GOSDEN IS ALREADY SEEING STARS
Star Catcher gave Derby-winning owner/breeder Anthony Oppenheimer another major success when taking the G2 £215,000 12f Ribblesdale Stakes by a length and a half from 7/4 favourite Fleeting.
The Sea The Stars filly, a 4/1 chance, was trained by John Gosden and ridden by Frankie Dettori, who was scoring his third victory of the day and his fifth of Royal Ascot 2019.
Oppenheimer, also owner and breeder of sixth-placed Frankellina (William Haggas/James Doyle), said: “I’m an extremely happy man. We knew she was very useful – when she ran third at Newbury, Frankie said he made a mistake and he thought she could have won, and so we knew she was pretty smart. Frankellina is also very smart, but I think she didn’t quite stay – I’m not sure, I haven’t spoken to William Haggas yet.
“Star Catcher’s a nice filly, very useful.”
Gosden said: “A great friend of mine Simon [Crisford] trained the winner of the Norfolk, then Stoutey produced his horse beautifully [to win the Hampton Court Stakes – both were ridden by Dettori], and we have planned this since Star Catcher won her maiden in April.
“These have all been plans and now we are expecting Frankie to win the Gold Cup, but this is a funny old game and it probably won’t happen. The ground is rather testing for Stradivarius, it’s not his scene. Having said that, this 48-year-old kid takes it to another level, a bit like a Wimbledon semi-final or final. He is riding quite beautifully, and is occasionally listening to me but not much!
“Star Catcher broke her maiden at Newbury and Frankie got straight off her and said don’t go for the Oaks, go for the Ribblesdale because she hasn’t yet got the strength for the Oaks.
“The pace was a bit slow when she ran in that Listed race at Newbury. Frankie said he went too slow, but I told him not to worry because she will stay well and has run a nice trial.”
FRANKIE AT THE TREBLE – IS THERE MORE TO COME?
Frankie Dettori’s love affair with Royal Ascot continued this afternoon as he recorded a third straight success on day three of the Royal Meeting, notching a 224/1 treble in the process.
The Italian rider’s latest success today came aboard the John Gosden-trained Star Catcher (4/1), who ran out a ready length and a quarter winner of the G2 Ribblesdale Stakes over 12-furlongs.
Dettori captured the opening G2 Norfolk Stakes aboard A’Ali (5/1, Simon Crisford), before steering Sangarius (13/2, Sir Michael Stoute) to victory in the G3 Hampton Court Stakes.
Dettori has now accrued 65 winners at Royal Ascot, including five this week, two yesterday and the first three today – he heads the QIPCO Royal Ascot Top Jockey Award standings.
He now rides Even-money favourite Stradivarius in the G1 Gold Cup for John Gosden.
Dettori said: “It can’t get any better than having three winners in the first three races on Gold Cup day.
“It’s lovely to have a winner for John Gosden too as we can take a breath of relief as a team now ahead of Stradivarius.
“I wasn’t sure Star Catcher would win as we had four in the race, but she did it well.
“I just hope I can the win the next race because the Gold Cup is the most important. I hope I haven’t used up all my luck.”
Dettori’s other two rides also now head the betting in their respective races. Turgenev is the 10/3 favourite for the Britannia Handicap (5.00pm) and Questionnaire is the 3/1 market leader in the concluding King George V Stakes (5.35pm)
Reflecting on the possibility of Dettori riding all six winners, Betfred representative Matt Hulmes said: “Frankie factor is in full swing at Ascot. He has landed a hat-trick already on Gold Cup day and he now rides hot favourite Stradivarius in the next.
“Liabilities are rising all the time and Stradivarius is the one they have all come to back. Frankie has already generated big losses for bookmakers and Stradivarius could hit the right note next up for punters.”
3.40pm Ribblesdale Stakes (Group 2), 1m 4f
1 Star Catcher (Anthony Oppenheimer) John Gosden 3-9-00 Frankie Dettori 4/1
2 Fleeting (Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith) Aidan O’Brien IRE 3-9-00 Ryan Moore 7/4 fav
3 Sparkle Roll (Kin Hung Kei, Qatar Racing & L Dassault) John Gosden 3-9-00 Oisin Murphy 11/1
11 ran
Time: 2m 33.52s
Distances: 1½, 1¼
Tote Win: £5.95 Places: £1.90, £1.30, £3.25 Exacta: £15.50
Breeding: b f Sea The Stars (IRE) – Lynnwood Chase (USA) (Horse Chestnut (SAF))
Breeder: Hascombe And Valiant Studs
John Gosden – 48th Royal Ascot winner
Frankie Dettori – 65th Royal Ascot winner
FASTER GROUND WOULD SUIT FLEETING
Third in the G1 Investec Oaks and now runner-up in the G2 Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot marks Fleeting out as a very smart filly.
Inside the two-furlong marker the Ryan Moore-ridden Fleeting (7/4f) fleetingly looked as if she might win, but Star Catcher (4/1), who had taken up the running, kept galloping and stayed on strongly to score by one and a half lengths. The winner was Frankie Dettori’s third winner of the day and fifth of the week, taking him further clear of Ryan Moore in the QIPCO Royal Ascot leading jockey award. Moore has ridden three winners.
A further length and a quarter back in third was Sparkle Roll (11/1), trained, like Starcatcher, by John Gosden.
Aidan O’Brien, who trains Fleeting, said: “I’m very happy with that run, but I think she’s probably a nice ground filly. It was better at Epsom and it’s tough going out there today.
“On soft ground a mile and a half is far enough for her – she certainly wouldn’t want to be going any further. She is in the Irish Oaks [July 20 at the Curragh], but we’ll see how she is, how she comes out of this race and what the weather is like nearer the time.”
Sparkle Roll is owned in a partnership involving Qatar Racing, whose racing manager, David Redvers, said: “Ground is the key to her, and she found the ground too quick at York [when seventh of 10 in the Musidora Stakes]. The question is whether she wants to go further at this stage.
“She’s a big filly and if you look at her stride and the manner in which she gallops you would think it might be worth chancing it, but she is by Kingman [a miler].
“She could run in the Park Stakes [at Doncaster] and she’ll have an autumn campaign, but there’s not a filly we own who I’m more looking forward to running as a four-year-old. She’s still such a big baby.”
GROUND CAUGHT OUT FLEETING, ROLL SPARKLES FOR MURPHY
Fleeting, the Aidan O’Brien-trained three-year-old daughter of Zoffany who finished third in the Epsom Oaks, was supplemented for today’s Ribblesdale Stakes (G2) after that game effort at Epsom.
That confidence in the filly was not misplaced as she finished a good second in this 12-furlong Group 2 for three-year-old fillies.
Sent off the 7/4 favourite, she came through the field in the straight, but was denied by a length and a half – the soft, good to soft ground was not in her favour today.
Her jockey Ryan Moore was not too downbeat and said: “She ran very well, the ground tested her.”
The third-placed Sparkle Roll (11/1) delighted her jockey Oisin Murphy, the retained rider for part-owner Qatar Racing. The grey daughter of Kingman is owned in partnership with Kin Hung Kei and Lauren Dassault.
It was the filly’s first stakes-placed form and Murphy said: “She is improving, we have loved her at home, that was a step in the right direction.”