Royal Ascot: U.S.-owned winner has Breeders’ Cup ambition

After an American-trained pair set the early pace, it was an American-owned horse with Breeders’ Cup aspirations who broke through to win Wednesday’s opener at Royal Ascot.

Quick Suzy (7-1) made a decisive move on the grandstand side of the course and passed the favorite Twilight Gleaming (2-1) to win by 1 1/4 lengths in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes for 2-year-old fillies.

Sired by Profitable, trained in Ireland by Gavin Cromwell and ridden by Gary Carroll, Quick Suzy was bought last year by Aron Wellman’s Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners at the Goff’s Irish National Yearling Sale for $23,800. Her only win in three previous starts was last month in a maiden race at the Curragh.

“She won her maiden well,” Cromwell told reporters at Ascot. “It was only an auction maiden, and it wouldn’t carry as much weight, but she then went to a Group 2 in Naas and finished second. She showed blistering pace and we thought plenty of her.”

It was the first Royal Ascot victory for Wellman, Carroll and Cromwell, who said if he had his way, Del Mar would be in her future this fall.

“The plan was she would remain with me until Royal Ascot and then go to America,” Cromwell said. “Maybe we can twist the owners’ arm and go for the Breeders’ Cup with her.”

Betting favorite Twilight Gleaming (2-1), ridden by John Velázquez and trained by 11-time Royal Ascot winner Wesley Ward, led most of the way on the grandstand side of the straight five-furlong course before settling for second. Ward had been trying for his fifth victory in the Queen Mary.

Artos (14-1), ridden by Frankie Dettori for trainer Rusty Arnold, led a separate group in the middle of the course but could not keep up with the bigger group on the stand side. She finished fourth, a neck behind third-place long shot Cheerupsleepyjean (70-1).

Quick Suzy’s winning time was 1:00.01 on a course rated good to firm. All 21 starters finished the race.