Royal Ascot roundup: Carmers, Crimson Advocate collect trophies

Promising stayer Carmers showed a fine attitude as he lowered the 14-furlong course record in the Group 2 Queen’s Vase, providing Irish trainer Paddy Twomey with a first Royal Ascot success.

Lining up after wins at Ballinrobe and Navan, the 9-2 favorite was committed off the home turn by Billy Lee and kept responding to prevail by three-quarters of a length in the 1 3/4-mile test.

In a bunched finish, Furthur (20/1) stayed on to go down fighting in second, with Rahiebb (9/1) a head further back in third.

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Carmers won in a time of 2:59.53, bettering the previous record of 3:00.57 set by Illinois in this race last year.

Twomey said: “I appreciate being sent nice horses, and it’s great that he went and delivered for Fiona (Carmichael) today. Carmers is a very important horse for her. I knew he would stay and I knew turning in that Billy looked comfortable. When the bell rang, I thought that we had a chance because staying is his game.

“He is obviously going to have an entry in the St Leger; we will see. He has ran three times, won three times, and hopefully he continues doing that. We have nice horses and good owners, and it’s fantastic to be able to come here with them. This is my first Royal Ascot winner. We did have winners at Cheltenham and Aintree last season.”

Lee, who won Tuesday’s Ascot Stakes on Ascending, said: “The race went to plan all the way. Carmers jumped well and had a great position. I was able to just hack away, but I got him rolling early from five out just to get him going forward; he takes a while to build up a head of steam and I knew he would stay well.

“I wanted to stretch them, so I was always going to try to make it a stamina test. You can see him there pricking his ears going to the line, just doing enough. Staying was always going to be a forte of his. He is so laid back, he wouldn’t pass out the dog at home. He is just that type of character and saves plenty. I knew when I got stuck into him he’d keep finding.

“I love coming here – it is the pinnacle of our sport. Me and Colin (Keane) are after riding the winners and it is great for the Irish lads to be riding winners here. Paddy is a big part now of my career and it’s great to deliver his first Royal Ascot winner. Hopefully, this is the first of many.”

Winning owner-breeder Carmichael said: “It is all fairly new to me, but I am living the dream, and what happened today is amazing. I am thrilled. It has made me so nervous today – you have no idea how nervous I have been. It’s fabulous – what dreams are made of.

“It helps my mare (Signe). I bought her as a yearling and this is her first foal. I am just happy as Larry. I have been involved in the big bunfights before and it’s a lottery. Today is amazing and I have loved it.”

Furthur’s trainer Andrew Balding said: “We are thrilled. It is a really fun syndicate that we’ve got together, and he wasn’t an expensive horse. He has given us a huge amount of enjoyment. Hopefully, there’s more to come as well. We might look at the Bahrain Trophy if he comes out of this all right. He stays well and might be a Leger horse later in the year.”

Roger Varian, trainer of Rahiebb, said: “He has run a really good race. A horse to look forward to, hopefully for the next year or two in that staying division. He’s still a baby and didn’t behave great in the prelims, just showing a bit of immaturity. He was slow from the gates and the draw (10) made it difficult. He hasn’t quite got a clear passage, he didn’t really get stopped, but he didn’t quite get an open runway. I still thought he would win with two to run. Then he was sort of wandering off a straight line. I think when you throw everything into the mix, he’s a nice horse who performed very well. A bit frustrating we didn’t quite bring it home, but a nice one for the future.”

Crimson Advocate finds new gear in Duke Of Cambridge

Crimson Advocate, the 13-2 favorite, produced a devastating turn of foot to pass all of her rivals and score by a resounding length and three-quarters in the Group 2 Duke Of Cambridge Stakes.

This is a second Royal Ascot success for the four-year-old, who won the Queen Mary Stakes on this day in 2023, when trained in the United States by George Weaver.

Now with John and Thady Gosden after being purchased by Wathnan Racing, that speed came to the fore as she swamped the field under a well-judged ride by James McDonald.

Eventual runner-up Cinderella’s Dream, the 5-4 favorite, had no answer to the winner’s change of gear, with another Wathnan runner Fallen Angel (6/1) a head further behind in third.

Trainer John Gosden said he was confident that Crimson Advocate would run well but not that he would win the one mile turf race.

“We knew Crimson Advocate would run a big race, although I didn’t expect her to go by those three fillies," Gosden said. "Running Lion won it last year, the second and third are Group 1 fillies. I said to James, ‘just settle her’. He did a beautiful job. She was in really great hands.

“At the furlong marker, I thought Running Lion had it – the commentator thought the same too – then suddenly, this filly comes… impressive. Last year, she came in from America and the plan was to run her in the King Charles III. William (Buick) rode her and said, ‘John, she was looking for a bend after three furlongs’, being an American filly.

“We settled her, gave her a long time off and she ran really well in the Snowdrop, finishing strongly. Rab (Havlin) settled her at Goodwood the other day, got up and won. Full marks to Rab and everyone, and Thady, who have been devoting their time to settling her. She sat in last and blew them away. I am absolutely thrilled. I have to say this one was not much to do with me.”

Asked whether the mare will target a Group 1 now, Gosden said: “I haven’t thought that far ahead! I thought she would get placed, but I didn’t think she would win. But she’s done it well and we will have to readjust our sights.”

McDonald, who is one of the top jockeys in Australia, said: “Coming into it, the questions were whether she would relax well enough and if she ran a stiff mile, but she ticked all those boxes. She relaxed and gave me a beautiful ride. She was fantastic.

“She was bubbling underneath me the whole way and, the further the race went, the more she actually gave me. When William (Buick) committed a furlong and a half from home, she was still on the bridle. She accelerated so quickly. She obviously has speed over five furlongs and, now she is stretching out over a mile, it bodes well for the future."

McDonald was asked by Wathnan to ride as second jockey during this year’s meeting. Richard Brown of Wathnan explained: “It was an idea that came together about two weeks ago. I had a chat with Olly Tait and the whole team. James Doyle is absolutely our number one, and he was brilliant yesterday. It was a great ride and delighted to have rewarded James (McDonald) with a winner.”

Charlie Appleby said of Cinderella’s Dream: “She ran a good, solid race. William felt he had everything covered turning in but didn’t expect the winner to come over the top the way she did. William would prefer to see her back on a straight track, so we will head to the Falmouth Stakes next.”

David Howden, owner of the fourth Running Lion, said: “She ran a cracker. I thought we had it there for a while! She ran a huge race, and she just tired at the end there. She’s back in great form and she clearly likes it here at Royal Ascot. She gave me a lot of excitement for a while.”