fuchsia for Gold Cup Day, a race that holds a special place in the Queen’s heart. In 2013, the Queen’s horse Estimate won the prestigious Gold Cup. Today she sent out Maths Prize in the Britannia Stakes.

The first of six races today was the Norfolk Stakes, with the Gold Cup slated as the fourth race.

G2 Norfolk Stakes - SIOUX NATION

Scat Daddy may no longer be with us, but his legacy lives on. The late sire got his third winner of the week with Sioux Nation (14-1 GB, 16-1 USA) in the Norfolk, who also gave Coolmore and trainer Aidan O’Brien their second Royal Ascot wins this year. Ryan Moore, the two-year-old colt’s skilled jockey, earned his third win of the week and 45th of his career at Royal Ascot.

The Ascot track showed favor to the near side of the grandstand yesterday, but Sioux Nation took the victory on the far side. Santry closed for second, and Cardsharp was third. The five furlongs went in 1:00.88, with Wesley Ward’s U.S. based McErin finishing seventh.

G3 Hampton Court Stakes - BENBATL

Benbatl (9-2 GB/USA) awarded Godolphin with their fourth win of the meet in the Hampton Court. The three-year-old Dubawi colt held off Orderofthegarter and Mirage Dancer to run nearly 1 ¼ miles in 2:05.40. Jockey Oisin Murphy was overjoyed with his first Royal Ascot win aboard Benbatl, who is trained by Saeed bin Suroor.

G2 Ribblesdale Stakes - CORONET

Coronet (9-1 GB/USA) got up just in time to steal the Ribblesdale Stakes, about 1 ½ miles for three-year-old fillies. When it looked like her stablemate, Hertford Dancer, would draw off with the win, Mori came flying past the leader, only to be caught by Coronet and jockey Olivier Peslier at the wire. Coronet is trained by John Gosden for Denford Stud, and is the second winner sired by Dubawi today. The final time was 2:32.06.

G1 Gold Cup - BIG ORANGE

It was an absolute thrilling finish in the Gold Cup, one of the biggest highlights of Royal Ascot. Big Orange (5-1 GB/9-2 USA) relaxed on the lead under jockey James Doyle, with about 2 ½ miles in front of them. Last year’s winner, Order Of St George, settled closer to the back with jockey Ryan Moore.

Coming out of the final turn, Doyle turned Big Orange loose and showed the jovial crowd what the six-year-old gelding, sired by Duke of Marmalade, was capable of. Big Orange started to draw clear, but then Order Of St George displayed an incredible turn of foot, eating up the ground in between him and the leader.

The two came to the wire together, but Big Orange held off the late runner. Trainer Michael Bell showed obvious pride in his horse, as did owners W. J. and T. C. O. Gredley. Big Orange completed the race in 4:22.40, and Harbour Law finished third behind Order Of St George.

Big Orange has won multiple Group 2 races, but today he earned that elusive Group 1 status in the Gold Cup. The Queen herself presented the Gold Cup trophy to the winning connections, as she does every year, showing how important the Gold Cup is to British racing.

Britannia Stakes - BLESS HIM

The far side proved better again today, with the top three finishers – Bless Him (25-1 GB), Ronald R, and Tricorn – all taking that path for the straight mile. A field of 29 three-year-olds went in the gate, with the majority joining the group near the grandstand. Jockey Jamie Spencer won his second race of the meet aboard the Sea The Stars colt, who is trained by David Simcock for Qatar Racing. Bless Him hit the wire in 1:40.59.

King George V Stakes - ATTY PERSSE

The unbeatable Frankel, a two-time Royal Ascot winner, is now the sire of a Royal Ascot winner. Atty Persse (7-1 GB/6-1 USA) made a splash in the King George V, running away with a decisive victory under jockey Kieran Shoemark. The three-year-old colt is trained by Roger Charlton for the powerful Godolphin, who now has five Royal Ascot wins for the 2017 meet. Atty Persse ran the about 1 ½ mile distance in 2:31.68 beating First Nation and Bear Valley.

Royal Ascot Reactions:

Yet another winner at #RoyalAscot for the late Scat Daddy as Sioux Nation takes the G2 Norfolk Stakes #CoolmoreSires