AFAAK LANDS HUNT CUP TO PUT A SMILE ON HILLS’ FACE
Trainer Charlie Hills did not have the best day at the office yesterday, when he ran two strongly-fancied horses in G1 races at Royal Ascot and both were beaten.
Battaash was second in the G1 King’s Stand Stakes, but Phoenix Of Spain was unplaced in the G1 St James’s Palace Stakes. Any disappointment Hills felt after that display was not helped when Phoenix Of Spain was found to be stiff and sore when led out of his box this morning.
Taking the philosophical view that ‘There’s always another day,’ Hills returned to the Royal Meeting and Afaak provided him with a far happier result when landing today’s 28-runner, £175,000 Royal Hunt Cup. It was Hills’ fourth career win at Royal Ascot.
Afaak (20/1), who was runner-up in the race last year, and has been gelded since, is owned and was bred by Sheikh Hamdan, and ridden by Jim Crowley. The winner beat Clon Coulis (16/1) by a nose, and there was two lengths back to Raising Sand (8/1). A further head behind in fourth was Stylehunter (22/1).
Given that Afaak was making his season’s debut his win was a fine achievement for his trainer, who said: “He hasn’t come in his coat yet and still looks a woolly bear. We were concerned about that, and then I suggested to Sheikh Hamdan that we could take him out because the ground had changed, but I’m glad we didn’t!
“We gelded him during the winter – sometimes that is the best thing for a colt. We can now start looking for some races out of handicap company. We wanted to run him a couple of weeks ago, but he just didn’t look quite right so we backed off.
“Yesterday was tough, but it’s horse racing and there’s always tomorrow. I’m glad this winner is for Sheikh Hamdan, who is such a great supporter of the yard. Battaash [who is owned by the Sheikh] ran a really good race and the first two clocked some really good times – he got too far back in the race, but that’s how it goes sometimes.
“Phoenix Of Spain has eaten up, but he’s sore and it will take a couple of easy weeks to come right. We’ll give him a couple of days off and then take another look at him – he seemed to get pulled around in the softer ground and it’s probably a muscular problem. We have plenty of time on our hands and there’s no rush.”
AFAAK WINS THE ROYAL HUNT CUP
20/1 shot Afaak landed the £175,000 Royal Hunt Cup for trainer Charlie Hills and jockey Jim Crowley.
Second in the race 12 months ago, the five-year-old son of Oasis Dream ran on strongly in the closing stages of the mile contest to hold off the David Barron-trained Clon Coulis (16/1) to win by a nose.
Out of QIPCO 1000 Guineas winner Ghanaati, who was also owned by Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum, Afaak was winning the famous handicap on his first start of the year.
Crowley registering his sixth victory at Royal Ascot overall, said: “Afaak did it well and Charlie has done a great job with the horse.
“This has been Afaak’s target. He still hasn’t come in his coat, but to come here first run of the year and pull it off in a big handicap like that is great.
“Obviously he was second in the race last year, so it is nice to go one better.
“He relaxed well and it went like clockwork. He was in front a long way out as my leaders on on the stands’ side dropped away.
“Afaak is beautifully bred and hopefully there is more to come from him – it was a good performance by the whole team.”
‘UNLUCKY’ CLON COULIS PLEASES BARRON
Trainer David Barron was magnanimous in defeat after Clon Coulis was the loser of a photo-finish for first place in the £175,000 Royal Hunt Cup.
The Vale Of York five-year-old mare, a 16/1 shot, went down by a nose under Jamie Spencer to the Charles Hills-trained Afaak in the famous mile handicap, which had 28 participants.
Barron said: “She ran a blinder and was unlucky. No room in the paper tomorrow morning for the second!
“She won a mile mares’ Listed race at Pontefract last year. That comes in about a month’s time and if she is ok, she’ll probably go there again. You’d like to think we might maybe go a little bit higher. We found something out today, because we weren’t certain she’d go on the ground, but she did. That’s racing.”
Spencer said: “Everything went right – except the result!”
Third was Raising Sand, trained by Jamie Osborne and ridden by Nicola Currie. The Oasis Dream seven-year-old was two lengths behind the leading pair at odds of 8/1.
Osborne said: “He’s run a great race. Listen, in the Hunt Cup you expect to run into better-handicapped animals sometimes. He wears his heart on his sleeve and the handicapper probably knows exactly what he is, but he’s run another solid race. It could be a career high, maybe, but not good enough to win.”
Currie said: “He has run an absolute blinder. We have probably run into two well-handicapped horses. We got a nice lead into the race and a bit of cover, which is what he wants. I was slightly concerned we were riding a bit tight, but the gaps have come to me perfectly. I have not had to stop riding at any point, and he has flown over the line. He has run his usual race and we have just run into a couple. I am very happy with him.”
Robert Havlin, rider of fourth-placed Stylehunter, trained by John Gosden, said: “He handled the ground better than we thought he would, but he was never really travelling. He came home well. I think 10 furlongs is his game.”
Stylehunter was just a head behind Raising Sand and went off at odds of 22/1.
5.00pm Royal Hunt Cup (Heritage Handicap), 1m straight
1 Afaak (Hamdan Al Maktoum) Charlie Hills 5-9-03 Jim Crowley 20/1
2 Clon Coulis (Colette Twomey) David Barron 5-8-13 Jamie Spencer 16/1
3 Raising Sand (Nick Bradley Racing 22 & Partner) Jamie Osborne 7-9-03 Nicola Currie 8/1
4 Stylehunter (HRH Princess Haya of Jordan) John Gosden 4-8-13 Robert Havlin 22/1
5 Kynren (Elliott Brothers & Peacock & Partner) David Barron 5-9-01 Robert Winston 11/2 Jt-fav
11/2 Jt Fav New Graduate (19th)
28 ran
Time: 1m 42.36s
Distances: nse, 2, hd, hd
Tote Win: £31.60 Places: £7.00, £5.30, £2.50, £6.95 Exacta: £511.70
Breeding: b g Oasis Dream (GB) – Ghanaati (USA) (Giant’s Causeway (USA))
Breeder: Shadwell Estate Company Limited
Charlie Hills – 4th Royal Ascot winner
Jim Crowley – 6th Royal Ascot winner